Market Challenges And Opportunities

Global Optical Coherence Tomography Devices Market Restraints

Following factors are responsible for restraining the growth of the global optical coherence tomography devices over the forecast period. The penetration depth of OCT is very less as compared to other imaging techniques like Intravascular Ultrasound Systems (IVUS). For instance, the penetration depth of IVUS and OCT is around 4-8 mm and 2-3 mm respectively. This limitation does not allow lower tissue depth of penetration. Other limitations of using OCT is a limited field of view and bulky instrumentation which occupies half of the desk table.

Restraints

Market Drivers

Leading manufacturers are focused on the manufacture of new products in the global optical coherence tomography devices market. For instance, clinical trials are being carried out by the University College, London and National Institute of Health Research, United Kingdom, (Trail start date – May 2018 and estimated study completion date- March 2020) to develop Binocular OCT imaging for the assessment of eye disease, eye infections, and eye inflammation. The device can be self-operated and will have the potential to perform automated, quantitative pupillary measurements which is a novel function that is not present in any conventional OCT.

Moreover, in 2018, Perimeter Medical Imaging received U.S. Food and Drug Administration (U.S. FDA) approval for its Optical Tissue Imaging System (OTIS) which is used for the evaluation of human tissue microstructure by providing two-dimensional, cross-sectional, real-time depth visualization. In 2016, Michelson Diagnostics, a medical company integrated the dynamic OCT imaging technology with the VivoSight point-of-care scanner which can be used for visualizing the structure of blood vessels beneath the surface of the skin and the effects of the therapeutic agent on this vasculature in real time. This breakthrough development has the potential of assisting the dermatologist in detection and prognosis of melanoma, as well as monitoring the effectiveness of treatments for multiple skin conditions. The advantages of OCT over other imaging techniques such as Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI), Computed Tomography (CT-Scan) etc. on the basis of quality images, imaging speed, label free imaging, and additional functionality (Time domain OCT, Fourier domain OCT, Doppler OCT, Polarization sensitive OCT, spectroscopic OCT), and cost effectiveness.

Prevalence of eye disorders and their impact on the population have been reported worldwide. For instance, according to the World Health Organization (WHO) statistics, 2019, world-wide, in 2016, around 2.2 billion people were suffering from vision impairment or blindness, out of which, blindness in 1 billion people could have been prevented. 1 billion people are suffering from vision impairment or blindness due to unaddressed refractive error (123.7 million), cataract (65.2 million), glaucoma (6.9 million), corneal opacities (4.2 million), diabetic retinopathy (3 million), and trachoma (2 million), as well as near vision impairment caused by unaddressed presbyopia (826 million). The above factors are expected to boost the global optical coherence tomography devices market growth over the forecast period.