U.S. Remains Largest Medical Device Market Estimated at Over $150 Billion

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Medical device and technology development is an area where the U.S. companies are at the forefront. According to a SelectUSA.gov publication, the United States remains the largest medical device market in the world, with a market size of around $156 billion, and it represented about 40% of the global medical device market in 2017. U.S. exports of medical devices in key product categories identified by the Department of Commerce (DOC) exceeded $41 billion in that year. The medical technology industry (commonly referred to as medical devices) consists of articles, instruments, apparatuses, or machines that are used in the prevention, diagnosis or treatment of illness or disease, or for detecting, measuring, restoring, correcting, or modifying the structure or function of the body for some health purpose.

Typically, the purpose of a medical device is not achieved by pharmacological, immunological, or metabolic means. According to the report one of the components fueling the growth includes Electro-medical equipment which includes a variety of powered devices, such as pacemakers, patient-monitoring systems, MRI machines, diagnostic imaging equipment (including informatics equipment) and ultrasonic scanning devices.  Recently an online journal focusing on the medical device industry seemed to echo this optimistic view of the industry publishing an article titled: "Moody's: Outlook strong for medical devices in 2019". The article said: "The medical device industry should see a stand-out year in 2019, according to a Moody's report on the industry, Medtech Dive reports." Active healthcare stocks in news today include: BioSig Technologies, Inc., Medtronic plc, Abbott Laboratories, Johnson & Johnson, General Electric Company.

The global medical device industry has demonstrated strong and sustainable growth in the recent past. Biotech companies are banking on an aging population, increasing incidence of chronic and lifestyle diseases, increasing adoption of innovative technology, many in this sector believe the industry appears to be in the robust growth. Going by a recent KPMG analysis, the medical device industry's global annual sales is forecast to rise more than 5% a year to reach nearly $800 billion by 2030.