New Cardiovascular Devices Will Improve Treatments for Vascular Disease Including Stroke, According to a New Report from MedDevice Concepts.

ANDOVER, Mass. -- Cardiovascular ultrasound therapy sales will approach $400M in five years, according to a new report from MedDevice Concepts. The number of procedures will grow at a compound rate of 46% per year. By 2011, 177,000 patients will be treated with the new devices, few of which are commercially available today.

Sonolysis therapies will contribute most of that growth. New devices and microbubble agents are aimed at vascular disease, including stroke and peripheral vascular occlusions. Blood clots block blood flow and cause damage throughout the body in the heart, legs and brain. Ultrasound devices enable dissolution of blood clots by directing ultrasound energy alone, combining ultrasound with a thrombolytic drug, or by triple therapy of ultrasound, drug and microbubble agent to accelerate the therapeutic effect. By 2010, "designer bubbles" are expected to be used for treatment of acute ischemic stroke patients - more than 85% of the 700,000 Americans who suffer from "brain attack" each year.

A new approach for vascular closure is also expected to be available by the end of the decade. "The ultrasound device from Therus retains the distinction of the most original, and in my opinion, revolutionary concept in vascular closure. It falls into the distinctive category of noninvasive, active approximation, with no foreign body left behind." said Dr Zoltan Turi, Director of the Cooper Vascular Center at the Robert Wood Johnson Medical School (Endovascular Today, Feb 2007).

Another new device is an ultrasonic tourniquet that will help save lives on the battlefield. The U.S. Department of Defense is investing $51 million to develop a cuff-like device that will non-invasively clot blood vessels and stop internal bleeding - the leading preventable cause of death of soldiers in action.

"Since 2003, $240 Million of new venture capital and grants have been invested in cardiovascular therapeutic ultrasound device startups," says Al Kyle, MedDevice President. "It is very likely that those investments will begin to pay off in the next five years."

These market developments are the focus of "Emerging Markets for Cardiovascular Ultrasound Therapy," a new report from MedDevice Concepts. The report estimates market size and forecasts revenue for eight companies, based on technology, clinical and regulatory milestones and benchmarks of comparable device companies.