Hip and Knee Implants on the Rise As Elderly Population Increases Worldwide

Osteoarthritis causes great pain and disability in the elderly particularly. To deal with the ailment, hip and knee implants are the ideal cost-effective treatments. They serve to lessen the pain, improve mobility, and thus improve the overall quality of life. As the overall number of elderly people and cases of obesity increases, the hip and knee implants market worldwide will likely surge.

Major trends shaping the course of the market are as follows:

Thrust on technological advancements: In order to provide better relief to people, nimble manufacturers in the hip and knee implants landscape are coming up with innovative products, powered with more effective features and functionalities. They are also seen trying to come up with surgery processes that are more affordable for the masses. Total hip and knee replacement implant, partial hip and knee replacement implant, revision hip and knee replacement implant, and hip and knee resurfacing are some of the areas in which they are focused. They are also coming up with better versions of components such as ace tabular cup systems, revision accessories and components, and hip stem systems.

Popularity of Arthroscopy:Arthroscopy is becoming highly popular in hip and knee replacement surgeries. In the process of arthroscopic surgery, a tiny device is embedded through a small incision into the joint. The tiny lens and fibre optic light of the arthroscope, connected to a camera and monitor, allows the orthopedic surgeon to observe inside the joint and perform variety of different procedures. This minimally invasive procedure is seeing increasing uptake. Every year, orthopedic surgeons carry out almost five million arthroscopies. And with more evolved versions of the product hitting the market every now owing to continued research and development of better products, arthroscopy is set to make a much bigger impact in the hip and knee replacement surgeries. Most large and medium sized joints, namely knees are repaired by arthroscopic approaches. Arthroscopy is on its way to make open surgeries obsolete in no time. They result in reduced pain after surgery, quick healing, and shorter hospital stays. Besides, they result in the same long term outcome as open surgeries.

3D printed hip and knee implants:  3D printing, which is additive manufacturing, entails a layer by layer process to build physical objects out of digital 3D blueprints. It is considered the next generation technology that can result in localized, on demand final products, or even spare parts. As application of 3D grows, it has impacted the medical devices market too. The 3D printed hip and knee implants has already been used in several hip and knee surgeries. The biggest USP of 3D printed hip and knee implants is the effectiveness. Besides, it also results in lesser recovery time. In 3D printed hip and knee implants, CAT scans are used to create 3D blueprint of the damaged hip or knee to be replaced. It can enable surgeons to practice the operation digitally before going ahead with the precise incisions and realignment of bones. The 3D printed hip and knee implant market is predicted to disrupt the field big time.

High cost and stifling regulations pose a challenge to hip and knee replacement: Posing a major challenge to the uptake of hip and knee replacement is their high cost. Hip replacement devices and operations are not very affordable, and this is affecting the market particularly in the cost-conscious developing economies. Another major worry that has come to haunt the manufacturers in the domain is the growing number of product recalls owing to less effective or faulty metals being used in those. In addition, the stringent approval process of all-metal hip implants are also slowing down the process of introducing new products in the global market. For instance strict FDA regulations in the U.S. has meant fewer products being approved.

North America features prominently in the hip and knee replacement surgery landscape: North America, particularly the nations of the U.S. and Canada, are seeing most demand for hip and knee replacement surgeries. A number of factors are responsible for it. Foremost among them is the rising pool of elderly and the increasing instances of obesity in the region. This has resulted numerous cases of hip and knee problems. This coupled with the high medical spends of people, the superior healthcare infrastructure, early adoption of latest technologies in different fields including the medical sector has served to majorly boost the market.

Meanwhile, the Europe market is also growing due to the same reasons as North America. Going forward, the Asia Pacific region will likely see greater demand as the cases for musculoskeletal disorders (MSD), government initiatives, and rising awareness towards hip reconstruction rise