Frost: Growing Acceptance of Prosthetic Devices Drives Biomechatronics
July 25, 2006
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Biomechatronic innovations are realizing a successful phase, while contributing to a tremendous improvement in quality of life for many end-users. Research in this area is focusing on finding solutions for the complete restoration of normal functions of organs through
prosthetic devices. According to Frost & Sullivan, innovations that can tackle medical hurdles for the use of prosthetic devices, as well as affordability, are key factors affecting the growth of the biomechatronics technologies market.
Today's core biomechatronics technologies are concerned with developments in mechatronic and electromechanical prosthetics and bionic devices. Recent military conflicts have resulted in a rise in the number of amputees needing partial restoration of normal functions, a factor driving technological growth in this field. On a parallel note, the success achieved by cochlear implants in restoring hearing has encouraged enterprises to develop similar implants for the human eye.
In the future, prosthetic devices can emerge as highly viable alternatives to the comparatively complicated organ transplants. According to Frost & Sullivan, these trends, coupled with the need for accelerating patient recovery and improving therapy quality, are the main drivers for advances in biomechatronics technologies.
"Encouragingly, several developing countries are increasingly including prosthetic devices under their health insurance schemes, while governments are diverting greater funds to address the needs of amputees, especially war victims," said Frost & Sullivan technical insights research analyst Vishnu Sivadevan. "With the funding for research and development of advanced prosthetics on the rise, biomechatronics has made fast progress in tune with the corresponding advancements in the fields of sensors, micromechatronics and biomaterials."
The advancements in microfabrication technologies are also driving the biomechatronics markets, analysts said. Significant inroads made into sensor technology, embedded chips, artificial intelligence algorithms and miniature microprocessors are also contributing to technological growth.
However, a key concern for companies that have commercialized prosthetic devices is to upgrade patients to micromechatronic prosthetic devices. This, for instance, may involve upgrading from mechanical leg prosthesis to microprocessor controlled leg prosthesis. Analysts said biomechatronic companies should also develop methods to fit prosthetic devices on first-time users.
"The prosthetic devices compatible with the needs of different patients vary based on medical conditions such as the length of bones after amputation," said Sivadevan. "In addition, financial constraints may pose hurdles to people who have not been fitted with costly biomechatronic prosthetic devices."
Overall, these enterprises need to focus on aspects such as cost-reduction and achieving economies of scale before entering markets in developing countries, analysts said. An increasing number of organizations are investing in expensive rehabilitative devices as the high quality of therapy offered by them overshadows the low return on investment. As biomechatronics enterprises concentrate on boosting the adoption rates of their products, analysts said they must also concentrate on making additional investments in future innovations. Companies should also endeavor to harness the untapped potential for deployment of these devices in rehabilitative health care establishments.
Source: Frost & Sullivan.