The optical coherence tomography (OCT) market for biomedicine is forecasted to grow from around $640 million in 2013 to approximately $1.3 billion in 2019, according to a new report published by market research firm Tematys (Paris, France). Strong demand from new biomedical applications, continuous development of innovative technologies, and strong demand from developing countries are expected to drive the growth.
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As OCT addresses global public health issues such as non-melanoma skin cancer, diabetic retinopathy, age-related macular degeneration (AMD), cardiovascular disease, Barrett's esophagus, and prostate cancer, it is expected to reach medical applications outside ophthalmology, according to the report. There is a huge need for label-free, noninvasive, in vivo imaging techniques for diagnosis and monitoring of these pathologies that OCT can answer. Also, demand for medical equipment from developing countries such as China or India is growing more and more urgent.
To support the shift towards new applications, the study shows that the development of innovative technologies is necessary. Several functional OCT methods, such as polarization-sensitive OCT, Doppler OCT, or OCT combined with fluorescence, are being investigated to provide quantitative information and improve the diagnosis performance. Also, there is a trend going towards miniaturization with the use of photonic integrated circuits (PICs), which could enable the manufacturing of compact, low-cost, and portable OCT systems for applications in clinical dermatology and dentistry.
For more information on the report, titled "Optical Coherence Tomography for Healthcare and Life Science: Technology and Market Trends," please visit http://tematys.fr/phplist/attachment/R201401-006_OCT_TEMATYS_Orderform_2014-09-01.pdf.
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