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Advances in DEXA
Frost & Sullivan, March 2007, Pages: 66
This Frost & Sullivan research service titled Advances in DEXA provides the reader with an overview of some of the present and the future trends witnessed in the osteoporosis business. It also includes a section on technology drivers and challenges faced by the technology.
Increased Awareness of Osteoporosis Drives Research on Dual-energy X-ray Absorptiometry (DEXA)
DEXA is the established standard for measuring bone mineral density (BMD) to diagnose osteoporosis, which afflicts most of the population beyond age 65. Mass screening has proven very uneconomical and a requirement for risk-based screening does not exist in most countries. 'Moreover, the high cost of screening has prevented federal structures across the continents to take initiatives to implement screening,' according to the analyst of the study. 'The lobbying efforts of certain eminent bodies and pharmaceutical companies have yielded very little effect and pale into insignificance in certain instances.'
In general, the osteoporosis market is a very passive market. Vendors are looking into assessing fracture risk rather than diagnosing BMD therefore, a cost-effective solution in diagnosing the disease is essential. With many manufacturers making a foray into this particular segment with newer technologies at a cheaper rate, the awareness about the disease has greatly increased. From a community perspective, this has encouraged the growth of the market in a larger sense.
Rising Aging Population Drives Advances in DEXA
Although the costs associated with screening can be reduced, the initial start-up costs are likely to remain substantial. The industry is still stuck on the capital expenditure model and one of its problems is the availability of capital for competing technologies. With the economic equation positioned at a big time high, the ability to diagnose osteoporosis has risen dramatically. Early screening of patients is likely to aid in the doctors diagnosing any bone anomalies, but a need to increase awareness among patients can pose a challenge. Though a number of treatment options are available for diagnosing this disease, the main issue is that patients who are offered an osteoporosis evaluation are far too little. This however hikes the revenue potential of this market.
Also, a majority of the X-ray market drivers are applicable to the bone densitometry market as well. One of the key drivers for this market is the increase in the aging population. 'Incidentally, women who were associated with a greater risk of developing osteoporosis due to a multitude of factors and parameters, are at par with men, with the incidence of osteoporosis expected to rise significantly in men,' explains the analyst. 'As the aging population grows, the prevalence and incidence rate have substantially increased, due to which the costs associated with osteoporosis-related fractures have risen dramatically thus boosting the market.'
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