U.S. Neurostimulation Devices Market, June 2015

An estimated 200 million people in the United States (U.S.) experience some degree of neurological impairment over the course of a lifetime.  Among the many neurological disorders are chronic pain (including migraine headache), epilepsy, hearing loss, incontinence, major depression, Parkinson’s disease, sleep apnea, and visual impairment/blindness.  Typically, the initial treatment option for these conditions is standard pharmacotherapy or surgery; however, neurostimulation is gaining in popularity as a viable alternative among many people in the U.S. and worldwide. The estimated number of neurostimulation implant procedures has more than doubled over the past decade, reaching more than 1 million worldwide.

Implantable neurostimulation systems typically consist of three implantable components (the extension, lead, and power source) and two external components (the control magnet and a handheld programmer).  The extension is used to connect the lead to the power source, and the lead is used to deliver the electrical stimulation to the targeted nerve(s).
  
For the purposes of this report, the total U.S. market for implantable neurostimulation devices includes sales derived from systems for 8 therapy segments, including the 5 core, established areas of deep brain stimulation (DBS), gastric nerve stimulation (GNS), spinal cord stimulation (SCS), sacral nerve stimulation (SNS), and vagus nerve stimulation (VNS), as well as neural prostheses (cochlear and recently launched retinal implants) and newly FDA-approved Vagal Blocking (VBLOC) therapy, for the treatment of obesity.  

The large and burgeoning market for implantable neurostimulation devices in the U.S. has reached nearly $2.3 billion in 2014.  Despite the lingering economic uncertainty and financial constraints that have affected many other medical device markets, this market is undergoing significant technological advancement due to heavy R&D and investment efforts by dozens of startups and leading medical device companies.  The market is expected to experience high single-digit growth over the next half-decade, with many industry experts expecting its value to rival the multibillion-dollar markets for implantable defibrillators and coronary stents.  A major reason for such optimism is not only the products’ clinical and commercial success thus far, but also the need for more effective treatments for the large population of patients who suffer from debilitating, chronic, incurable conditions that require the long-term management of symptoms.