Optical Coherence Tomography Creates Stiff Competition for the Intravascular Ultrasound Market

According to a market research report, the optical coherence tomography (OCT) market will grow at an annual rate of nearly 60% through 2015, triggered by physician adoption of this new technology, which was launched in the United States in May 2010. Similar to intravascular ultrasound, which is used to visualize the arterial lumen in order to assist physicians in the diagnosis and treatment of coronary artery disease, OCT can be used for the same purpose.

OCT will begin to penetrate the intravascular ultrasound market as devices become more readily available in the catheterization labs and additional clinical data are published to support its use. According to physicians interviewed by Millennium Research Group (MRG; Toronto, Ontario, Canadat), a market research company and a global authority on medical technology market intelligence, the adopters of optical coherence tomography are likely to be those who have already embraced intravascular ultrasound technology.

The availability of the two technologies will allow physicians the option of choosing the best-suited imaging modality for each case intravascular ultrasound visually penetrates deeper into the tissue, whereas optical coherence tomography provides higher-resolution images. Physicians using intravascular imaging technology will choose between either intravascular ultrasound or OCT in most instances, but there will be some exceptions where both technologies are used. In cases where physicians could use either imaging modality, physicians may prefer optical coherence tomography because intravascular ultrasound images have been known to be difficult to interpret in the past.

"The obstacles that optical coherence tomography will face will be similar to those encountered when intravascular ultrasound was first introduced the belief that the use of intravascular imaging creates extra expenses and added time to procedures,” stated Adrienne Ma, an analyst at MRG. "In addition, because optical coherence tomography is so new, there is limited accessibility to optical coherence tomography equipment, and staff in the catheterization labs needs to be trained to use the technology. High use within a small number of academic centers for research purposes will drive the optical coherence tomography market through 2015, but its use in a clinical setting will be restricted because of a lack of validation data proving its clinical benefits.”

St. Jude Medical (St. Paul, MN, USA) is currently the only player in the US OCT catheter market but Volcano (San Diego, CA, USA) is expected to launch a rival device in mid-2011. St. Jude Medical will probably attempt to equip facilities with its system before Volcano's product comes to market.

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