High Bandwidth Applications Driving Smart Antenna Growth

The growth in shipment sales indicates a surge in the antenna applications. This surge is orchestrated by the increased need to connect disparate devices, for which wireless communications provide quick and cost-effective solutions. Wireless sensors are a case in point. The dominant theme in the surge for applications is the heavy dependence on low-ore medium-power antennas. Such antennas have lower selling prices, due to which an increase in shipment sales does not necessarily translate into an equivalent increase in dollar sales. BCC Research also forecasts that high-bandwidth applications will have a significant role to play, especially in the growth of smart antenna market. BCC Research forecasts a sedate growth in dollar sales and a more upbeat picture in shipment volumes. The state of the antenna market depends largely on the health of its respective end-use application markets. Antennas are relatively consistent in their functioning with simple operating principles. Consequently, the dynamics of the end-use application markets are the deciding factors in the growth of antenna sales.  RSS Feeds – Information Technology BCC Research surmises that low - and medium-power antennas will find a receptive audience in the large majority of these applications. This trend will bulk up shipment sales of specific antenna technologies that support small form-factor and low power antennas. Smart antennas will be driven by high-bandwidth applications and will eventually be cannibalizing competing technologies. It should be noted that smart antennas are not restricted by mandates on their form-factor, application, range and power. Thus, the shipment and dollar sales of all other antenna technologies are computed only for the non-smart antenna products. Antennas for Systems and Devices: Technologies and Global Markets (IFT073B) provides:   An overview of the global market and technologies for antennas for systems and devices Analyses of global market trends, with data from 2011, estimates for 2012, and projections of compound annual growth rates (CAGRs) through 2017 To provide further information about this report we offer a Complimentary Introduction, available from our Website. To download, simply click here, go to the Table of Contents tab, add the complimentary introduction to your cart, and confirm your order.

Commercial and Industrial Sales Driving the Surveillance Equipment Market

The total global surveillance and security market generates revenues of approximately $81 billion per year. Individual country markets are growing in the range of 7% to 9% per year depending on the exact locale. The three major end-user segments for equipment are industrial and commercial purchasers ($52 billion per year); noncommercial applications, which consist of principally equipment sales for residential surveillance and security ($19 billion per year); and military/government (nearly $11 billion).

Equipment sales to industrial and commercial users are growing the fastest due to the potential for economic savings due to less theft. Equipment adoption in industrial/commercial settings is also being spurred on by the fact that equipment is becoming much more sophisticated and capable, so the value to the enterprise is becoming clearer. Sales to the residential sector are growing slightly slower than sales to government due to the fact that residential sales depend on growth in disposable income and growth in that sector continues to slow compared historically, particularly in Europe during the early years of this report's forecast period. Government and military expenditures are not nearly as constrained, and growth there is also being driven by the simple fact that surveillance technologies have become so sophisticated, and thus efficacious, that somehow room in budgets is made for them.

This report provide: 

• An overview of the global market for surveillance and security equipment.
• Discussion of related areas, such as the application of nanotechnology to sensors and the development of large-scale storage databases.

To provide further information about this report we offer a Complimentary Introduction, available from our Website. To download, simply click here, go to the Table of Contents tab, add the complimentary introduction to your cart, and confirm your order.

Global Markets for Catheters

The word, catheter, is derived from the Greek word of the same name, which was an instrument used as a plug.  A catheter is a hollow tubelike structure that can be inserted into a blood vessel, duct, or body cavity. In modern uses, catheters allow the drainage of fluids, the infusion of fluids, or act as a conduit to allow the insertion of surgical or diagnostic instruments into a body cavity. In some cases, catheters can be large, solid, and relatively hard tubes. In others, they can be narrow and flexible, depending on the use. 

It is believed that ancient Egyptians used metal pipes to perform urinary catheterization to drain and collect urine from the bladder. During the postwar era of the 20th century, polyvinyl chloride (PVC) or nylon tubes were used as catheters. The materials were cut according to need and sterilized with other medical equipment to prevent infection.

Catheterization is a process in which the catheter is inserted into the body cavity.  The earliest published descriptions of human catheterization were done by Fritz Bleichroeder, E. Unger, and W. Loeb in 1912. They were among the first to insert catheters into blood vessels without X-ray visualization.

Modern catheters are  tubes into which instruments can be inserted or various fluids injected or drained. There are vast differences in modern catheters, however, because of the materials used and their ability to facilitate a number of procedures.

Catheters are constructed with an outer tube of various shapes that can be flexible or rigid, interior tubes (lumens) that act as conduits for medications or instruments, tips that are coated to allow visualization under X-ray or fluoroscopy, and various coatings that allow prolonged implantation into the body without rejection or that make insertion more comfortable.

Catheters have become important medical devices, and applications range from low-end introduction of fluids and medications to high-end applications such as placement of stents, performance of angioplasty, and measurement and monitoring of body parameters such blood pressure and temperature.

Depending on the type of catheter used, there are six major application areas:

• Cardiovascular
• Urological
• Neurovascular
•  Intravenous
•  Measurement of certain body parameters
• Specialty.

Different applications often require catheters with various characteristics or properties. For example, angiography, neurology, urology, and central venous catheters travel through the body after they are inserted into blood vessels and must possess more flexibility.

Catheters are important medical devices because they frequently are used in more than five key medical and surgical areas. Various key market drivers influence the growth of the medical device market. These drivers can be economic, epidemiological, technological, or industry-based factors.

The above is an extract from the BCC Research report, Global Markets for Catheters (HLC019E). To download the complimentary first chapter, please click here.

Global Markets for Stem Cells

Stem cells are the first cells formed when an egg and a sperm join and the resultant zygote begins to divide. They are the precursors of all the different types of cells that make up the body, and are characterized by self-renewal – that is, the capacity to continue dividing to make ever larger populations of stem cells – and the capacity to differentiate into any mature cell type when they receive appropriate chemical instructions.

Several broad categories of stem cells exist, including embryonic stem cells (derived from blastocysts), fetal stem cells (obtained from aborted fetuses), adult stem cells (found in adult tissues), cord-blood stem cells (isolated from umbilical tissue), cancer stem cells (which give rise to a clonal population of cells that form tumors or disperse in the body), and animal stem cells (derived from nonhuman sources).

In a developing embryo, stem cells can differentiate into all of the specialized embryonic tissues. In adult organisms, stem and progenitor cells make up a repair system for the body, replenishing specialized cells. Of interest to researchers is the potential for using stem cells to treat conditions that include diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and neurological disorders by replacing defective cells and tissues; ideally, they function as the raw material from which new populations of normal differentiated cells and tissues develop.

Additionally, stem cells can be used in pharmaceuticalresearch to improve drug target validation and toxicology screening.This is of intense interest to pharmaceutical companies because it offers a safer alternative to the use of living organisms (including humans) for some aspects of drug testing.

Stem cells are also being studied for their ability to improve both the understanding and treatment of birth disorders.

To facilitate the research resulting from interest in stem cell applications, a sizable research products market has emerged. Large companies selling stem cell research products include Invitrogen, BD Biosciences, Thermo Fisher Scientific, and Millipore, although many other suppliers exist as well. Products offered by these companies include antibodies to stem cell antigens, bead-based stem cell separation systems, stem cell protein purification and analysis tools, tools for DNA and RNA-based characterization of stem cells, stem cell culture and media reagents, stem cell-specific growth factors and cytokines, tools for stem cell gene regulation, a range of stem cell services, tools for in vivo and in vitro stem cell tracking, and stem cell lines.

The major market for stem cells will be their use in the treatment of disease, and there is already a population of companies specializing in developing stem cells directed towards specific disease targets. This market opportunity is at an early, experimental stage.

The above is an extract from the BCC Research report, Global Markets for Stem Cells (BIO035D). To download the complimentary first chapter, please click here.

The Global Market for Pain Management Drugs and Devices

Some of the earliest pain management was recorded on stone tablets. The early records of treatment describe sun, pressure, herbs, rituals, shamans, priests, and heat. Religious leaders were summoned to provide relief because the presence of evil was considered a cause of pain. One method to manage pain, acupressure, has been practiced in China for more than 2,000 years and uses the application of pressure on specific pressure points.
The Greeks and Romans are considered the early developers of the theory of pain sensation and the nervous system. Later, in the 17th and 18th centuries, more theories were developed, including one that was more advanced by French philosopher Descartes.

In the 19th century, medical doctors discovered that pain could be treated with opium, cocaine, morphine, and other drugs. This made way for the development of more common drugs such as aspirin.

Every person experiences pain in one form or another during his or her lifetime. Pain is an unpleasant sensation that indicates an injury or possible wound. It can be dull, sharp, nauseating, burning, continuous, or throbbing, depending on the type of wound or injury. For some, pain might be associated with an injury, surgery, or infection, while in many cases, it’s the symptom of another disorder; and even after the disorder is treated, pain remains in some form.

The treatment of pain has evolved since antiquity, when grasses and herbs were used for relief. Currently, medicines help patients to overcome pain. The most common types of medicine for pain management are aspirin, acetaminophen, and ibuprofen. These medications are available as over-the-counter (OTC) drugs, and for anyone who suffers from mild pain, one of them is typically the first resort. As the severity and duration of pain increases, physicians prescribe medications according to the cause, symptoms, and response of the patient. Medical devices also play key roles in pain treatment and management, along with adjuvant methods such as massage, acupressure, acupuncture, lasers, and hypnosis. Though not considered a singular method of treatment, each alternate technique is pursued along with medications.

In pain management, certain classes of drugs have proven to be very effective.  Some of these classes are nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, such as opioids (which are actually narcotics used for medical treatment), anticonvulsants (anti-epilepsy drugs), and antidepressants. In addition to these, there are many other classes of drugs that have been utilized successfully in pain management.

The above is an extract from the BCC Research report, The Global Market for Pain Management Drugs and Devices (HLC026D). To download the complimentary first chapter, please click here.