Key players are involved in the development of a new product for the management of coronary heart disease (CHD). This is expected to foster the growth of the fractional flow reserve market. For instance, in May 2019, Phillips launched Instant Wave Free Ratio (iFR) which is the modified version of the currently available FFR in the market. This modified version does not require adenosine which is usually used in FFR for inducing hyperemia in patients. Also, in November 2019, Opsens, Inc. introduced a guidewire with optic sensing technology called “Optowire”. Moreover, in December 2018, CathWorks, a company based in Japan, received regulatory approval from U.S. FDA for FFRangio, a non-invasive FFR technique.
On the other hand, the high cost of the device is expected to restrict the growth of the fractional flow reserve market. According to the American College of Cardiology (ACC), 2017, FFR is not used by patients, owing to the high cost of the guidewire, longer time taken for the FFR procedure, lower availability of adenosine, and use of adenosine as a stressor during the FFR procedure makes some patients uncomfortable.
Some of the major players involved in the global fractional flow reserve market are Abbott Laboratories, Boston Scientific Corporation, Koninklijke Philips N.V., Opsens Inc., ACIST Medical Systems, Inc., GE Healthcare, Heartflow, Pie Medical Imaging BV, Cathworks Ltd., and Medtronic plc.
North America is expected to hold a leading position in the global fractional flow reserve market owing to the rising prevalence of coronary heart disease (CHD) in the region. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), 2019, coronary heart disease (CHD) resulted in the death of 365, 914 people worldwide in the year 2017. Moreover, according to the same source, worldwide 18.2 million adults over the age of 20 are suffering from CHD, and 2 in 10 deaths occur in people less than 65 years of age.
Fractional flow reserve has long been used as a process of heart disease monitoring. In fact, it has been around almost as long as heart disease has itself. Using this method, blood is drawn into a punctured tube, and then a pump is used to transport the blood back to the heart where it is needed. There are various different models available, and they are all based on the concept that a change in blood pressure can be an indicator of an imminent heart attack or heart failure. The key is to take action even if there really is no problem since time is usually a factor that killing people before they get to a hospital. However, some of these fractional flow reserve machines are now available for use in home monitoring.