Surgeons are concerned about the cost of breast matrices in an increasingly restrictive environment, but alternatives may be on the horizon according to key discussions at the 2022 Plastic Surgery: The Meeting.

Breast matrices are used to cover breast implants in breast reconstruction and cosmetic breast surgeries. The matrices have become in effect standard of care in these surgeries, though they do not have FDA-approved indications for breast reconstruction or cosmetic breast surgeries. Moreover, the FDA has in recent years, issued warning letters and communications related to breast matrices. In 2015, the FDA issued warning letters reminding several companies that they did not ...

To read the complete "Trends in ADM Use from ASPS 2022" article by Doug Devens, SmartTRAK's Product Director/Sr. Analyst - Wound, in which  he shares observations from the ASPS sessions and the potential implications for the Breast Matrices Market, just click the following link.

The potential of US reimbursement changes to Skin Substitutes weighed heavily on companies at SAWC Fall, yet subsequently, CMS decided to delay finalizing its proposed changes.

The Symposium on Advanced Wound Care (SAWC) Fall 2022 gathered for another year in Las Vegas. The exhibit hall was filled with most wound care manufacturers and though booth hours were short, the clinical attendees made the best of their time searching out the latest in wound care technologies.

In this article, SmartTRAK discusses:

• Alternative Product Developments to the Skin Substitute Market 
• Potential Impact of Proposed Reimbursement Changes
• The Top Four Companies by Revenue 
• CMS' Proposed Terminology Change from “Skin Substitute”
• Packaging Skin Substitutes as “Incident to” Supplies

Sofia Heddson Fransén, Essity’s Global Solution Owner, Intelligent Medical Solutions discusses the Company’s recent digital app launch as well as current and future trends in the digital field in an interview with SmartTRAK at SAWC Fall 2022.

Digital healthcare plays an increasingly important role in healthcare today. In the face of global concerns related to epidemics and pandemics, high costs and the effects of staff shortages, digital health-related technology continues to grow in importance and evolve. A broad scope of stakeholders are involved in the digital health field, including patients, practitioners, application developers and medical device manufacturers and distributors.

To find out more about Essity and the Company’s initiatives around digital solutions in wound care, click the video below to listen to the interview in which Sofia Heddson Fransén, Essity’s Global Solution Owner, Intelligent Medical Solutions, discusses the Company’s recent digital app launch and what the current and future trends in the digital field (05.33 min) are. A link to download the complete interview transcript is also provided below.

As one of the fastest growing markets globally, China is a key market for companies competing in the Advanced Dressings Market. China is the second largest Advanced Dressings Market in the world and is projected to grow in the high single digits over the next five years according to SmartTRAK estimates. Not surprisingly, most of the global leaders in the Advanced Dressings Market have a presence in China, either via distributors or a direct sales force or through manufacturing sites, including Coloplast, WEGO, Mölnlycke and Smith+Nephew, among others.

To find out more about these companies and what’s new in the China Advanced Dressings Market, SmartTRAK highlights market updates covering the top news on new products, clinical studies, deals/financing, market trends, clinical/regulatory and company revenues. Following are some recent updates that were gathered and curated by our expert analysts and sent out to subscribers in SmartTRAK's Daily Updates. To discover how to learn more about the China Advanced Dressings Market, click here.

New Products:

• China NMPA Approvals in August
  

  In August 2022, NMPA approved 210 medical devices. Among them, 161 were domestic Class III devices, 25 imported Class III and 22 imported Class II devices. One NPWT kit from Nantong Changyu Medical Technology Co., Ltd. was the only wound care product.

• LUOFUCON Silicone Foam Border - Foryou Medical Devices Co.*

  ForYou Medical announced that they received a China NMPA approval for LUOFUCON Silicone Foam to be sold in China. Class III, National Machinery Note 20223140748. The dressing is manufactured by ForYou Medical, available in several anatomical shapes.

SmartTRAK highlights novel diagnostic devices for pressure ulcer (PU) prevention and interviews PU Sensor’s CEO Johannes Walfidsson at EPUAP 2022

According to SmartTRAK incidence and prevalence data*, there were over 10 million pressure ulcers in Europe in 2021, with four million being stage III to IV. This means that pressure ulcers account for around two-thirds of the total number of chronic wounds on the continent and almost half of the hard-to-heal wounds. Given these eye-opening statistics, it would be understandable to expect that the first European Pressure Ulcer Advisory Panel (EPUAP) Meeting in three years would indicate growing engagement in this area, both clinically and commercially. Unfortunately, on the evidence of the event in Prague, this wasn’t the case, with delegate numbers declining from previous years and a sparse exhibition hall missing many of the prominent wound care players. This begs the question; why isn’t there a greater focus on pressure ulcers and prevention? (Click to listen to SmartTRAK's interview with PU Sensor's CEO Johannes Walfidsson, "Advancing Risk Assessment for Pressure Ulcers." You can also download a complete transcript of the interview here)

Surgical matrices revenue is flat while procedure volumes level out

With elective procedures in the United States mostly back at pre-pandemic levels, the US Surgical Matrices Market returned to what had been normal growth according to SmartTRAK Financial Dashboard. Becton Dickinson* (BD) grew to a 26.9% share, while AbbVie* slipped to second place.

Among the many topics covered in detail in our comprehensive Q222 US Surgical Matrices Market Recap* are:

SmartTRAK looks at trends in the Diagnostic Aids market for 2022 with an eye on hard-to-heal wounds, regulatory and reimbursement checkpoints and investment deals and financing.

SmartTRAK  sees continued growth in the Diagnostic Aids market driven by the following factors:

• Hard-to-heal wounds continue to drive resource utilization and cost
• Clinicians need diagnostic tools to help guide more efficient and effective product selection
• Companies are making incremental progress navigating regulatory and reimbursement checkpoints
• Investors see potential value as evidenced by deals and financing

In 2007, the World Union of Wound Healing Societies (WUWHS) published a consensus document on the Principles of Best Practice in Diagnostics and Wounds. The authors identified the need for new diagnostic tests to help identify why some wounds do not respond to advanced therapies. The document further suggested that the ideal diagnostic tool can detect and quantify biomarkers that impact wound healing, such as molecules, biofilms, oxygen content and temperature changes. SmartTRAK looks at trends in the Diagnostic Aids market in 2022 with a focus on ...

To download and read the complete article "Wound Care Diagnostic Aids: Trends to Watch in 2022 and Beyond" just click the button below.

Could biosensors and smart dressings be the final frontier in wound diagnostics? SmartTRAK explores the current progress of this market and how it could develop.

It has been 15 years since the World Union of Wound Healing Societies’ Initiative published a consensus document entitled “Diagnostics and Wounds.” Since then, the clinical practice around assessing and diagnosing wounds has not evolved at the same rate as that of treatments. At the same time, the need for improved wound diagnostics has never been greater given burgeoning chronic wound numbers and the continued shift of wound care services to the outpatient setting.

Could the next area of development be that of biosensors and smart dressings? SmartTRAK believes there is increasing evidence that this could be the case. In this article, we explore the developments that are taking place, how the identification of infection biomarkers may be lucrative and ways the market may change in the coming years.

Among the many topics discussed in this article are: