According to a new atherectomy market study by iData Research, over 190,000 atherectomy procedures are performed each year in the United States. Atherectomy is a procedure that consists of removing atherosclerotic plaque from diseased arteries and can be performed either on coronary or peripheral arteries.
Atherectomy devices are used as the treatment of choice, as they are designed for multiple purposes, such as cutting, shaving, sanding or ablating the plaque within the artery. These devices primarily help reduce the burden of plaque and wall trauma, as well as decreasing the need for emergency stenting.
Atherectomy Procedure Trends
Most atherectomy procedures are performed in the peripheral arteries and use only one atherectomy device per procedure. Procedures that utilize more than one atherectomy device are most commonly performed in the common femoral and proximal superficial femoral arteries. On average, atherectomy procedures performed in office-based laboratories (OBLs) utilize fewer atherectomy devices than atherectomy procedures performed in hospitals.
Partially driven by COVID19, the number of peripheral atherectomy procedures performed in outpatient facilities is expected to increase in 2021 and onwards. Coronary atherectomy procedures, on the other hand, don’t follow this trend and are almost exclusively performed in the hospital setting. However, as the share of total atherectomy procedures performed in outpatient settings increases, the mean number of devices used per atherectomy procedure is expected to decrease.
Atherectomy procedures can be broken out by technique into mechanical and laser atherectomy procedures. Based on the latest market study, around 24% of all peripheral atherectomy procedures in the US were performed using the laser method in 2019. These procedures are almost exclusively performed using Philips’ CVX-300 Excimer Laser System and Turbo® laser atherectomy catheters, with new competitors entering the market.
The volume of below-the-knee (BTK) atherectomy procedures is expected to increase more rapidly than the volume of above-the-knee (ATK) atherectomy procedures. While about a third of fem-pop atherectomy procedures are performed with a stent, only about 6.5% of infra-pop procedures place a stent. This is in line with the growing trend of not implanting permanent devices in the patient.
Atherectomy Statistics and Forecast
Overall, the atherectomy procedural volume is expected to increase steadily, primarily driven by shifting demographics and positive clinical outcomes. As peripheral atherectomy procedures continue to shift into the OBL setting, the number of procedures performed in the OBLs is also expected to grow in the low-twenties over the next few years.
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According to the recent market study by iData Research, the total atherectomy procedure volume is expected to continue growing at about 7% per year, reaching over 290,000 annual procedures in 2026. While the COVID19 pandemic resulted in a significant decline in atherectomy procedures in 2020, the procedure volumes are expected to fully recover in early 2021.