The global endoscope market is expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 7.4% from US$5.9bn in 2018 to US$9.7bn by 2025, says GlobalData, a leading data and analytics company.

GlobalData’s research reveals that increase in the elderly population and prevalence of cancer, intensive use of minimally-invasive techniques and increased adoption of endoscopic surgeries are driving the global endoscope market.

Currently, endoscopy remains as the most common medical imaging procedure to diagnose conditions in internal body organs and cavities.

Endoscopic procedure involves the insertion of a long, thin tube with a strong light and a small camera attached to its tip into the mouth or a small incision made by the surgeon. This creates discomfort and is often associated with potential side effects such as sedation, cramps, persistent pain, tissue perforation and minor internal bleeding.

Renuka Sreeramoju, Medical Device Analyst at GlobalData, says: “A new imaging technique developed by Carnegie Mellon University researchers, which uses ultrasound to non-invasively take optical images through a turbid medium such as biological tissue to image body’s organs, will revolutionize the field of biomedical imaging and eventually promises to replace the endoscope.”

The latest technique uses compression/rarefaction effect to create virtual lens within a given target medium instead of physical lens. The virtual lens can be adjusted by changing the ultrasonic pressure waves inside the medium to take in-depth images of the internal organs.

Sreeramoju concludes: “Given the advantages of simplicity, ease of use, avoidance of potential side effects and inconvenience of an endoscopy, the latest ultrasound imaging technique will provide an important alternative to invasive endoscopes.”