July 19, 2013—A market research report by Wintergreen Research (U.S.A.) predicts the value of the global market for femtosecond lasers used in cataract surgery will almost double from $572 million in 2012 to over $1.1 billion by the end of 2013. Released July 10, the report forecasts that the global femtosecond cataract surgery systems market will reach $2.4 billion industry by 2019.
The driver of this growth is the global population of baby boomers that are aging and developing cataracts that cloud their vision. According to the report, people over 65 require ten times the eye care than younger patients. Surgery to correct cataracts has for several decades used a manual technique called ultrasonic phacoemulsification, which is likely to continue to dominate the market. However, femtosecond laser technology is gaining traction because it replaces manual procedures with reliable and repeatable automated ones. Femtosecond laser systems offer micron-level precision in several key steps of cataract surgery, offering improved patient outcomes.