50 per cent of the hospital bed occupancy in European hospitals is of patients suffering from chronic illnesses, such as diabetes and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). An estimated 15 per cent to 22 per cent of men and twelve per cent to 20 per cent of women suffer from chronic airway obstruction. In the last decade, COPD has increased by 30 per cent in women. The top one per cent to five per cent of patients of a particular disease category require close and continuous monitoring, putting a strain on the healthcare infrastructure. Already, about 70 per cent of healthcare expenditure is already being spent on coping with chronic conditions in Europe.

However, the economic slump has resulted in the freezing of infrastructural development spending by hospitals and delayed replacements of patient monitoring devices. This will eventually have a significant impact on the overall revenues of the market. Hospitals across Europe are also cancelling orders that are not critical.

Additionally, there is competition from low-cost foreign medical device manufacturers who are rapidly penetrating the market, especially within the lower-tier healthcare institutions. Their aggressive price strategies and improving quality standards are gradually changing end-user perception, posing a threat to European market participants.

"Fast changing technology makes it difficult for providers to sustain growth," notes Ms. Narasimhan. "As technology sometimes takes merely a year to become obsolete, hospital systems should be built on a platform that facilitates upgrades."

Patient monitoring devices will be extensively used not only in critical care units but also in general wards. Skylight Healthcare Systems, Inc. has successfully ventured into interactive systems using an innovative digital communication platform. It has transformed personalised care by turning hospital television sets into an interactive information and communication network, thereby enhancing care continuum for patients. Such interactive bedside systems will eventually be upgraded with multi-parameter patient monitoring devices.

"Presently, the patient monitoring market has a high demand for devices that are more suitable from a connectivity point of view," concludes Ms. Narasimhan. "An innovative unification of clinical information systems and patient monitors will enable monitoring as well as recording of patient data."

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