The recent years have observed a sudden surge in cases of ophthalmic disorders which is encouraging individuals with vision issues to opt for laser treatments, stimulating the LASIK eye surgery devices market trends. Eye-related disorders are commonly observed in teenagers and millennials owing to longer screen times and unhealthy diets. In the geriatric population, vision disorders are most often caused by various diseases like diabetes, glaucoma, age-related macular degeneration, trachoma, corneal opacity, and cataract among others.
According to World Health Organization data released in 2021, nearly 2.2 billion people across the globe suffer from near-sightedness or distance vision impairment. Of these, vision impairment in around 1 billion individuals is due to presbyopia (826 million), trachoma (2 million), diabetic retinopathy (3.9 million), corneal opacities (4.2 million), glaucoma (7.7 million), cataract (94 million), and refractive error (88.4 million). All of these cases could have been prevented or are yet to be addressed, cites the report by WHO.
To that end, the inclination among consumers toward minimally invasive procedures for the treatment of ophthalmic disorders is poised to boost the demand for LASIK eye surgery devices. Associated benefits such as short operation duration, high success rate, and less LASIK eye surgery recovery time are responsible for widespread preference. The procedure is adopted for the correction of vision problems including astigmatism, farsightedness (hyperopia), and near-sightedness (myopia).
The LASIK eye surgery devices industry size is expected to cross USD 2 billion in valuation by 2030, as per a report by Global Market Insights Inc.
Though there are no major setbacks involved with the procedure, complications may lead to loss of vision or regression in the rarest cases. Other minor LASIK surgery risks include dry eyes, flap problems, astigmatism, overcorrections, under-corrections, and glare, halos, & double vision. However, technological advancements as well as the presence of a supportive regulatory framework will ensure that the industry continues to depict a steady expansion in the coming years. Citing an instance, in 2022, the Food & Drug Association of the U.S. (FDA) issued a draft guidance to help patients and healthcare professionals with information availability regarding the benefits and risks of LASIK devices.
Enlisted below are the 4 laser technologies that are spurring the LASIK eye surgery devices market share:
#1 Topography-guided LASIK laser technology
Considered as the most recent technology, topography-guided LASIK is a personalized procedure, which is carried out using an excimer laser. The process involves an evaluation of unique curvatures of individual eyes and thoroughly assessing their corresponding visual impact using advanced topography technology.
The data collected enables the surgeons to lay out a treatment plan for specific vision needs as per the individual eye. The high level of customization is driving the patients to choose topography-guided LASIK laser technology for vision impairment treatment.
#2 ReLEX SMILE laser technology
Abbreviated from Refractive Lenticule Extraction, Small Incision Lenticule Extraction, the ReLEX SMILE technology is known to cure astigmatism and near-sightedness. The process leverages the femtosecond laser and makes a microincision of 2mm to modify the optical power of the cornea. Benefits like least invasive nature of procedure and the ability to correct near-sightedness of up to -10.00 diopters are amplifying the interest in ReLEX SMILE technology, stimulating industry dynamics.
#3 Custom LASIK laser technology
The custom LASIK technology, as the name suggests, offers a higher degree of customization in laser eye surgeries. It is also known as wavefront-optimized LASIK technology. The process enables the surgeon to rectify the vision effectively while ensuring the integrity of important optical features of the eye. Numerous positive aspects as compared to conventional LASIK procedures are augmenting the usage of this technology, pushing the demand for LASIK eye surgery devices.
#4 Bladeless LASIK laser technology
Bladeless LASIK or all-laser LASIK procedure is performed using a femtosecond laser. The surgeon creates the corneal flap tissue using the infrared laser instead of a conventional blade which allows for precision in controlling treatment depth and customizing optimum flap tissue architecture. A great option for people with thin corneas, there has been a substantial increase in bladeless LASIK technology procedures recently.
The increasing cognizance of different laser technologies is positively impacting the LASIK eye surgery devices market trends. Alongside, the ease of selecting a minimally invasive procedure based on the type of visual impairment corneal thickness and option for customization is spurring the demand for advanced equipment, thus transforming the global LASIK eye surgery devices market dynamics.
