Market Trends of Endoscope Drying Cabinets Industry
Automated Drying Cabinets Segment Expected to Witness Significant Growth Over the Forecast Period
Automated drying cabinets employ a steady stream of pressurized, filtered air to thoroughly dry endoscopes, encompassing both their channels and exterior. This approach ensures a consistent and validated drying and storage process within a sealed environment. Depending on the endoscope type, drying times can vary from 90 minutes to several hours. The segment for automated drying cabinets is poised for substantial growth in the coming years, driven by an increasing number of studies validating their effectiveness, a surge in adoption across healthcare facilities, and the advantages these automated systems hold over traditional manual methods.
Moreover, automated drying cabinets offer numerous advantages over their manual counterparts. These include consistent drying conditions, enhanced reliability, expedited drying times, reduced human error, an in-built monitoring system for humidity and temperature, and a controlled environment that minimizes contamination risks. Such benefits position automated drying cabinets as the preferred choice in contemporary healthcare settings, fueling their projected market growth over the coming years.
Numerous studies have evaluated the drying efficiency of automated versus manual endoscope drying cabinets. For instance, as per a June 2023 article published in the American Journal of Infection Control, the internal channels of all endoscopes dried in 1 hour and external surfaces in 3 hours in the automated drying cabinet, while the standard cabinet retained residual internal fluid even after 24 hours, with external surfaces only drying at that same mark.
In addition to the above context, the automated drying cabinet exhibited an average colony-forming unit growth rate of -28.4 per hour, significantly lower than the standard cabinet. This underscores the automated cabinet's superiority in rapidly drying endoscope surfaces and curbing microbial growth post-reprocessing. Given this high effectiveness, the adoption of automated drying cabinets in healthcare facilities is set to rise, driving the segment’s growth.
The same source emphasized that features like high-grade air filtration systems, UV lights, and pressurized filtered air drying methods in automated cabinets guarantee uniform drying and sterilization of endoscopes. Such a meticulous drying process not only enhances hygiene but also significantly mitigates cross-contamination risks, bolstering the case for their widespread adoption.
Therefore, owing to factors such as the rising number of studies related to automated drying cabinets, coupled with the advantages offered, the segment studied is expected to grow over the forecast period.
North America Expected to Hold a Significant Market Share Over the Forecast Period
North America is expected to witness significant growth in the endoscope drying cabinets market owing to factors such as the growing incidence of chronic diseases, favorable reimbursement policies by the US government, rising research activities to enhance endoscopy procedures and devices, and increasing investments by hospitals in obtaining new endoscopic equipment.
The increasing prevalence of gastrointestinal disorders and other conditions necessitating endoscopy has resulted in a surge in such procedures in the region, amplifying the demand for efficient cleaning and drying devices. This trend is poised to drive the growth of the North American endoscope drying cabinets market over the forecast period. For instance, statistics published by the American Cancer Society in 2024 project approximately 22,370 new cases of esophageal cancer and 26,890 cases of stomach cancer in the United States. These mark increases from 21,560 cases of esophageal cancer and 26,500 cases of stomach cancer in 2023. Esophageal cancer often requires frequent endoscopic examinations. This leads to higher use of endoscopes, which is expected to bolster demand for endoscope drying cabinets in the market over the forecast period.
Furthermore, government-initiated reimbursement policies and billing codes for endoscopic procedures are anticipated to drive the demand for endoscopy surgeries in the region. This, in turn, is expected to boost the demand for endoscope drying cabinets, fueling market growth. For instance, under the Coding and Reimbursement Guides, Transitional Pass-Through Payment (TPT) was awarded to the aScope 5 Broncho HD in January 2024 in a bid to facilitate the access of Medicare beneficiaries to the benefits of new and innovative medical devices. These are some of the potential procedural codes and the associated Medicare national payment rates when aScope Broncho endoscopes are used in hospital outpatient departments (HOPD).
In addition to the above context, Medicare's National Payment Rates for Bronchoscopy Procedures set the HOPD payment at approximately USD 524.23 and the facility payment for Tracheobronchoscopy at USD 285.42. With reimbursements linked to quality measures and patient outcomes, healthcare facilities emphasize infection prevention. Endoscope drying cabinets play a pivotal role in minimizing contamination risks, aiding facilities in adhering to stringent infection control standards essential for reimbursement, thereby propelling market growth.
Moreover, the establishment of a new endoscopy suite in the region is set to bolster market growth. For instance, in January 2023, UC Davis Health inaugurated an outpatient endoscopy suite, underscoring its commitment to enhancing patient care and leveraging advanced technologies for better outcomes. This new suite provides physicians with a dedicated facility, enabling them to conduct a higher volume of procedures. Consequently, setting up this endoscopy suite involved equipping it with essential tools, such as drying cabinets, to ensure thorough cleaning and drying of endoscopes post-procedure. Such investments are poised to drive market growth during the forecast period.
Therefore, with the growing burden of cancer cases and reimbursement and billing code policies by the governments of regional countries, as well as the introduction of new endoscopy suites, the demand for endoscope drying cabinets is expected to increase owing to the rising number of endoscopic procedures. Thus, the North American market is expected to have a significant share over the forecast period.
