How Will Rise in Skin Ailments Fuel Medical Laser Demand?
Australian Family Physician (AFP), a journal, estimates that acne vulgaris affects over 90% of the adolescents aged 16–18 years in Australia. Likewise, the American Academy of Dermatology (AAD) states that 85% of the Americans in the age group of 12–24 years are affected by acne. The association estimates that this condition affects up to 50 million Americans each year. Similarly, the NHS states that approximately 95% of the people aged 11–30 years are affected by acne in the U.K. annually.
In addition to dermatologists, solid-state, gas, dye, and diode laser systems are used for several applications in the ophthalmology, dentistry, cardiovascular, gynecology, urology, and many other departments, including oncology. Solid-state laser systems include alexandrite, erbium: yttrium–aluminum–garnet (Er:YAG), holmium: yttrium–aluminum–garnet (Ho:YAG), neodymium: yttrium–aluminum–garnet (Nd:YAG), potassium–titanyl phosphate, and ruby laser systems. Similarly, gas laser systems come in the argon, CO2, excimer, helium–neon, krypton, and metal vapor (copper and gold) variants.
In recent years, medical laser system producers, such as Biolase Inc., Ellex Medical Lasers Limited, Valeant Pharmaceutical International Inc., Cryolife Inc., Syneron Medical Ltd., The Spectranetics Corporation, Photomedex Inc., and Lumenis Ltd., have actively engaged in acquisitions and product developments to meet the evolving needs of the medical community. For instance, in April 2017, Lumenis Ltd. unveiled PiQo4, an advanced laser technology, to remove birthmarks and tattoos, treat discoloration, skin pigmentation, and vascular lesions and lentigo and facilitate skin resurfacing.
Furthermore, the APAC region is expected to observe a large-scale adoption of medical lasers in the forthcoming years, owing to the mounting healthcare spending, surging public awareness about technologically improved laser treatments, soaring disposable income, increasing aging population, and growing medical tourism in regional nations. The Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW) reveals that $202.5 billion was spent on healthcare in Australia in 2019–2020. Similarly, the World Bank states that the per capita health expenditure of New Zealand surged from $3,940.390 in 2017 to $4,037.463 in 2018.
Thus, the growing burden of skin diseases will augment the use of medical lasers in the foreseeable future.