The guide wires are the most basic instruments for tracking across the vessels, crossing stenoses or occlusions, and delivering the required treatment to the designated artery. Guide wires are the core of every endovascular revascularization procedure. To use, the guidewire is lubricated with a cotton ball soaked in heparinized saline before being introduced into the target blood vessel with a guiding catheter in the specified manner. Another flushing is often done to remove air bubbles surrounding the ultrasonic transducer. The guidewire is threaded through the imaging catheter's guidewire rail, which is then threaded into the guiding catheter. This guidewire procedure is essential in all diagnostic or therapeutic treatments, and since guide wires are flexible, corrosion-resistant, and curvy, they allow easy tracking of the body parts that need to be treated.
Segments of the Market
The global guide wires market is divided on the basis of product, material, length, and end use. Based on product, the market is subdivided into coronary, urology, peripheral, and neurovascular. Based on material, the market is subdivided into nitinol, stainless steel, and hybrid. Based on length, it is subdivided into 80 cm, 120 cm, 145 cm, 180 cm, 260 cm, 300 cm, and 450 cm. Based on end use, the market is subdivided into hospitals, ambulatory surgical centers, and research laboratories.
Based on material, guide wires are either solid steel or nitinol core wires or hybrids (solid core wire wrapped in a smaller wire coil or braid). Wires that have been coiled or braided are extremely flexible, pushable, and kink-resistant.
Nitinol wire, used by itself or braided with stainless steel, helps enhance elasticity and enables the wire to return to shape after navigating a curvy vessel segment. Guide wires often feature a floppy tip and a stiff body to allow for simple tip navigation, with the stiffer segment of the wire providing good pushability.
Recent Developments
Companies such as Abbott Laboratories, Integra LifeSciences, Boston Scientific Corp., Johnson & Johnson Pvt. Ltd., Medorah Meditek Pvt. Ltd., Cook Group, Cardinal Health, Medtronic Plc., Stryker Corp., ASAHI INTECC Co., Ltd., Advanced Life Science Pvt. Ltd., Becton, AngioDynamics, Inc., Dickinson & Co., and others are contributing to the market’s growth with their various activities, such as mergers, collaborations, and product launches. Some of the recent activities in the market include:
Approvals and New Product Launches
• In December 2022, Lepu Medical Technology Co. Ltd. announced that the National Medical Products Administration had approved the company’s disposable micro-guidewire. This micro-guidewire was permitted for fractional flow reserve (FFR) measurements during coronary angiography and interventional procedures in adult patients with coronary artery lesions.
• In September 2022, Edwards Lifesciences, an American medical technology company, received FDA clearance for the next generation of its Sapien 3 transcatheter aortic valve, which is furnished with materials that the firm believes will form the cornerstone of future heart valve implants.
• In March 2022, Guerbet, a global leader in medical imaging, announced plans to double its line of microcatheters and launch a new line of guide wires. The new guide wires are called Axessio guide wires and come in two diameters.
New Guide Wire Use and Company Expansions and Acquisitions
• In November 2022, OpSens Inc., a company that focuses on FFR (fractional flow reserve) measurement in interventional cardiology, announced that New Zealand’s Dr. Sanjeevan Pasupathi, director of structural heart disease and cardiovascular research at Hamilton's Waikato Hospital, and his team performed the first TAVR (transcatheter aortic valve replacement) procedure using the company’s SavvyWire. This was the first use of SavvyWire in New Zealand, dictating the company’s expansion in the new market after the US and Canada. According to the company, SavvyWire is the world's first and only sensor-guided TAVR system. It is the only technology that offers a three-in-one solution for stable aortic valve delivery and placement, continuous precise hemodynamic assessment during the surgery, and dependable left ventricular pacing without the use of adjunct devices or venous access.
• In September 2022, Basecamp Vascular (BCV), a French medtech startup, announced that its GECKO system, a Class 3 sterile, single-use steerable mechatronic guidewire designed to simplify catheter access and placement to reach the obstructive clot, was used in the first human case. The procedure using GECKO was conducted by Michel Piotin at the Foundation Rothschild Hospital in Paris, France. According to the company, GECKO was created to allow for speedier navigation and decrease problems, particularly in convoluted channels. The system is compatible with current catheters and image-guided platforms, and it can be used in any surgery that requires guidewire access, such as cardiovascular, urological, gynecological, oncological, and bariatric surgeries.
• In February 2022, Boston Scientific acquired Baylis Medical Firm, a company that provides sophisticated transseptal access solutions as well as guidewires, sheaths, and dilators used to assist catheter-based left-heart surgeries. The acquisition will allow Boston to combine the Baylis platforms with its present electrophysiology and structural heart services, according to the company.
Conclusion
The global market for guide wires is growing due to various factors. For instance, these wires offer greater flexibility in critical surgeries. Moreover, increasing neurovascular and cardiovascular diseases are also driving the market’s growth. According to the World Health Organization's report, 15 million people suffer a stroke each year, resulting in 17.9 million deaths in 2021, accounting for 32% of all CVD-related casualties globally. This necessitates the use of advanced guidewire technology for faster diagnosis and more accurate treatment of these problems. The market players are working on this and launching new guide wires with the latest technologies, resulting in high market growth. Due to all such reasons, according to OMR Research, the market is expected to grow at a CAGR of 4.9% during the forecast period (2023–2029).