SelectUSA Medical Technology Industry
Industry Overview
The United States remains the largest medical device market in the world. U.S. exports of medical exceeded $103 billion in 2023. The medical technology industry (commonly referred to as medical devices) consists of articles, instruments, apparatuses, or machines that are used in the prevention, diagnosis or treatment of illness or disease, or for detecting, measuring, restoring, correcting, or modifying the structure or function of the body for some health purpose. Typically, the purpose of a medical device is not achieved by pharmacological, immunological, or metabolic means.
The industry supports almost 2 million jobs in the United States directly and indirectly. Medical technology directly accounts for over 500,000 of these jobs. U.S. medical device companies are highly regarded globally for their innovative and high technology products. Compared to several other industries, the medical device industry invests a higher percentage of yearly revenues into product innovation, reflecting the competitive nature of the industry and constant innovation and improvement of existing technologies.
The medical device industry relies on several industries where the United States holds a competitive advantage, including microelectronics, telecommunications, instrumentation, biotechnology, and software development. Collaborations have led to recent advances including neuro-stimulators, stent technologies, biomarkers, robotic assistance, and implantable electronic devices. Since innovation fuels the medical device sector’s ongoing quest for better ways to treat and diagnose medical conditions, when coupled with patient life expectancy increasing and aging populations globally, the medical device sector should continue growing at a positive rate in the future.
The medical equipment and supplies manufacturing industry includes the following subsectors:
- Surgical and medical instruments: Includes anesthesia apparatuses, orthopedic instruments, optical diagnostic apparatuses, blood transfusion devices, syringes, hypodermic needles, and catheters.
- Surgical appliances and supplies: Includes artificial joints and limbs, stents, orthopedic appliances, surgical dressings, disposable surgical drapes, hydrotherapy appliances, surgical kits, rubber medical and surgical gloves, and wheelchairs.
- Dental equipment and supplies: Includes equipment, instruments, and supplies used by dentists, dental hygienists, and laboratories. Specific products include dental hand instruments, plaster, drills, amalgams, cements, sterilizers, and dental chairs.
The medical equipment and supplies manufacturing industry is comprised of 9,009 establishments across the United States as of 2022. In 2022, around 122,400 workers were employed by foreign-owned businesses in the medical equipment and supplies manufacturing industry.
The electronic instrument manufacturing includes the following subsectors:
- Electro-medical equipment: Includes a variety of powered devices, such as pacemakers, patient-monitoring systems, MRI machines, diagnostic imaging equipment (including informatics equipment), and ultrasonic scanning devices.
- Irradiation apparatuses: Includes X-ray devices and other diagnostic imaging, as well as computed tomography equipment.
As of 2022, there were 5,010 establishments in the electronic instrument manufacturing industry. According to the latest employment figures, over 432,000 workers were employed in the electronic instrument manufacturing industry in mid-2024.
Explore the impact of foreign direct investment on U.S. jobs, exports, and innovation in the medical technology industry.
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