The American Heart Association-sponsored conference in Nashville featured late-breaking presentations of data from several major neurointerventional device trials as well as meta-analysis and pooled results confirming the benefits of endovascular intervention in several difficult-to-treat populations of stroke patients.

The treatment of acute ischemic stroke and brain aneurysms is rapidly evolving. New transcatheter devices and adjuvant imaging promising to improve outcomes and reduce the burden of neurovascular disease. However, to really spur this market, long-term, large-scale clinical trials are needed.

Innovation is driving double-digit growth in the neurointerventional device market as an increasing number of medical device manufacturers develop newer, more effective devices for treating acute ischemic stroke. As new, stent-like retrieval systems and other next-generation neurothrombectomy devices hit the US market in the next few years, competition in this sector will also heat up as manufacturers try to differentiate their devices and jockey for a piece of the market, which is projected to reach almost $70 million by 2015.