The operating environment for medical technology companies becomes more complex, competitive and costly every year. There is no expectation that 2022 will buck that trend, even as the medtech sector prepares for a third year of working under conditions shaped by the COVID-19 pandemic.

The operating environment for medical technology companies becomes more complex, competitive and costly every year. There is no expectation that 2022 will buck that trend, even as the medtech sector prepares for a third year of working under conditions shaped by the COVID-19 pandemic.

The rising aging population and ever-increasing incidences of glaucoma and cataract are clearing a bright path for the ophthalmic surgical products market, which is expected to reach $9.4bn by 2021, a CAGR of 4.6% from 2016. Meddevicetracker expects that continued innovation in minimally invasive technologies and next-generation surgical systems, developed by giants like Alcon and smaller rivals, will address the need of hundreds of millions of people suffering from cataract and glaucoma, the two leading causes of blindness globally. In this feature, we'll take a closer look at the overall market and the key players in the individual segments of surgical systems, surgical instruments and IOLs. We'll take a deep dive into the smallest, yet fastest-growing MIGS devices segment and talk to surgeons about how they're transforming glaucoma management for their patients.

According to a recent Medtech Insight report, the US market for ophthalmic surgical systems totaled almost $1.7 billion in 2013, and is expected to experience healthy – if moderate – growth over the next five years, reaching an estimated $2.26 billion by 2018.