The cardiology sector, long known as one of the most innovative in medtech, has a new wave of technologies on the horizon that could help reinvigorate the sector and create new multibillion-dollar market opportunities for device manufacturers. We take a closer look at these technologies, which include vagal nerve stimulation, remote monitoring for heart failure, as well as innovation in the percutaneous coronary intervention space, all of which were all in the spotlight at the recent European Society of Cardiology Congress 2014 in Barcelona.

Manufacturers are finding it harder to innovate in the vascular interventional devices as market and regulatory pressures take their toll. New coronary drug-eluting stents face a difficult challenge with the high bar now set by existing devices, and there have been several recent disappointments in renal denervation, drug-coated balloons, and renal artery stenting; still there are some promising areas, with bioresorbable stents offering perhaps the best prospect among vascular therapies for future blockbuster status.

Manufacturers are finding it harder to innovate in the vascular interventional device arena as market and regulatory pressures take their toll. New coronary drug-eluting stents face a difficult challenge with the high bar now set by existing devices, and there have been several recent disappointments in the areas of renal denervation, drug-coated balloons, and renal artery stenting; still there are areas of opportunity that continue to look promising, with bioresorbable stents offering perhaps the best prospect among vascular therapies for future blockbuster status.