sci/tech sensation news magazine

Nanotechnology has reached critical mass. Nowhere is this more evident than in medicine. Rising medical costs, demands for less-invasive procedures and pressures for immediate feedback of medical conditions, all point to nanotechnology as offering a new approach in healthcare. According to U.S. National Science Foundation estimates, by 2015 the annual global market for nano-related goods and services will top $1 trillion, thus making it one of the fastest-growing industries in history. Assuming that these figures prove to be accurate, nanotechnology will emerge as a larger economic force than the combined telecommunications and information technology industries at the beginning of the technology boom of the late 1990s. This report covers the specific segments of the medical nanotechnology markets, with particular emphasis on those segments where this emerging technology is or shows the potential to be most impactful.

Nanotechnology, a field of science and technology that aims to control matter at the atomic, molecular and macromolecular level, potentially has far-reaching and paradigm-shifting implications for biology, drug discovery and medical technologies. The discipline has already yielded healthcare discoveries that have been used for drug delivery and diagnostic purposes. In this study, we describe various nanotechnologies under development for biological and medical purposes and assess their potential. Moreover, this analysis is arranged to provide an overview of the regulatory issues faced by the medical nanotechnology industry and focuses on how specific segments within the industry are poised for high future growth.