CHAGRIN FALLS, Ohio, June 24 /PRNewswire/ -- Renowned orthopaedic industry expert, Shirley A. Engelhardt, kicked off the 5th Annual Orthopaedic Manufacturing & Technology Exposition and Conference (OMTEC), reminding attendees that 6.5 billion people on the planet will one day need orthopaedic care.

"By our estimates, each year between now and 2020, some 167 million people worldwide could encounter an orthopaedic problem that can be fixed by our industry," said Mrs. Engelhardt. "Population demographics are playing well into the orthopaedic hand, with the over-65 group growing four times faster than the population overall." However, and quite interestingly, Mrs. Engelhardt went on to point out that a robust potential for growth lies in the 4.4 billion people under the age of 40. "There is no discounting the thousands of procedures required by aging Boomers, but there are twice as many people under the age of 40 who will be choosing orthopaedic treatment over the next several decades."

Mrs. Engelhardt remains bullish about orthopaedics, but not unrealistic. She admits, "We've seen some slowdown in capital equipment purchases, and hospital admissions have fallen in some areas due to patients postponing elective surgeries. Spinal fusion and joint replacement may be delayed, but patients can't deny themselves quality of life forever." Furthermore, she continued, "Fractures will still require repair, as will torn rotator cuffs and ACLs."

Mrs. Engelhardt's standing-room-only address went on to predict market growth by procedures, price and mix and segment. "Even if the market's growth slows to 3%, 2009 revenues will reach $36.8BB, an incremental $1.1BB. Not too shabby."

A bulk of Mrs. Engelhardt's presentation data will be contained in THE ORTHOPAEDIC INDUSTRY ANNUAL REPORT, scheduled for release in mid-July from ORTHOWORLD. To learn more about Shirley Engelhardt and OMTEC, visit www.orthoworld.com.

    ORTHOWORLD Inc.
    Julie A. Vetalice
    Editor, Information Products
    julie@orthoworld.com
    440.543.2101

Founded in 1992, ORTHOWORLD is the only publisher in the world solely focused on the global orthopaedic market. Its singular mission is helping orthopaedic companies and individuals achieve their growth directives.

SOURCE ORTHOWORLD Inc.

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