Essay On Postoperative Hypothermia
2. Market Analysis
2.1. Characteristics of technologies and products for preventing and treating postoperative hypothermia
Due to some reasons, for example, exposure to cold operating room temperature, a patient will have the possibility of experiencing post-operative hypothermia. Hypothermia is a frequent occurrence during major surgical procedures (4) where body temperature falls below 36 degrees.
Major postoperative complications such as cardiac, arrhythmias, respiratory failure, sepsis, dehiscence, and death have been associated with hypothermia (5, 6). Studies have shown that there is a direct positive co-relationship between the duration of postoperative hypothermia and patient mortality (3). Thus it is important to prevent …show more content…
occurrence of hypothermia and reduce the duration of postoperative hypothermia. Since the occurrence is common with 60% to 80% postoperative recovery room patients clinically hypothermic and it is related to major complications (e.g. Death), this condition will be a serious concern for hospitals and medical specialists.
Various methods were utilized in hospitals to prevent or treat postoperative hypothermia. These methods includes heating pads, heating lamps, heated humidifiers, circulating-water mattresses, forced-air warming blankets, bags of warm intravenous fluids, and warm plastic bottles with pads (5). Other internal warming technologies are drug therapy, warmed intravenous fluid and inspiring heated and humidified air.
Although there are many ways for prevention and treatment, some of the methods are not so ideal in terms of efficiency, safety and cost effectiveness.
Comparison between technologies and products are shown in Table 1.
Table 1: Comparison between
Post-operative Hypothermia Technologies
Technologies Advantage Disadvantage Surface – Warming Technologies
Warmed Hospital Blanket - Simple
- Safe
- Inexpensive - Cool quickly
- Provide only insulation,
- Require patient's own body heat for regenerating warmth
Water Circulating - Encloses 85% to 90% of the surface area - Heavy, Expensive, cause burns on pressure points
Electric Blanket - Unacceptable due to risk of burns and explosion in areas
Thermal Drapes - Simple
- Safe
- Inexpensive - Merely insulates, do not transfer heat
- Only 60% surface area enclosed
Infrared Heating Lamps - Ideal for infant use
- Effective
- Illuminate the patient for observation or therapy - Skin needs to be exposed, modesty prevents widespread use among adults
- Heats up the entire recovery room
Partial Warm water immersion - Quick heat transfer
- Simple - Inconvenient to set up
- Requires close monitor which increases labor cost,
- Increase risk of bacteria growth
Increase Room temperature - Simple
- Inexpensive - Not acceptable to nurses and doctors
- Increase risk of infection
Air-Circulating Blankets and Mattress - Safe
- Lightweight
- Effective - Not widely found Internal – Warming Technologies
Inspiring heated and humidified air - Effective - Only applicable to intubated patients
- Increase risk of infection
Warmed intravenous fluid - Introduce warmth directly to circulatory system
- Effective - Requires very close monitoring and high physician involvement
Drug Therapy - Diminish the sensation of cold
- Reduce shivers
- Convenient - Do not increase body temperature,
- Slows down patients' recovery from anesthesia and surgery
From Figure 1, it could be seen that the market for technologies were not advanced enough to provide low cost, high efficient, safety treatment for postoperative hypothermia.
Method such as Drug Therapy is not very efficient as it does not completely solve the problem of hypothermia as it only diminish the sensation of cold and not increasing the body temperature. Furthermore, patients’ may get burnt due to excessive transfer of heat during the some other treatment (e.g. Water Circulating) while some technology required close monitoring by nurses and high physician involvement (e.g. Partial Warm Water Immersion). These decrease patients’ safety and increase labor cost respectively thus increasing risk and cost. Due to increase in temperature, risk of infection will be increase too.
There is a technology which satisfies all the above criteria. It is the Air-Circulating Blankets and Mattress. It has the least disadvantages comparatively to the other technologies. Air-Circulating Blankets and Mattress is the alternative option which also provides almost 100% surface area to increasing room temperature without the risk of infection if disposable blanket is used. However, this technology was not widely found.
2.2. Factors influencing the market potential for the Bair Hugger Patient Warming System
The factors that will influence the market potential are Availability of Substitute Goods, Sales and Marketing Efforts and Demand.
Availability of Substitute Goods
Competitors manufacture products using the same technology will largely influence the market potential for BHPWS as these products could become direct substitute goods.
Other than BHPWS, another 2 competitors were known to provide the same technology using air-circulation but different products for treatment of hypothermia. The first direct competitor was Hosworth-Climator which manufacture air-circulating mattress and could be distributed in the United States in 1988. The second competitor will be Sweetland Bed Warmer and Cast Dryer. However, they were no longer manufactured thus not affecting the market potential unless it was being manufactured again.
Competitors using other technologies will also influence the market potential. That will include the other surface-warming technologies and internal-warming technologies. Customers might choose to use other technologies based on other reasons such as price.
Lastly, undiscovered future technologies advances (e.g. Preoperative Infusion of Amino Acids)(8) which might happen anytime during the launch of BHPWS will also influence the market potential.
Sales and Marketing Effort
a. Pricing Strategies
Market potential is greatly influenced by pricing of goods.
Since there are substitute goods available, price will be the only factor of differentiation of products. Incompetent pricing comparatively with other competitors will lead to a decrease in market potential for BHPWS.
b. Marketing and Sales Communication
An effective marketing communication strategy and management will be able to influence the market potential. As mentioned in the article, respondents felt that “if the product performed as claimed and demonstrated, purchase was probably by at least one-half of the individuals interviewed” and “physicians wanted to confer with others who would be responsible for using the product to administer the warming treat”. These showed that effective communications will increase the market potential for BHPWS.
Demand
Since BHWPS is medical equipment for hypothermia, the demand for such equipments will be inelastic. The demand was determined by several factors which include the number of surgical operations, percentage of patients having hypothermia after surgical operations, number of hospitals and number of postoperative beds. All these factors are interlinked and formed the demand for hypothermic treatment
equipment.
The need of postoperative beds was derived from the number of surgical operations. In the case, it was mentioned that given the demand of postoperative beds the research firm estimated that hospitals with fewer than seven beds would not be highly receptive to BHPWS. This showed that the demand for such equipments will affect the market potential for BHPWS too.
The market potential for BHPWS disposable blanket will also depend on the number of surgical operations and the percentage of patients having hypothermia after surgical operations.
2.3. Estimated Potential Market Size
Potential Market size will be 2,776 heater/blower units and 11.76 million of disposable blanket per year. Steps to estimate the potential market size are illustrated in Table 2.
Table 2: Potential Market Size for BHPWS
1. Potential market size for Heater/blower units No. of Postoperative Beds Mid Point No. of Hospital Mid Point * No. of Hospital
0 0 1608 0
1 - 6 3.5 3602 #
7 – 11 9 1281 11529 Total No. of Postoperative beds in USA 31365
12 – 17 14.5 391 5669.5 From (a) 22210.5
18 – 22 20 135 2700 Remainder for Hospitals with
1- 6 beds 9154.5
23 – 28 25.5 47 1198.5 Quotient after division by the no. of Hospitals with 1- 6 beds 2.541505
(Within 1-6 beds range)
29 – 33 31.5 17 535.5
>33 34 17 578 Total Number of Postoperative Bed (a) 22210.5 ÷ 8^ Potential Market Size for Heater/ blower units 2776.313
# Hospital with fewer than seven beds would not be highly receptive to BHPWS
^ One system would be sold for every eight postoperative recovery room beds
2. Potential market size for disposable blanket
No. of Postoperative Beds No. of Hospital Estimated % of Surgical Operations Estimated No. of Surgical Operations
(millions) Estimated % of operations clinically proven hypothermia Estimated demand for disposable blankets
(millions)
0 1608 0 0 60 – 80%
(Mid Point of 70%) 0
1 - 6 3602 20 4.2 0#
7 – 11 1281 40 8.4 5.88
12 – 17 391 20 4.2 2.94
18 – 22 135 10 2.1 1.47
23 – 28 47 6 1.26 0.882
29 – 33 17 2 0.42 0.294
>33 17 2 0.42 0.294 Potential Market Size for Disposable Blankets 11.76
2.1. Characteristics of technologies and products for preventing and treating postoperative hypothermia
Due to some reasons, for example, exposure to cold operating room temperature, a patient will have the possibility of experiencing post-operative hypothermia. Hypothermia is a frequent occurrence during major surgical procedures (4) where body temperature falls below 36 degrees.
Major postoperative complications such as cardiac, arrhythmias, respiratory failure, sepsis, dehiscence, and death have been associated with hypothermia (5, 6). Studies have shown that there is a direct positive co-relationship between the duration of postoperative hypothermia and patient mortality (3). Thus it is important to prevent …show more content…
occurrence of hypothermia and reduce the duration of postoperative hypothermia. Since the occurrence is common with 60% to 80% postoperative recovery room patients clinically hypothermic and it is related to major complications (e.g. Death), this condition will be a serious concern for hospitals and medical specialists.
Various methods were utilized in hospitals to prevent or treat postoperative hypothermia. These methods includes heating pads, heating lamps, heated humidifiers, circulating-water mattresses, forced-air warming blankets, bags of warm intravenous fluids, and warm plastic bottles with pads (5). Other internal warming technologies are drug therapy, warmed intravenous fluid and inspiring heated and humidified air.
Although there are many ways for prevention and treatment, some of the methods are not so ideal in terms of efficiency, safety and cost effectiveness.
Comparison between technologies and products are shown in Table 1.
Table 1: Comparison between
Post-operative Hypothermia Technologies
Technologies Advantage Disadvantage Surface – Warming Technologies
Warmed Hospital Blanket - Simple
- Safe
- Inexpensive - Cool quickly
- Provide only insulation,
- Require patient's own body heat for regenerating warmth
Water Circulating - Encloses 85% to 90% of the surface area - Heavy, Expensive, cause burns on pressure points
Electric Blanket - Unacceptable due to risk of burns and explosion in areas
Thermal Drapes - Simple
- Safe
- Inexpensive - Merely insulates, do not transfer heat
- Only 60% surface area enclosed
Infrared Heating Lamps - Ideal for infant use
- Effective
- Illuminate the patient for observation or therapy - Skin needs to be exposed, modesty prevents widespread use among adults
- Heats up the entire recovery room
Partial Warm water immersion - Quick heat transfer
- Simple - Inconvenient to set up
- Requires close monitor which increases labor cost,
- Increase risk of bacteria growth
Increase Room temperature - Simple
- Inexpensive - Not acceptable to nurses and doctors
- Increase risk of infection
Air-Circulating Blankets and Mattress - Safe
- Lightweight
- Effective - Not widely found Internal – Warming Technologies
Inspiring heated and humidified air - Effective - Only applicable to intubated patients
- Increase risk of infection
Warmed intravenous fluid - Introduce warmth directly to circulatory system
- Effective - Requires very close monitoring and high physician involvement
Drug Therapy - Diminish the sensation of cold
- Reduce shivers
- Convenient - Do not increase body temperature,
- Slows down patients' recovery from anesthesia and surgery
From Figure 1, it could be seen that the market for technologies were not advanced enough to provide low cost, high efficient, safety treatment for postoperative hypothermia.
Method such as Drug Therapy is not very efficient as it does not completely solve the problem of hypothermia as it only diminish the sensation of cold and not increasing the body temperature. Furthermore, patients’ may get burnt due to excessive transfer of heat during the some other treatment (e.g. Water Circulating) while some technology required close monitoring by nurses and high physician involvement (e.g. Partial Warm Water Immersion). These decrease patients’ safety and increase labor cost respectively thus increasing risk and cost. Due to increase in temperature, risk of infection will be increase too.
There is a technology which satisfies all the above criteria. It is the Air-Circulating Blankets and Mattress. It has the least disadvantages comparatively to the other technologies. Air-Circulating Blankets and Mattress is the alternative option which also provides almost 100% surface area to increasing room temperature without the risk of infection if disposable blanket is used. However, this technology was not widely found.
2.2. Factors influencing the market potential for the Bair Hugger Patient Warming System
The factors that will influence the market potential are Availability of Substitute Goods, Sales and Marketing Efforts and Demand.
Availability of Substitute Goods
Competitors manufacture products using the same technology will largely influence the market potential for BHPWS as these products could become direct substitute goods.
Other than BHPWS, another 2 competitors were known to provide the same technology using air-circulation but different products for treatment of hypothermia. The first direct competitor was Hosworth-Climator which manufacture air-circulating mattress and could be distributed in the United States in 1988. The second competitor will be Sweetland Bed Warmer and Cast Dryer. However, they were no longer manufactured thus not affecting the market potential unless it was being manufactured again.
Competitors using other technologies will also influence the market potential. That will include the other surface-warming technologies and internal-warming technologies. Customers might choose to use other technologies based on other reasons such as price.
Lastly, undiscovered future technologies advances (e.g. Preoperative Infusion of Amino Acids)(8) which might happen anytime during the launch of BHPWS will also influence the market potential.
Sales and Marketing Effort
a. Pricing Strategies
Market potential is greatly influenced by pricing of goods.
Since there are substitute goods available, price will be the only factor of differentiation of products. Incompetent pricing comparatively with other competitors will lead to a decrease in market potential for BHPWS.
b. Marketing and Sales Communication
An effective marketing communication strategy and management will be able to influence the market potential. As mentioned in the article, respondents felt that “if the product performed as claimed and demonstrated, purchase was probably by at least one-half of the individuals interviewed” and “physicians wanted to confer with others who would be responsible for using the product to administer the warming treat”. These showed that effective communications will increase the market potential for BHPWS.
Demand
Since BHWPS is medical equipment for hypothermia, the demand for such equipments will be inelastic. The demand was determined by several factors which include the number of surgical operations, percentage of patients having hypothermia after surgical operations, number of hospitals and number of postoperative beds. All these factors are interlinked and formed the demand for hypothermic treatment
equipment.
The need of postoperative beds was derived from the number of surgical operations. In the case, it was mentioned that given the demand of postoperative beds the research firm estimated that hospitals with fewer than seven beds would not be highly receptive to BHPWS. This showed that the demand for such equipments will affect the market potential for BHPWS too.
The market potential for BHPWS disposable blanket will also depend on the number of surgical operations and the percentage of patients having hypothermia after surgical operations.
2.3. Estimated Potential Market Size
Potential Market size will be 2,776 heater/blower units and 11.76 million of disposable blanket per year. Steps to estimate the potential market size are illustrated in Table 2.
Table 2: Potential Market Size for BHPWS
1. Potential market size for Heater/blower units No. of Postoperative Beds Mid Point No. of Hospital Mid Point * No. of Hospital
0 0 1608 0
1 - 6 3.5 3602 #
7 – 11 9 1281 11529 Total No. of Postoperative beds in USA 31365
12 – 17 14.5 391 5669.5 From (a) 22210.5
18 – 22 20 135 2700 Remainder for Hospitals with
1- 6 beds 9154.5
23 – 28 25.5 47 1198.5 Quotient after division by the no. of Hospitals with 1- 6 beds 2.541505
(Within 1-6 beds range)
29 – 33 31.5 17 535.5
>33 34 17 578 Total Number of Postoperative Bed (a) 22210.5 ÷ 8^ Potential Market Size for Heater/ blower units 2776.313
# Hospital with fewer than seven beds would not be highly receptive to BHPWS
^ One system would be sold for every eight postoperative recovery room beds
2. Potential market size for disposable blanket
No. of Postoperative Beds No. of Hospital Estimated % of Surgical Operations Estimated No. of Surgical Operations
(millions) Estimated % of operations clinically proven hypothermia Estimated demand for disposable blankets
(millions)
0 1608 0 0 60 – 80%
(Mid Point of 70%) 0
1 - 6 3602 20 4.2 0#
7 – 11 1281 40 8.4 5.88
12 – 17 391 20 4.2 2.94
18 – 22 135 10 2.1 1.47
23 – 28 47 6 1.26 0.882
29 – 33 17 2 0.42 0.294
>33 17 2 0.42 0.294 Potential Market Size for Disposable Blankets 11.76