Blood Pressure Monitors IMPROVED TECHNOLOGY, SUCH as automatically inflating monitors, has helped blood pressure monitor manufacturers produce more user-friendly products. As a result, the aver-age retail prices of these products have increased by more than 10 percent in recent years.

"We have seen prices rise during the past three years," says John Winegardner, marketing manager for blood pressure at Omron Healthcare. "And it's because consumers have been willing to spend more to have products with better technology that are easier to use."

Three types of blood pressure monitors are available: manual, automatic and wrist. While the cheaper, lower-end manual units are the traditional method of taking blood pressure, the growing trend has been toward automatic monitors, manufacturers say.

Currently worth about $155 million, the market could rise to $500 million over the next five years, manufacturers predict. They add that it's virtually untapped with great potential for growth. Even though 50 to 60 million people in the United States have been diagnosed with hypertension, retailers sell only 3 million units annually. The challenge in overcoming this gap, according to manufacturers, is education.

"There's a lot of education that needs to take place both to the consumer about how easy it is to use these products and to the health professional about how taking blood pressure readings once every few months is not enough," says Winegardner. "We must encourage those patients with hypertension and those at risk to monitor their blood pressure by themselves."

Glucose Monitors WITH MORE THAN 17 million diabetics in the United States, in addition to an average of 2,200 new cases of diabetes diagnosed daily, the glucose monitor market is continuously growing. Currently estimated at $1 billion, it should be worth around $3 billion within the next couple of years, manufacturers say.

To measure their blood glucose levels, diabetics have primarily used test strips that require a droplet of blood drawn from the finger. That means the average patient gets only a couple of glucose readings per day. But some manufacturers have developed technologies that enable diabetics to continually monitor their glucose levels.

"The trend is away from finger pricking two or three times a day, which is woefully inadequate as far as giving a thorough picture of how a diabetic is doing in terms of glucose levels," says Ray Hoese, senior manager of marketing communications at MiniMed Inc.

Some manufacturers also believe that patients should have more information that will give them a better overall picture about their condition.

"The challenge in the marketplace is to make people realize that the sheer act of testing is not enough and that they can't just stop there," says David Kelemen, vice president of marketing at LXN, which specializes in diabetes products, including one that tests not only blood glucose but also glycated protein. "We've got to help people get the level of information that is meaningful and to have them act on it if necessary."

Peak Flow Meters IN ADDITION TO the 15 million asthmatics in the United States, close to one-third of whom are children, the number of those suffering serious complications from asthma has grown by about 40 percent during the past 10 years, according to New York-based Theta Reports.

That has prompted the American Thoracic Society to write asthma treatment guidelines-including a recommendation that patients with moderate to severe cases of asthma monitor their condition daily with peak flow meters.

"Pulmonologists, thoracic physicians and allergy specialists had been driving at a more aggressive approach to treating asthma," says Del Kjos, senior product manager at Hudson RCI. "They wrote these guidelines that have had a positive impact on the peak flow meter market."

But clinicians must still get their patients to use peak flow meters and also to keep track of the results. In an effort to help improve patient compliance, some manufacturers see a movement away from the traditional mechanical devices to more electronic ones. They will automatically store a patient's data and then transmit this data over phone lines to the doctor's office.

"By using electronic devices," says Jon McLellan, product marketing manager for spirometry devices at Mallinckrodt Inc., "physicians will then only have to deal with getting their patients to use the device, as opposed to dealing with getting them to not only use the device but also document the outcome."

Pulse Oximeters BECAUSE PULSE OXIMETERS can monitor a number of diseases, such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, sleep disorder breathing and asthma, the market for these devices is expected to flourish, experts say.

"This market segment has a tremendous amount of growth potential, given the underlying base of respiratory patients moving from the critical care environment to the home care environment," says John Miclot, president of the home care division at Respironics Inc.

Several trends have emerged in this market, including smaller and more compact units, says Thomas McClory, director of medical sales at respiratory product manufacturer MSA.

Another trend, manufacturers say, is being able to access patient data directly from oximetry studies without having to make home visits.

Diabetics may soon have additional ways to monitor their blood glucose levels.

Technical Chemicals & Products is completing the clinical trials for its TD Glucose monitoring system, the results of which the Food and Drug Administration will review. The noninvasive system uses a skin patch placed on the forearm. After five minutes, the diabetic holds up to the patch an electronic meter that produces a glucose level reading.

An FDA advisory committee in December recommended approval for the GlucoWatch monitor manufactured by Cygnus Inc. After an initial finger-stick blood glucose measurement for calibration, the wrist monitor can provide up to three noninvasive glucose measurements per hour for 12 hours by using electric currents to extract fluid and glucose samples from under the skin, the manufacturer says. The company has already received the European Community's CE Certificate, which is necessary to sell products in the EC.-R.P.

The obsession with good health and living a healthful lifestyle has affected the blood pressure monitor market. While most users are hypertensives diagnosed by physicians, another emerging market segment involves those who are health conscious and want to be involved in managing their own health, manufacturers say.

"The trend that we have actually seen is a decline in the age of our customer base," says John Winegardner of Omron Healthcare. "We have been seeing more users of blood pressure monitors trying to take charge of their health and practice more preventive medicine."-R.P.

EXPERTS INTERVIEWED: David Ballantyne, director of sales and marketing, Spirometrics Medical Equipment, Gray, Maine; Cheryl Bogardus, director of marketing, Respironics HealthScan Asthma & Allergy Products, Cedar Grove, N.J.; Lynne Brown, director of national sales, Home Diagnostics, Fort Lauderdale, Fla.; Craig Carlson, chief financial officer, Cygnus Inc., Redwood City, Calif.; Kim Golden, product manager, Novametrix, Wallingford, Conn.; Howard Goldman, vice president of investor relations and corporate communications, Technical Chemicals & Products, Fort Lauderdale, Fla.; Steve Hibbard, director of marketing, A&D Medical, Milpitas, Calif.; Ray Hoese, senior manager of marketing communications, MiniMed Inc., Sylmar, Calif.; Robert Jacobson, vice president and general manager of medical products division, AirSep Corp., Buffalo, N.Y.; David Kelemen, vice president of marketing, LXN, San Diego; Del Kjos, senior product manager, Hudson RCI, Temecula, Calif.; Roy Kniveton, non-hospital marketing manager for Nellcor oximetry business, Mallinckrodt Inc., Pleasanton, Calif.; Thomas McClory, director of medical sales, MSA, Cranberry Township, Pa.; Jon McLellan, product marketing manager for spirometry devices, Mallinckrodt Inc., St. Louis; John Miclot, president of home care division, Respironics, Pittsburgh; John Winegardner, marketing manager for blood pressure, Omron Healthcare, Vernon Hills, Ill.; Stuart Wildhorn, director of business development, Datex-Ohmeda, Louisville, Colo.; Peter Winocur, president of Labtron and Grafsco products, Graham-Field Health Products, Bay Shore, N.Y.