Billion-dollar future seen for medical technology

New Zealand's medical technology sector could be worth $1 billion annually within the next five years, an industry group says.

Angela Pantano, business development manager of the Medical Technology Association of New Zealand (MTANZ), says the sector is three to five years away from becoming a $1 billion industry.

The association says total Kiwi exports in medical technology are worth $510 million annually, and have been growing at a rate of 16 per cent a year.

MTANZ said total New Zealand wine exports for last year were $900 million.

Pantano said most New Zealanders would be surprised to learn the scale of the sector, and Fisher & Paykel Healthcare was one of the few well-known Kiwi providers of medical technology.

"If we continue to develop that funnel, then we can hopefully grow a couple of other Fisher & Paykels onshore," she said.

The sector will be the subject of a conference to be opened by the Government's chief science adviser, Sir Peter Gluckman, in Auckland tomorrow.

Pantano said Prime Minister John Key's recent indication that the Government would invest more in scientific research was a positive sign for the industry's future.

"We're really happy that we've got the endorsement from central Government, and it really shows that there is a push for the high-tech industries."

The fact that populations around the world were ageing rapidly, Pantano said, was another favourable factor for the sector.

She said medical technology was a crucial part of preventive medicine, which decreased the burden on healthcare and the wider economy.

"When you look at overall cost, and the fact that you're now having people in hospital for one or two days, where it used to be a week, and people are back to work within a week, the efficiencies [of medical technology] are remarkable."

One New Zealand company exporting high-tech medical products to the world is Christchurch-based ARANZ Medical. Over the past four to five years it has developed the Silhouette - a digital machine that captures a 3D picture of a wound, and allows doctors and nurses to measure its area, depth and volume and track the healing process over successive doctor's visits.

ARANZ Medical's chief executive, Bruce Davey, said the silhouette had gained regulatory clearance in the United States, Europe, Australia and Canada.

"It's now being used in around 19 or 20 different countries around the world."