Respiratory air conditioning devices artificially modifies air for its humidity content and temperature before it is inhaled by the patient. Respiratory humidifier serves the essential functions of respiratory gas conditioning required for the sensitive lungs. This device plays an important role in patients whose natural respiratory humidification and warming fails. This may lead to worsening of pulmonary infections and damage of lung tissues. Therefore, respiratory humidifier artificially warms and humidifies the air to be inhaled by the patients. Inhalation of dry and cold air by patients with compromised respiratory function may lead to the formation of thick mucus, which will affect the functioning of cilia and swelling of mucous membrane, blockage of air passages, and congestion of secretion in the respiratory apparatus. Respiratory heaters are useful to avoid these complications. These systems are utilized in both invasive and non-invasive ventilation and provides the physiological temperature of 37°C with the optimum of 100% relative humidity. Respiratory heaters are attached to the nebulizer system externally to provide controlled warming of the air for inhalation either through cannula or tracheotomy.

Market Dynamics

Increasing prevalence of respiratory diseases such as asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), and bronchitis, and sometimes death of patients due to respiratory diseases are expected to drive growth of the respiratory air conditioning devices market. According to the World Health Organization (WHO) factsheet published in May 2018, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and lower respiratory tract infection are amongst the top five chronic diseases that causes highest number of global death. There were around 3 million deaths due to chronic obstructive pulmonary disease in 2016. Lower respiratory tract infection also causes around 3 million deaths worldwide. Worsening of this disease leads to acute respiratory failure. Managing these diseases require the support of respiratory humidifiers and heaters, in order to avoid further complications and infections due to unconditioned air. According to a study published in the New England Journal of Medicine in 2015, heated humidifier therapy has shown to improve patient outcomes and reduce mortality rates compared to non-invasive ventilation and standard oxygen therapy. Therefore, these factors are expected to boost growth of the global respiratory air conditioning devices market. New product launches would further propel the market demand for respiratory air conditioning devices. For instance, in October 2015, Teleflex launched Hudson RCI Comfort Flo plus High Flow Nasal Cannula, which expands the company’s portfolio of heated high flow nasal cannula therapy (HFNCT) solutions.

Regional Insights

On the basis of region, the global respiratory air conditioning devices market is segmented into North America, Latin America, Europe, Asia Pacific, Middle East, and Africa. North America is projected to account for highest market share in the respiratory air conditioning devices market. This is due to the high prevalence of respiratory diseases such as asthma and COPD in the region. According to a statistics given by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in April 2018, 1 in 13 people in the U.S. suffer from asthma, which accounts for around 25 million people suffering from asthma out of which 7.6% are adults and 8.4% are children. Asia Pacific is expected to provide lucrative opportunities for the respiratory air conditioning devices market, owing to rising incidences of respiratory disorders due to polluted air and unhygienic living conditions.

Competitive Landscape

Some of the key players operating in the global respiratory air conditioning devices market include Becton and Dickinson Corporation, Teleflex, Inc., WILAmed GmbH, ARMSTRONG MEDICAL, Respicare DME, Inc., GREAT GROUP MEDICAL CO., LTD., and Medline Industries, Inc.

Companies are entering into agreement with healthcare providers for the supply of respiratory heaters to expand their market presence and increase revenue. For instance, in December 2017, Teleflex Inc. signed a group purchasing agreement with HealthTrust (supply chain organization for hospitals) to supply respiratory heaters & accessories to partner hospitals of HealthTrust. Under this agreement, the entire range of active humidification, non-invasive ventilation, and high flow nasal cannula therapy products would be supplied to HealthTrust, which covers around 400 member hospitals across the U.S.

Market Taxonomy

On the basis of device type, the global respiratory air conditioning devices market is segmented into: