The global market for minimally invasive weight loss devices is expected to grow to $290m by 2021, a CAGR of 16%, driven in large part by the rising obesity epidemic and associated Type 2 diabetes. Meddevicetracker expects that enhancements and innovations, particularly in the growing intragastric balloon market, and emerging technologies by smaller companies, will lead the growth in the overall weight loss devices market. In this feature, we'll take a closer look at the overall market and regional landscape and take a deep dive into the fastest-growing intragastric balloon segment, providing key insights from a bariatric surgeon on the pros and cons of these technologies.

Nearly half of the world’s adult population will be overweight or obese by 2030 and obesity is tied to more than 40 diseases. Enterprising companies are heeding the call with increasingly less invasive weight loss devices, while an amenable regulatory environment means the marketplace will welcome some of these innovations in 2015.

The dynamics of the medical device innovation ecosystem, which has long been US focused, are shifting to create a more global environment. Here, PricewaterhouseCoopers introduces its Medical Technology Innovation Scorecard - to be unveiled later this fall - that evaluates the innovative capacity and capabilities of nine countries, all current or emerging leaders in medical technology, in order to track global shifts in device innovation.

A record-breaking attendance at 2010's meeting of the American Society for Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery marked the growing interest in new ways to address the issue of obesity. Currently, less than 1% of a potential US patient population of 15 million who might benefit from bariatric surgery actually undergo the procedure, and surgeons are scrambling to understand why and to identify new, less invasive approaches that might help them better penetrate this enormous patient pool.