Medical Devices, Diagnostics and Labs

Medical technology covers everything from tongue depressors to surgical robots, from glucose sensors to MRI scanners and the clinical laboratories that run billions of tests a year. The products differ, but the business questions are the same: how a product gets through the FDA (or a European notified body), who agrees to pay for it and under which code, who inside a hospital decides to buy it, and whether revenue comes once (capital) or keeps coming (consumables, service, tests). The best medtech franchises, such as Intuitive Surgical's da Vinci and the continuous glucose monitors from Dexcom and Abbott, lock in recurring revenue tied to procedures or patients. The worst failures, from Theranos to the Philips Respironics recall, show what happens when the evidence or the quality system does not hold. This section covers device business models, regulatory pathways, coverage and payment, the hospital buyer, diagnostics and labs, and imaging.