The U.S. market for the medical sector is the largest and most sophisticated in the world. This market is expected to grow at a compound annual rate of 8% over the next three years. Of particular significance to the durable medical device market are the five following product areas: surgical equipment and instruments; diagnostic systems; general hospital technologies; therapeutic devices; and self care/rehabilitation products. The medical treatment fields having the greatest impact on durable medical devices across these five areas are cardiovascular, orthopedics, minimally invasive surgery and diagnostics.