The global medical device market will reap $312 billion in revenues in 2011 according to estimates from Kalorama Information, a life sciences market research provider in New York. In a new report, “The Global Market for Medical Devices” (purchase required), Kalorama cites growing health care-related demands in emerging markets, cost pressures to reduce hospital stays as well as aging demographics in many regions as key drivers of industry growth. Categories of medical devices aimed at shortening hospitalization timeframes—patient monitoring, oxygen systems and home dialysis among them—were identified as particularly crucial to the industry’s growth trajectory. While the industry as a whole is expected to grow at a rate of four to six percent over the next few years, Kalorama believes the lion’s share of new revenues will be captured by the thirty largest medical device companies, including Medtronic, Siemens and Johnson & Johnson. Emergo’s Take: Kalorama’s estimates seem reasonable, provided there are no major economic hiccups—i.e., Spain—on the horizon significant enough to push broader markets back into recession. That’s a big provision.