About 20 million Americans undergo surgery with general anesthesia each year.” July 20, 2005 Los Angeles Times http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/05201/540318.stm Stanford School of Medicine http://chppcor.stanford.edu/news/gaba_discusses_longterm_risks_of_anesthesia_surgery_in_la_times_article_20050708/ Annually 25 to 30 million patients are anesthetized in the United States. Source: FOUNDATION FOR ANESTHESIA EDUCATION AND RESEARCH MEDICAL STUDENT ANESTHESIA RESEARCH FELLOWSHIP 2006 Host Departments and Projects http://faer.org/files/FAER_MSARF_2006_Host_Departments.pdf?PHPSESSID=cbb31db42777a2cd1bbf1da383cc0d79 “An estimated 20 million patients undergo surgery with general anesthesia every year in the U.S. alone.” Aspect Medical http://www.aspectmedical.com/patients/information/default.mspx “In the USA alone over 53 million patients undergo surgical procedures each year. Despite most patients receiving pain medication, 50-75% of patients report that they experience inadequate pain control (Datamonitor). Pain is the most commonly reported reason for readmission to hospital within 30 days of discharge or for admission directly after surgery. There is a substantial opportunity for novel and innovative medicines to expand and segment this developing market.” Vernalis: Post Operative Pain: V1003 http://www.vernalis.com/ver/rdc2/pain/v1003/ “The National Institute of Health (NIH) estimates there are 50 million cases of chronic pain and 30 million cases of acute and post-operative pain in the U.S. annually, which cost $100 billion. This market is expected to grow significantly as the baby boomer generation ages” Biowave http://www.biowave.com/market.html FROM: http://answers.google.com/answers/threadview?id=759999