In its latest report, Transparency Market Research (www.transparencymarketresearch.com) states that the global wearable medical devices market was worth US$2 billion in 2012, and is estimated to be worth $5.8 billion by 2019. The research group’s study also indicates that the global wearable medical devices market will register a CAGR [compound annual growth rate] of 16.4% during the forecast period of 2013 to 2019.
Geographically, the wearable medical devices market has been dominated by North America, leading the overall market in 2012 with a global industry share of 44%. Asia-Pacific, on the other hand, is anticipated to be the fastest-growing regional market for wearable medical devices, presenting a more than 18% CAGR from 2013 to 2019.
Emerging economies such as India and China have been witnessing an increase in medical investments and an improvement in healthcare infrastructure. The region also has huge amounts of research facilities that are yet to be tapped. Over and above this, there has been a surge in awareness with regard to sports and fitness, thereby propelling the wearable medical devices market in the Asia-Pacific region.
The wearable medical devices market has been categorized by Transparency Market Research on the basis of product types, application, and geography. The key applications of wearable medical devices include home healthcare, remote patient monitoring, and sports and fitness. In terms of product type, the wearable medical devices market is bifurcated into diagnostic wearable medical devices and therapeutic wearable medical devices.
The diagnostic wearable medical devices segment is further divided into neuromonitoring devices, fetal and obstetric devices, and vital signs monitoring. The therapeutic wearable medical devices segment is also further categorized into respiratory therapy devices, insulin/glucose monitoring, and pain management. Globally, the wearable medical devices market covers four key regions: Europe, North America, Asia-Pacific, and Rest of the World.
The Transparency Market Research research report attributes the growth of the global wearable medical devices market to the presence of a large number of innovators and a widely-accepting audience, emerging economies, surge in per capita income in developing countries, availability of easy-to-use-and-interpret wearable medical devices, and rising incidences of diabetes and chronic pain. In contrast, reimbursement issues and high cost of wearable medical devices is expected to pose a challenge to the growth of the market.