Medical Sensors Market Analysis, By Product (Pressure Sensors, Temperature Sensors, Image Sensors, Accelerometers, Biosensors, Flow Sensors, SQUID Sensors), By Application Area (Surgical, Diagnostic, Therapeutic, Monitoring), By End-use (Hospitals, Physician Offices, Nursing Homes, Home Healthcare) And Segment Forecasts To 2024

Industry Insights

The global medical sensors market size was valued at USD 9.4 billion in 2015. The market is primarily driven by the increasing demand for medical sensors in the therapeutic and diagnostic sectors. The medical sensors monitor vital physiological parameters and provide alerts to the healthcare professionals when critical deviations are recorded in the vital signs. This ultimately improves the quality of care provided to patients by avoiding unnecessary complications. Hence, the demand for various medical sensors is rising owing to their huge number of applications in measuring and detecting a wide range of parameters and analytes, respectively.

The healthcare IoT (Internet of Things) sector is booming with wearable devices playing an important role in this industry. These medical sensors enable the monitoring of vital signs, such as patient temperature and blood pressure that are directly recorded in the electronic format.

North America medical sensors market share, by product, 2013 - 2024 (USD Million)

Additionally, the escalating burden of chronic disorders as well as, the worldwide, surging geriatric population count has consequently propelled the demand for this equipment. Chronically ill patients and the large elderly population subset form the target population for the sensor-based devices as it is imperative for them to undergo routine checkups; thus, facilitating remote and point-of-care patient monitoring.

Additionally, the demand for home healthcare devices, such as pregnancy kits and glucose monitoring kits, is increasing due to their cost-effectiveness and the easy operability of these products.

Product Insights

Key product segments analyzed in this report are pressure, temperature, image, accelerometers, biosensors, flow, and Superconducting Quantum Interference Devices (SQUID) sensors. The biosensors segment is further sub-segmented into cholesterol, blood glucose testing, pregnancy testing, drug discovery, and infectious diseases sensors.

In 2015, biosensors dominated the medical sensors market and are anticipated to grow further over the forecast period because of their increased applicability in the laboratories and the home healthcare section. The use of diagnostic kits including glucose monitoring has significantly increased owing to the soaring diabetic population.

Application Insights

The medical sensors market, based on application areas is segmented into surgical, diagnostic, therapeutic, and monitoring. The surgical application area segment is expected to dominate over the forecast period.

The therapeutic and the monitoring segments are estimated to flourish at a profitable rate over the forecast period as a consequence of the technological advancements in the medical sensors that have rendered these products highly reliable and specific in their measuring capabilities. New easy-to-operate monitoring devices are being introduced, which deliver highly accurate results in less time.

End-use Insights

The end-use segment comprises hospitals, physician offices, nursing homes, home healthcare, and other settings including ambulatory care. The hospitals segment accounted for a significant market share in 2015. Greater financing capabilities, high patient volumes, and the availability of adequate staff contributed to the dominance of this segment in the industry.

The home healthcare category is anticipated to witness lucrative growth over the forecast period. The cost of diagnosis in hospitals and other healthcare units is high; hence, the preference for home healthcare equipment, such as diagnostic kits, over hospitals is observed to be rising. These cost-effective diagnostic kits are easy-to-operate and deliver fast results. As per the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the frequency of home-based tests is expected to surge on account of the introduction of user-friendly diagnostic kits, which translates into further growth of the home healthcare category.

Regional Insights

The availability of sophisticated primary, secondary, and tertiary-care healthcare settings supported the growth in the North American market. Moreover, the well-established reimbursement network, suitable government funding, and increasing health awareness further facilitate the incorporation of the sensors in medical devices.

The Asia Pacific region is anticipated to witness a remunerative growth over the forecast period. This can be attributed to the heightened number of individuals suffering from chronic disorders, such as diabetes, hypertension, and respiratory problems.

According to the International Diabetes Federation, around 382 million people were diagnosed with diabetes globally and it is estimated that about 175 million cases were left undiagnosed. Hence, the high-unmet needs of the huge target population are expected to further open avenues for the market players in the industry.

Competitive Market Share Insights

Some key players operating in the medical sensors market include Analog Devices, Inc., Avago Technologies Ltd., Danaher Corporation, GE Measurement & Control Solutions, Inc., Honeywell International, Inc., Stellar technologies, Inc., OmniVision Technologies, Inc., Senserion AG, TE Connectivity Ltd., Micro-Epsilon Messtechnik GmbH Co. & KG, and NXP Semiconductors N.V.

New product launches and collaborative developments are the key strategic endeavors undertaken in this industry to sustain a competitive advantage. For instance, the Thermopile Infrared digital sensor by TE Connectivity Ltd. is a temperature sensor that measures temperature without physical contact and displays the results in the digital format.