Surgical Instrument Tracking Systems Market Size, Share & Trends Analysis Report By Product (Hardware, Software, Services), By Technology (Barcodes, RFID), By End-use, By Region, And Segment Forecasts, 2021 - 2028

Report Overview

The global surgical instrument tracking systems market size was valued at USD 172.2 million in 2020 and is expected to expand at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 11.2% from 2021 to 2028. This growth is driven by the need to automatically track critical equipment such as surgical instruments, comply with the FDA UDI program, ensure the right tools are available in time for each surgical procedure, and improve patient outcomes. Surgical instrument tracking systems facilitate automatic identification of medical devices including instruments to adhere to the U.S. FDA's new Unique Device Identification (UDI) tracking requirements. As the number of devices falling under UDI will keep expanding, it is expected to fuel the demand for solutions that enable compliance such as surgical instrument tracking systems.

In addition to FDA, several other government bodies have specified regulatory requirements related to traceability from manufacturer to patient. These include the CFDA's draft of UDI regulation in China, the EU's In Vitro Diagnostic Medical Device Regulation 2017/746 and Medical Device Regulation 2017/745, and Australia and New Zealand’s AS/NZS 4187:2014. This is expected to propel the adoption of automatic identification and tracking technologies including surgical instrument tracking systems. For instance, Xerafy Singapore Pte Ltd offers RFID Systems for Healthcare that help comply with such regulations.

The COVID-19 pandemic significantly impacted the market for surgical instrument tracking systems. According to a 2020 report by Censis Technologies, Inc., many elective surgeries were postponed due to the pandemic. However, when they resumed, operating rooms and technicians had to deal with a huge backlog, while continuing to work around COVID. This unveiled the need for effective surgical instrument tracking systems as sterile supply processing and equipment shortages became an issue.

Many large hospitals experience several incidences of surgical items left inside patients after surgery. These could vary from clamps and sponges to needles and other items. Responding to these mistakes can be very costly. Typically, after surgery, a team may conduct careful counts manually to ensure the post-op inventory of instruments and materials is the same as before the operation. In case the numbers don’t match, costly x-rays must be taken to look for stray instruments, which could add to complications. Significant incidences of retained surgical instruments in the human body after surgery and instrument misplacement are other factors contributing to market growth.

Product Insights

The hardware segment dominated the market for surgical instrument tracking systems and accounted for the largest revenue share of 44.7% in 2020. The segment is projected to maintain its dominance during the study period. Technological advancements in hardware such as RFID chips and barcode tags are a major factor driving the adoption of these systems for inventory as well as surgical instrument management.

For instance, Wyss Institute at Harvard University has developed a way to embed RFID chips onto metal surgical instruments using vapor deposition process and biocompatible sealant. The entire system comprising of the technique, RFID chips, antenna, and the visual display is designed to be wirelessly tracked and counted and to withstand repeated sterilizations. The hardware segment is also projected to register the highest CAGR over the next few years.

The services segment is expected to grow at a lucrative rate during the forecast period. The U.S., Germany, the U.K., France, and Japan are projected to account for the highest usage of surgical instrument tracking systems. Well-developed healthcare infrastructure and a rising number of surgical procedures are anticipated to contribute to this growth.

Technology Insights

The barcode technology segment dominated the surgical instruments tracking systems market and accounted for the largest revenue share of 82.3% in 2020. It is the most commonly used type of tracking technology and its increased adoption in the medical devices industry is the key element contributing to its high revenue share. 2D barcodes such as data matrix and QR Code are more popular in the market due to their advantages that include low cost, robust build, and 360° readability. In addition, the low installation cost of these products has resulted in rising applications in healthcare facilities including hospitals and ambulatory surgery centers. 

The RFID segment is anticipated to register the highest growth over the forecast period. This is owing to the ability of RFID tags to withstand the rigorous healthcare environment such as harsh sterilization processes, in addition to storing additional information and documenting each instrument’s vital statistics e.g. repair history and location.RFIDs do not require line-of-sight scanning, which is expected to drive the adoption rate for this technology in the coming years.

End-use Insights

The hospital segment led the market for surgical instrument tracking systems and accounted for the largest revenue share of over 75.0% in 2020. Factors contributing to this share include the rising need to reduce the incidence of surgical instruments being left in the body during surgeries and effective inventory management. It is estimated that around 20% of hospital devices, supplies, or equipment are misplaced or lost owing to inefficiency in supply chain management.

Hospitals are also expected to witness the fastest growth over the forecast period due to the rising adoption of these products by hospitals for inventory management and tracing of medical instruments during work cycles such as sterilization procedures and surgery. For instance, St. Joseph's Hospital and Medical Clinic, in Arizona, uses the IMPRESS instrument management system that allowed it to save more than USD 1.0 million in repair, refurbishment, and instrument purchasing costs, annually.

Regional Insights

In 2020, North America led the overall market for surgical instrument tracking systems and accounted for the largest revenue share of  38.5%. The introduction of the UDI system by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for effective identification of medical devices and instruments is one of the major factors attributed to the dominance of this region. In addition, the presence of highly developed healthcare infrastructure and rapid adoption of advanced technology and products is anticipated to drive the market in the region.

In Asia Pacific, the market for surgical instrument tracking systems is projected to expand at the fastest CAGR during the forecast period owing to untapped opportunities in this region. Moreover, an increasing number of surgical procedures coupled with rapidly developing healthcare infrastructure in Asian countries such as China, Indonesia, and India, is projected to propel the regional market over the forecast period. The introduction of technologically advanced software and hardware products is anticipated to increase the usage of surgical instruments tracking devices in the near future.

Key Companies & Market Share Insights

The leading companies are undertaking several strategic initiatives, such as product development or launch, collaborations, and mergers and acquisitions along with regional expansions for gaining market share. For instance, in October 2020, STERIS plc acquired Key Surgical thus expanding its sterile processing, operating rooms, and endoscopy offerings. This also added the latter’s KeyDot surgical instrument tracking solution to STERIS’ portfolio. Some of the prominent players in the surgical instrument tracking systems market include:

• Censis Technologies, Inc.

• Spatrack Medical Limited

• Xerafy Singapore Pte Ltd.

• Fingerprint Medical Limited

• Getinge AB

• B. Braun Melsungen AG

• BD

• Haldor Advanced Technologies

• Microsystems, INC

• Ternio Group LLC

Surgical Instrument Tracking Systems Market Report Scope

Segments Covered in the Report

This report forecasts revenue growth at global, regional, and country levels and provides an analysis of the latest industry trends in each of the sub-segments from 2016 to 2028. For the purpose of this report, Grand View Research has segmented the global surgical instrument tracking systems market report on the basis of product, technology, end-use, and region:

• Product Outlook (Revenue, USD Million, 2016 - 2028)

  • Hardware

  • Software

  • Services

• Technology Outlook (Revenue, USD Million, 2016 - 2028)

  • Barcodes

    • Hospitals

    • Others

  • RFID

    • Hospitals

    • Others

• End-use Outlook (Revenue, USD Million, 2016 - 2028)

  • Hospitals

  • Others

• Regional Outlook (Revenue, USD Million, 2016 - 2028)

  • North America

    • U.S.

    • Canada

  • Europe

    • Germany

    • U.K.

    • France

    • Italy

    • Spain

    • Russia

  • Asia Pacific

    • Japan

    • China

    • India

    • South Korea

    • Australia

    • Singapore

  • Latin America

    • Brazil

    • Mexico

    • Argentina

  • MEA

    • South Africa

    • Saudi Arabia

    • UAE