The global medical robotics market was valued at US$ 8.04 billion in 2020, and is expected to reach US$ 22.23 billion by 2027, expanding at a CAGR of 16.1% during the forecast period.
Rising adoption of advanced technology such as AI & IoT in healthcare has led to emergence of medical robotics. Robotics has proven applications in the medical field and has been on demand for past few years. These automation technologies offer needed assistance for care providers who are facing immense pressure caused by emergence of novel diseases, aging population, mental health issues, and rising healthcare expenditure.
Robotics in healthcare applications can be installed at hospitals, rehabilitation centers, pharmacies, and other areas where they can assist respective care givers with fewer errors and optimum efficiency. These robots are well-renowned for their applications in surgeries and rehabilitations. Their applications in other areas such as use as a human body part is in early stages.
Moreover, key players in the industry are taking initiatives in developing advanced robots using AI that would have an ability to assist in surgical decision making. For instance, Diligent’s AI-equipped robot Maxi is designed to work with people in everyday activities such as setting up patient rooms and managing stocking rooms. In 2018, Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital in Dallas started using Maxi robot to avail more time for its staff to focus on patient care.
COVID19 has positively impacted on the demand for medical robots across various applications. The interest amongst users for robotics has increased as it avoids person-to-person contact and can reduce the transmission of the virus among healthcare workers as well as patients. Moreover, the use of telemedicine has witnessed sharp increase during the period of pandemic as it allows doctors and nurses to communicate with patients without any physical contact. It has been observed that, many medical facilities across the globe are using autonomous robots to disinfect hospital rooms with UV lights, deliver food & medicine to patients, transfer specimen samples, monitor patients’ health, and greet them without causing any spread of infection. Medical robots from companies such as VGo, Double Robotics, and Beam are frequently being used in hospitals, in-home remote consultation, nursing schools.
For instance, during COVID19 period, healthcare facilities in Italy started using mobile telepresence robots equipped with video screens and user-friendly touchscreen interface to monitor patients’ health without any physical contact. As per the leading CXOs in the industry, the collaboration between humans, robots, and AI is long term. Although the surge in adoption of medical robots has been sharp since the COVID19 pandemic, it is expected to have a lasting impact. Only restraining factors are the cost of implementation and excessive use of robotics for ICUs in the hospitals as patients in a serious condition may react differently to a robot caretaker.
For the supply side of the industry, the COVID19 outbreak has negatively affected the manufacturing of medical robots. Although the demand witnessed for medical robots was high for certain applications, manufacturers of the medical robots suffered severe losses due to current economic disruptions such as international ban on trade, unavailability of labors, and economic downfall of few countries. However, the scenario is expected to regain momentum soon.
Medical robots are used in broad range of medical diagnostics and treatment along with other applications. The use of big data in health care has various benefits. Algorithms implementing HIPAA regulated data collection via cloud-based applications is anticipated to boost the development of advanced healthcare robotics. For instance, surgical robots like daVinci are able to connect to the Cloud to provide assistance in surgical procedures by mining the large sets of MRI data associated with patient having similar medical history. These advanced technologies enable robots to access the data stored on personal Cloud that is connected to patient’s fitness band or smartphone in case of emergency.
However, the increasing use of big data and Cloud technologies has significantly raised security and privacy concerns. Patients’ personal information along with their medical history can be accessed by a medical robot, which can get compromised. Nonetheless, with appropriate regulatory framework and security measures, key players can manage to minimize the security threats.
Medical robots are used for various applications in a hospital ecosystem such as for disinfection of the rooms, medicine storage & delivery, laboratory specimens, and other activities. For instance, Aethon’s TUG autonomous mobile robot can navigate by using built-in map and an array of installed sensors. It can use Wi-Fi to make communication with elevators, fire alarms, and automatic robots. Few other players manufacturing hospital robots include McKesson, GE, Siemens, and Xenex. A medical robot created by Xenex can disinfect an entire room using pulsed Xenon light in 20 min.
As per our secondary sources, more than 400 hospitals are working with Xenex for its disinfectant medical robot. Moreover, manufacturers are increasing their efforts on R&D activities, especially for surgical robots. One of the leading providers in this category is Intuitive Surgical who holds leading position in the surgical robots globally.
Asia Pacific medical robotics market size is expected to grow at a lucrative CAGR of 19.1% during the forecast period owing to its ageing population which is in growing needs of advanced medical technologies, increasing healthcare expenditure, and rising need for better medical care facilities in the region. Leading countries in the region such as China, Singapore, Japan, South Korea, and Thailand are coordinating to purchase robotic systems at a large amount from developed nations as well as investing in in-house R&D activities on the medical robotic systems.
As per our secondary sources, spending on robotics systems by healthcare providers in Asia Pacific was more than US$ 4 billion in 2019 and is expected to double by the end of 2022. However, there are certain constraints that can limit the adoption rate of medical robots such as high price of medical robots, especially surgical robots and security issues.
Drivers
Restraints
Opportunities
Challenges
| Sr No. | Trends | Impact |
| 1 | The prosthetics filed in medical industry has witnessed dynamic shift since last few years. The advancements in the actuated and sensory bionics such as robotic limb, bionic skin, neural implants, and others have further given optimistic future for the robotics in medical field. | Positive |
| 2 | Companion robots are designed and developed to tend to elderly, mentally disabled, and people suffering from chronic illness and require consistent monitoring. The Buddy Companion by the Blue Frog Robotics is a companion robot that is affordable, showcases emotions, and is intellectually advanced. | Positive |
| 3 | Nanorobotic technology can revolutionize the medical robotic sector. Nanorobots include extremely minute technology that can find its applications in early diagnosis, monitoring, and targeted treatment. | Positive |
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