The wearable medical devices market is set to reach almost $70 billion by 2030, aided by the rising prevalence of chronic diseases, increase geriatric population, and growing popularity of the connected care concept, which enables remote diagnosis and patient monitoring. Moreover, the burgeoning awareness of people on general health and fitness is driving the sale of an array of medical devices that can be worn. In this regard, the innovative products being launched by medical device and consumer electronics companies are propelling the market advance.
Within the application segment, the market generates the highest revenue in the sports & fitness category. This is attributed to the rising awareness of people on their health and fitness, which is why they are joining gyms, exercising, and jogging in increasing numbers. A sedentary lifestyle is linked to obesity, which can further lead to chronic diseases, such as diabetes and CVDs. Using fitness trackers, people can analyze the effect of their physical activities and increase or decrease the intensity as needed.
In this regard, a key driver for the wearable medical devices market is the increasing incidence of CVDs and diabetes. As per the WHO, heart diseases are the world’s largest killer, accounting for around 18 million deaths each year. Similarly, the IDF estimates the global diabetes incidence for 2021 at 523 million people, forecasting the number to reach beyond 780 million by 2045. Inactivity and fatty diets are now being linked to both these diseases, which has prompted people to take action to remain healthy and fit.
Similarly, the growing geriatric population propels the wearable medical devices market as it is prone to chronic diseases. Moreover, owing to their weakened physical state, they keep falling down and fracturing their bones, where wearable medical devices come in handy by allowing them to alert a relative or medical facility. Additionally, by sending data on basic health parameters continuously to the doctor’s server, these products allow for the remote monitoring of patients, which both makes healthcare easily accessible and cost-effective.
In this regard, the COVID-19 pandemic made remote monitoring even more necessary, because of the confinement of people in their homes and overloading of the overall healthcare systems. Since such equipment already has many of the functionalities needed to monitor COVID patients, such as respiratory rate and heart rate tracking, they were endorsed by governments and healthcare organizations worldwide. Even those suffering from other diseases witnessed a heightened need for such devices, since much of the consulting was being conducted virtually.
Therefore, the market will continue to boom with the increasing cases of chronic diseases and rising awareness of people on their health.
