Wearable Medical Devices Market

Market Overview

The global wearable medical devices market size was valued at USD 27.22 billion in 2022. It is estimated to reach USD 247.55 billion by 2031, growing at a CAGR of 27.81% during the forecast period (2023–2031). The major driver for the global wearable medical devices market growth is the surging need for round-the-clock monitoring owing to an increase in chronic illness globally. Moreover, a surging focus on fitness and a healthy lifestyle orientation are also anticipated to positively impact the wearable medical device market.

Wearable medical devices are a type of healthcare technology worn on the body to monitor and track various health parameters. These devices are developed to be worn comfortably and non-invasively and integrate sensors, connectivity, and data analysis capabilities to collect and analyze pertinent health data. Due to improvements in sensor technology and the capacity to produce very compact sensors and batteries, wearable medical devices have grown in popularity over time.

Wearable medical devices provide real-time monitoring and feedback, allowing individuals, caregivers, and healthcare professionals to make well-informed decisions regarding health and wellness. Wearable medical technology can precisely track fitness, heart rate, overall wellness, and illness management. It is used for a variety of purposes. They can also save patient health data and send medication reminders.

Market Dynamics

Global Wearable Medical Devices Market Drivers

Rising Demand for Round-The-Clock Monitoring

Diseases like hypertension and diabetes, which are linked to inactivity, are predicted to rise in incidence over the next few years. These diseases require round-the-clock monitoring of various physiological parameters, like blood pressure and sugar levels. This increases the need to integrate healthcare data with portable devices, which can be provided to physicians in real time, reducing errors and boosting the industry demand. Moreover, increasing mortality due to the growing prevalence of noncommunicable diseases is a major concern, boosting the demand for remote monitoring devices. These factors are anticipated to further increase the demand for wearable medical devices.

Furthermore, the soaring prevalence of chronic diseases and increasing mortality are major concerns among people and government organizations. Thus, healthcare providers are now focusing on personalized care, including continuous monitoring of patients. Wearable medical devices offer round-the-clock monitoring of patients, as many of these devices can be worn 24/7. As a result, the demand for wearable devices is anticipated to increase over the forecast period.

Growing Inclination Towards Fitness

Growing inclination toward staying fit is a high-impact rendering driver for the wearable devices market. With most of the population realizing the benefits of healthy living, there has been a mounting need for devices and gadgets that can efficiently monitor physiological fluctuations. This has increased the demand for fitness wearables, considering their real-time ability to track metrics such as step count, heartbeat, sleep patterns, calories burned, etc.

Wearable devices like smart bands and smartwatches help monitor fitness parameters, including calories burned, footsteps taken, and distance covered. Moreover, these wearable device companies also guide experts like dieticians or nutrition consultants, which increases their adoption. The demand for these devices is expected to increase over the forecast period. As per the 2018 survey conducted by Valencell, "The State of Wearable Today," on 826 U.S. consumers above 18 years of age and older people, more than 2-3rd of consumers with wearables believe that the device has positively impacted their health.

Global Wearable Medical Devices Market Restraint

Non-Availability of Reimbursement

Lack of reimbursement facilities coupled with the increasing cost of medical diagnosis and therapies affects the adoption of healthcare services. It helps lower healthcare expenditure by promoting early detection of diseases and timely intervention. Reimbursement for wearable medical equipment is currently unavailable. As a result, individuals with high disposable income are currently the only potential consumers of these devices, limiting their wearable medical devices market growth.

Global Wearable Medical Devices Market Opportunities

Growing Trend toward Mobility and Home Care

There is an increasing trend toward portability and delivery of care at home or the bedside, accelerating the development of next-generation diagnostic, therapeutic, display, and monitoring equipment design, which is more versatile, precise, and compact. These systems have a consumer-driven model for healthcare that embraces innovations, such as customized wearable devices, electronic patient records, and wireless internet-linked systems, which are anticipated to deliver intelligent, user-friendly, and convenient healthcare at home.

Additionally, the main reason behind the trend of portable medical devices/equipment and care delivery at home is a rapidly aging population, which is chronically ill and disabled. This will allow people to enjoy greater mobility at home. Consequently, this will likely encourage designers to create medical devices that patients can discreetly carry even in public, creating opportunities for market players.

Regional Analysis

Based on region, the global wearable medical devices market share is bifurcated into North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, Latin America, and the Middle East and Africa.

North America Dominates the Global Market

North America is the most significant global wearable medical devices market shareholder and is anticipated to exhibit a CAGR of 25.7% during the forecast period. North America is the most developed market for wearable medical devices. High adoption of remote patient monitoring and home care devices for regular, continuous, and long-term monitoring of patients and reducing the frequency of hospital visits are anticipated to fuel market growth over the forecast period. In addition, the increasing geriatric and obese population is a primary factor propelling market growth in the country. For example, as per the Population Reference Bureau, in 2019, the number of Americans aged 65 years or above is expected to increase from 52.0 million in 2018 to 95.0 million by 2026, and this age group's share of the overall population is likely to rise from 16% to 23%. As elderly people prefer home healthcare services, the increasing geriatric population is expected to expedite the demand for wearable medical devices in the country during the forecast period.

Furthermore, increasing healthcare expenditure is expected to boost regional market growth. For instance, according to the World Bank, in 2016, the total healthcare spending in Canada accounted for ~10.53% of its GDP, whereas it was ~10.37% in 2015.

Europe is estimated to exhibit a CAGR of 28.01% over the forecast period. The European market includes the UK, Germany, and France. Rising demand for home care devices, supportive central data management systems, and growing accuracy and efficiency of wearable medical devices are the high-impact rendering drivers. Europe is home to some of the world's most innovative wearable startups. According to International Data Corporation's worldwide quarterly wearable device tracker, shipments of wearable devices in Europe increased by 30% in 2018. In addition, wearable devices with payment options are increasing rapidly in Europe as consumers easily and quickly incorporate this relatively new payment method into their daily routines. This trend has spread across Europe, with over 30 payment-enabled wearables available in 26 EU countries, which is expected to boost the market for wearable medical devices in the region.

Asia-Pacific is foreseen to witness exponential growth over the forecast period. Major aspects boosting market growth are favorable government initiatives supporting the adoption of advanced medical devices, the growing geriatric population, and soaring healthcare expenditure. For instance, the Government of India had plans to launch the "Fit India" campaign on National Sports Day, August 29, 2019. The campaign aims to spread awareness about fitness and healthy living among people in India. These factors likely expedite the demand for sleep trackers, wrist actigraphy devices, and polysomnography equipment, as these devices are mainly used to track physical and mental parameters. Japan was the largest market in the Asia Pacific region, majorly due to the high healthcare expenditure and introduction of new wearable medical devices in the market.

Brazil, Mexico, Argentina, and Colombia are key countries in the Latin America's market for wearable medical devices. Brazil held the largest market share due to high patient awareness regarding the various advantages of wearable medical devices. The population of Brazil was 212,559,417 in 2020, accounting for a 0.72% increase from 2019. Moreover, according to the World Bank, the geriatric population accounted for ~9.25% of the total population in Brazil in 2019, increasing from ~8.92% in 2018. Such factors create lucrative opportunities for the wearable medical devices market in the country.

Segmental Analysis

The global wearable medical devices market is segmented by product, application, and site.

Based on product, the global wearable medical devices market share is divided into diagnostic and therapeutic devices. 

The diagnostic devices segment owns the highest market share and is estimated to grow at a CAGR of 27.1% during the forecast period. The soaring penetration of smart technology that enables connection to cellular phones has supported boosting demand for diagnostic devices. These smart wearable devices help track routine activities, such as step counts, calories, and sleep patterns, as well as exercise routines, such as swimming, running, and cycling. The gadgets' appeal was attributed to their user-friendly interfaces and aesthetically pleasing designs. Diagnostic devices are further sub-segmented into vital sign monitoring devices, electrocardiographs, sleep monitoring devices, fetal and obstetric devices, and neuro-monitoring devices.

Therapeutic devices include pain management, insulin monitoring, rehabilitation, and respiratory devices. Growing R&D activities have resulted in development of many technologically advanced products used for various therapeutic purposes. In addition, insulin monitoring devices dominated the therapeutic devices segment. Insulin monitoring devices help in the continuous monitoring of blood insulin levels. The growing prevalence of diabetes is the sole high-impact rendering driver for this segment.

Based on application, the global wearable medical devices market share is segmented into remote patient monitoring, sports and fitness, and home healthcare. 

The home healthcare segment is the largest revenue contributor to the market and is expected to exhibit a CAGR of 26.7% throughout the forecast period. The growing geriatric population has increased the incidence of target diseases, and the need to curb healthcare expenditure has also increased. These factors are some of the high-impact drivers of the home healthcare segment. This segment's expansion can also be ascribed to the segment's user-friendliness and ability to synchronize with cell phones and tablet devices. Home healthcare as a cost-effective alternative to costly hospital stays is also anticipated to serve as a market-driving force with a significant impact throughout the forecast period.

Remote healthcare is an emerging field, as the world is moving toward real-time and remote monitoring of patients along with rapid detection of illnesses. Remote monitoring of patients offers various advantages, such as early detection of illnesses, a reduction in the number of hospitalizations and the cost associated with it, and precise readings of patients' health without disturbing their daily activities. Remote monitoring also allows for improved efficiency in the delivery of healthcare services by using communication technology and giving patients the freedom of mobility.

In addition, the introduction of wireless networks in the healthcare industry, such as Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) and Medical Body Area Networks (MBAN), has revolutionized the diagnostic processes of patient health without causing discomfort. This aids in monitoring heart rate, body temperature, blood pressure, and oxygen levels.

Based on site, the global wearable medical devices market share is bifurcated into handheld, shoe sensors, headbands, strap/clip/bracelets, and others.

The strap/clip/bracelet segment dominates the global market and is expected to exhibit a CAGR of 4.91% over the forecast period. Devices like smart bands, smart badges, and watches fall under the strap/clip/bracelet category. Aesthetically appealing designs, water resistance, and accuracy of these devices are factors responsible for the growth of this segment. The increasing demand for smartwatches is a primary factor driving the market growth. In addition, consumers rely largely on these devices for health tracking, fitness activities, and remote work. The surging inclination of consumers to access smartphone-like features from a smartwatch is a major growth driver.

Similarly, consumer spending on smartwatches increased by 17.6% in 2020. This growth, driven in part by new users entering the market, is projected to last as novel processor technologies and improvements in solid-state batteries enhance battery life and shorten charging times.

Headbands are devices generally intended to monitor brain activity. Devices such as EEG, EMG, or sleep monitors fall under this category. For instance, the Zeo sleep manager is a sleep monitoring device that can be worn on the head. Increasing cases of insomnia are driving the market growth. Moreover, as per a survey by a veteran fashion executive, between 27% and 62% of Americans struggle to fall asleep daily, with the majority of the people who have insomnia citing anxiety and stress as the biggest causes. Hence, this is likely to increase the adoption of headbands to monitor brain activity, fueling market growth.

Recent Developments

• June 2023- Cala Health introduced the kIQ system, which the company describes as the first noninvasive wearable device approved by the FDA to temporarily alleviate tremors in patients with essential tremors and Parkinson's disease.
• September 2022- Bonatra, an Indian startup, introduced a wearable smart ring, Smart Ring X1, that monitors multiple health parameters, including heart rate, blood oxygen (SpO2), and sleep quality.