Report: Wireless monitor market grew 23% in two years

Source: Medtronic

Wireless patient monitors are outpacing their predicted growth, according to market research firm Kalorama, which reported a growth rate of 23 percent between 2008 and 2010. Revenues have doubled in the last four years, making wireless monitors the fastest growing device category, and are expected to double again over the next four years.

“It is unusual to see over twenty percent growth in the tight, volume-buy medical device market,” said Kalorama publisher Bruce Carlson in a statement. “The new wireless patient monitoring systems aren’t facing these obstacles because they appeal both to the need of payors to cut hospital stays and to the need of providers to deal with reduced staff.”

A primary driver of the growth, Kalorama noted, are the aging U.S. and world populations, which are contributing to rising numbers of patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and diabetes. In 2010, the percentage of the world population over the age of 65 reached 13 percent and is expected to top 20 percent by 2050. Other significant drivers are the ability to cut costs and the increasing use of EMRs.

According to the report, “Remote and Wireless Patient Monitoring Markets,” the leading manufacturers of patient monitoring devices are Abbott Laboratories, Draeger Medical, GE Healthcare, Honeywell, Medtronic and Philips Healthcare.

“This is a very scattered market with large players but also scores of companies with a small amount of market share, and some of that forecasted growth is going to come from innovators whose names we may not have heard yet,” said Carlson.

Karlorama’s report is available for purchase on their website.