“May 2022 bring you and your beloved ones health and happiness” are not just idle talks this year. In fact, with almost 400 millions confirmed COVID cases and 5 million deaths worldwide, according to the World Health Organization’s latest report, health has become a top priority and a major concern for all of us.
Surgical masks, antigen self-test kits, hydroalcoholic solutions, digital thermometers, these are just examples of how we all became accustomed to using medical devices and products in our daily lives. At the same time, however, with elective surgeries being postponed, the global medical devices market witnessed a significant impact on demand. Here is why.

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The pandemic fastened the adoption of health condition trackers

Fitness trackers and smartwatches – the Apple watch being the most popular one – were initially known for their fitness features like counting daily steps. Big tech companies saw in the pandemic opportunities to further penetrate the healthcare market, which led to the addition of new features such as sleep tracking or electrocardiogram sensors to their wearables. These devices can now identify early warning signs or remotely report our health status to our medical team, thus helping to prevent serious events such as heart attacks, or monitor our vitals after surgery. According to Insider Intelligence’s, the wearable medical market grew during the pandemic with 45.2 million American smartwatch users reported in 2021.

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The pandemic also triggered a surge in telehealth usage

The COVID-19 situation has also acted as a catalyst for the deployment of telemedicine and virtual patient care. With lock-down and quarantine measures being implemented worldwide, face-to-face doctor-patient interactions have been less frequent. Nevertheless, digital health technologies made virtual patient care possible, facilitated pre-operative phases, whilst helping to monitor the patient’s health condition and to improve post-surgical care. The wider use of wearables and telehealth has contributed to raise awareness on how technology can improve healthcare.

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Nonetheless, the pandemic had an impact on the demand for surgical instruments

One of the downsides of the pandemic is the delay in elective surgeries. In order to cope with the surge in COVID-19 cases, hospitals across the world had to postpone non compulsory procedures to free up staff and beds. With consequences not only for patients on waiting lists but also for surgical instruments manufacturers and trainees!
However, opportunities arise in any crisis and the current pandemic is no exception. For example, AR and VR have provided medical students and trainees with valuable hands-on learning experiences even outside of the operating room and enabled surgeons to operate in 2 to 3 rooms simultaneously.

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The pandemic triggered long-lasting changes on the medical devices market. New players are eager to take the lion’s share of the market and digital technologies continue to transform healthcare. While experts predict the end of the pandemic (not the end of the virus), 2022 should be an exciting year for the medical devices industry. The global market for medical devices is projected to grow at a CAGR of 5.4% in the forecast period of 2021-2028, reaching its pre-pandemic level.

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