Medical sensor market expected to reach $15.5B in five years

The industry for medical sensors, which includes diagnostic imaging and disease monitoring, was valued at $10.1 billion in 2012 and is expected to grow significantly by 2019, according to an industry sector report published Dec. 5 by Transparency Market Research.

The total market for medical sensors is estimated to increase from 2013 to 2019 at a compound annual growth rate of 6.3 percent. North America commanded a majority of the market, but Asia-Pacific is the fastest growing market. The growth in regions including China and India was said to be especially noteworthy.

Biosensors comprised the lion’s share of the medical sensors industry in 2012 and are expected to dominate that space through 2019. These include "cancer diagnosis and other monitoring devices," devices that can be implanted, ingested or worn.

The greatest need for medical sensors was in surgical applications, which accounted for 30 percent of total applications in 2012. This was thought to be driven by increased demand for minimally-invasive procedures.