Bionics are highly advanced pieces of technology capable of integrating with different parts of the human body. Hence, the medical field, combined with these enhanced technologies, can do wonders. Due to falling from motorcycles, public transport mishaps including train crashes, and violence, people often need to undergo traumatic amputations. There are only a few cases where the re-attachment of the detached body part is possible. In many cases, a prosthetic implant of that specific body part is attached, to offer people the maximum use of the original body part.
Moreover, the expanding pool of geriatric people and associated organ failure will help the medical bionics market grow in the coming years. People in the age group of 65 and above will number 1.5 billion in 2050 compared to 727 million in 2020, says the UN. These people often suffer from eye problems and other functional and motor issues, which is making healthcare organizations inclined toward creating awareness about medical bionics. For instance, the Amputee Coalition of America has declared April as Limb-Loss Awareness Month, to increase awareness about limb loss prevention and coping with such an eventuality.
Not just these, but various healthcare providers and organizations, such as rehabilitation centers and amputee support groups, are trying to raise awareness on such issues. In December 2016, the American Cochlear Implant (ACI) partnered with the Hearing Loss Association of America (HLAA) to spread awareness about enhanced cochlear implants. These efforts are propelling the demand for an array of bionic organs and body parts, in turn, encouraging their manufacturers to invest in more-advanced variants.
Bionics are available for the brain and spinal cord, heart, bones and muscles, eyes, ears, and other organs, such as the pancreas, lungs, and kidneys. Out of these, orthopedic bionics will dominate the medical bionics market in the coming years, primarily due to the increasing number of upper and lower limb amputations. As per a research study, for every 1,000 people, 3.8 undergo limb amputations, while 0.02% undergo hand amputations due to trauma. However, the biggest cause of limb amputations, at least in the U.S., is vascular diseases, such as peripheral artery disease and diabetes.
Some of the bionics mentioned above are non-implantable, and others are implantable. Of these, implantable bionics have been in the higher demand due to the growing cases of organ failure, in which case transplantation or organ function supplementation are the only ways out. In this regard, the rising incidence of CVDs is a major driver for the demand for medical bionics, including pacemakers, artificial heart valves, and ventricular-assist devices (VAD). With advancements in technology, even complete artificial hearts are available, such as those created by 3D printing.
In the preceding years, North America held the largest market share due to the high expenditure on the healthcare sector, growing aging population, increasing number of hand and limb amputations, and economic growth. Furthermore, the APAC region is expected to showcase the fastest growth in the medical bionics market in the coming years. It is ascribed to the expanding pool of diabetic patients in the region, along with the growing geriatric population, surging chronic disease prevalence, and growing healthcare expenditure.
Therefore, the surging number of accidents and injuries leading to amputations and rising awareness about different implants are propelling the demand for medical bionics.
