Design World – August 2019

74 August 2019 http://www.designworldonline.com DESIGN WORLD

The Robot Report

Interest in healthcare robotics keeps growing

Healthcare robots are not yet as well-established as their

industrial cousins, but most industry analysts agree on the

growing demand. For instance, analyst firm Tractica has forecast

that the number of healthcare robots shipped will increase from

3,400 in 2016 to 10,500 units per year worth $2.8 billion in 2021,

with exoskeletons and prosthetics surpassing surgical robots.

Similarly, BIS Research predicted that the global market will

grow from $5.4 billion in 2017 to $11.44 billion by 2023.

In the Asia/Pacific region alone (excluding Japan), healthcare

providers could spend $7.03 billion by 2021, reported IDC

Healthcare Insights.

“The effective adoption of robotics will augment physician

efficiency, eliminate medical errors, plug care gaps, and enable

bigger patient volume to access high-precision care delivery,” said

Manoj Vallikkat, research manager at IDC Asia/Pacific Healthcare

Insights.

IDC also noted that the percentage of total spending on robots

by healthcare providers will increase from 3.1% this year to 4.9% by

2022.

The global market for exoskeletons will grow to $5.8 billion by

2028, predicted ABI Research, and Grand View Research predicted

a compound annual growth rate of 58.4% between 2018 and 2025.

Investors look for promising products

In the first half of 2019, The Robot Report tracked a total of $7.7

billion in 30 transactions around healthcare robotics and related

technologies. The biggest was Johnson & Johnson’s $3.4 billion

acquisition of surgical robotics provider Auris Health Inc.

Surgical robotics leader Intuitive Surgical Inc. raised $2 billion,

and Verily, which is owned by Google parent Alphabet Inc., raised

$1 billion.

Exoskeletons also received investor interest, with Ekso Bionics

Holdings joining a $100 million joint venture in China, wearables

Health Expenditure as % of GDP

% of GDP

18%

16%

14%

12%

10%

8%

6%

1995 2016

Country

Japan

UK Italy

AustraliaPortugal

Spain

NorwayFinlandSwedenCanada

Switzerland

Germany

France

USA

provider Myomo Inc. offering $6.4 million in stock, and

ReWalk Robotics Ltd. raising $5 million. NextStep Robotics

raised $600,000 for its assistive technology.

Healthcare robotics engineering forum

comes to Silicon Valley

After the success of June’s Robotics Summit & Expo in Boston,

WTWH Media LLC announced the new event. WTWH Media is

the parent organization of The Robot Report and Design World.

The Healthcare Robotics Engineering Forum will be

co-located with DeviceTalks.

The forum and expo in Santa Clara, Calif., will enable

designers and engineers to speak with and learn from

researchers, manufacturers, investors, and other experts in

healthcare robotics.

Other features for robotics developers will include

keynotes by technology leaders, workshops, demonstrations,

and networking events. There are also opportunities for

potential speakers, sponsors, and exhibitors.

Visit http://www.healthcareroboticsforum.com for more

information. RR

EksoGT Clinical-Exoskeleton_Robot Report 8-19_Vs6.LL.indd 74 8/5/19 12:39 PM