The Anesthesia Machines Market: Past, Present, and Future
Anesthesia machines are devices used to deliver general anesthesia to patients as they undergo medical procedures.1 The most common machines provide a continuous flow of anesthesia-containing gases, oxygen and nitrous oxide to keep patients properly anesthetized.2 These machines often come with monitors and touchscreen displays that provide information on vital signs, such as heart rate and oxygen saturation.1 Anesthesia machines are crucial to the practice of anesthesiology, in that they allow anesthesiologists to ensure patient safety. Rapidly changing technologies allow for this machinery to advance, and thus for anesthesiology itself to adapt to a growing need.2
The anesthesia machines market can be segmented based on product type, clinical indication, subject, component, end user and modality.3 Product types include continuous anesthesia machines, intermittent anesthesia machines and others. Currently, continuous anesthesia machines dominate the global market, contributing to 58 percent of the market in 2016. When segmented by clinical indication, the anesthesia machines market includes nervous system surgeries, ENT surgeries, respiratory system surgeries, cardiovascular system surgeries, digestive system surgeries, urinary system surgeries, musculoskeletal system surgeries, skin surgeries and others.3 By subject, the market is segmented into human and veterinarian, though the present article focuses on human subjects. Additionally, the components of an anesthesia machine include machines, ventilators, monitors, disposables and more, and the end users include hospitals, ambulatory surgical centers, clinics, nursing facilities and others.3,4 The modalities include portable, standalone and workstation, with standalone currently accounting for 56 percent of the global revenue.4 Overall, anesthesia machines vary widely, allowing the market to be segmented in a variety of ways.
Indeed, the anesthesia machines market can also be segmented by regions and key players. At present, North America—over Latin America, Europe, Asia Pacific and MEA (Middle East and Africa)—dominates the market, due to higher per capita income, technological advancements, large geriatric population and advanced health care infrastructure.2 In North America, the United States holds a major share of the market. Europe is the second largest market for anesthesia machines, likely due to an increasing number of invasive surgeries.2 Globally, leading market players include companies such as DRE Medical, Spacelabs Healthcare, Dragerwerk AG, Midmark Corporation, Shenzhen Comen Medical Instruments Co. Ltd., Heyer Medical AG, Dameca A/S, Infinium Medical Inc., Koninklijke Philips N.V. and General Electric Company.4
The global anesthesia machines market is expected to grow from $9.4 billion (as of 2016) to $14.75 billion in 2023.3 The main driver for the market is the growing number of surgeries, due to the rising prevalence of chronic diseases and trauma cases.3 Also, health care professionals’ increasing acknowledgement of the efficacy and utility of anesthesia machines is expected to contribute to market growth. Furthermore, research into computerization, portability and miniaturization of anesthesia machines is likely to lead to market growth over the forecast period (i.e., until 2023).3 While the anesthesia machines market in North America is expected to retain its position at the top—with a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 5.6 percent—researchers also expect Asia Pacific to see growth, due to increasing health care awareness and investment in the health care sector.3,4 The MEA region is also likely to become a major market, given improvements in the economies of Qatar, the UAE, Kuwait and Saudi Arabia.3 Taken together, these data show that the anesthesia machines market is expected to show rapid growth over the next four years.
Given the importance of anesthesia machines in health care, it is probable that the value of their global market will increase over the next several years. While North America currently dominates the market, Asia Pacific and the MEA region are expected to show growth over the forecast period. Though standalone and continuous anesthesia machines currently account for major parts of the market, innovations in technology such as portability and miniaturization may lead to future changes in revenue distribution.3
1. Anesthesia Machines. News Medical. Web: AZoNetwork; 2019.
2. Bhisey R. Anesthesia Machines Market : Dynamics, Segments, Size and Demand, 2016-2024. Web: Transparency Market Research; September 27, 2019.
3. Sawant A. Anesthesia Machine Market 2019 Global Industry Overview, Size Estimation, Top Company Share, Growth Rate, Development Pipeline, Top Leaders, Regional Forecast to 2023. Web: Market Research Future;July 11, 2019.
4. Anesthesia Machines Market Forecast, Trend Analysis & Competition Tracking: Global Market insights 2017 to 2022. Dublin: Fact.MR; July 2017.