Medtech Pulse Check Paints Sluggish Picture

Image credit: EY

Pandemic aftereffects, shifting geopolitical influence, macroeconomic volatility and a complex regulatory environment have contributed to the “state of flux” being weathered by the medtech industry, a new report has found.

EY’s Pulse of the Industry Medical Technology Report 2023 showed mixed results for medtech in 2022, including sluggish total sector growth at 3.5 percent (down from a post-pandemic high of 16 percent in 2021).

However, the report hints that amidst disruption can come transformation, with advances in cutting-edge technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI) continuing to surge.

“…the acceleration of digitalization across the industry with new advances in the power of data analytics (most notably demonstrated by the rise of AI, including the breakthrough generative AI models in 2023) opens new possibilities for the industry’s future,” study authors state.

“…at least 91 new algorithms [gained] FDA approval in the first 10 months of 2022, making an immediate impact in the diagnostics and imaging diagnostics markets.”

Looking at the trends through a lens of what study authors call the “intelligent health ecosystem”, the rise of this digitalisation of medtech together with patients’ demand for customised, accessible approaches to healthcare offers opportunities and challenges for the sector.

View the full Pulse of the Industry Medical Technology report from EY for a deep dive on the ways medtech companies need to work to adapt to this fast-evolving environment.