Medical Sensors Market Innovations- Needleless Tattoo Sensors, Ingestible Medical Sensors

In 2018, researchers at the University of California, San Diego, developed a needleless tattoo sensor that measures blood glucose through sweat. The main purpose of this technology was to measure and monitor glucose without drawing blood. The sensor’s accuracy at detecting glucose levels was compared with traditional glucometer during phase I clinical trial. For the trial, the sensor applied was similar to a temporary tattoo. Participants in the trial wore this sensor during fasting for several hours after eating. The tattoo sensor provided one reading of the blood glucose levels. To validate accuracy, glucose levels from the sensors were compared to the results from simultaneous finger stick glucose readings. Finger stick is a procedure in which a finger is pricked with a surgical knife or needle to obtain a small quantity of blood for testing glucose levels.

Also, in 2018, Otsuka Pharmaceutical and Proteus Digital Health entered into a global collaboration agreement for further development and commercialization of ABILIFY MYCITE (aripiprazole tablets with sensor). This sensor tracks drug ingestion in patients with mental illness or disorders such as schizophrenia and bipolar I disorder. An aripiprazole tablet embedded with an Ingestible Event Marker (IEM) sensor is eliminated after ingestion of the drug and a wearable sensor called the MYCITE Patch tracks the drug ingestion. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved ABILIFY MYCITE in November 2017.

Medical sensors are electronic devices that detect and measure physiological data to aid in the monitoring, diagnosis and treatment of health conditions in humans. Physiological data includes heart rate, blood pressure or body temperature. The global medical sensors market is expected to grow from $13.0 billion in 2018 to $20.2 billion in 2023 at an annual growth rate of more than 9%. Product innovations in the medical sensors market are aiding growth. Medical sensor companies are producing novel sensors to improve patient monitoring and activity tracking. Innovations in medical sensors enable diagnosis of a wide range of medical conditions and also aid healthcare service providers and patients in tracking disease conditions.

The global medical sensors market is expected to benefit from the use of medical sensors in research, diagnosis and treatment of cancer. Sensors are being used to detect cancer at an early stage, which was not possible with traditional diagnostics methods. For instance, in 2018, researchers at the University of California, San Diego, School of Medicine, developed medical sensors capable of detecting and measuring cancer’s ability to spread. Similarly, in 2017, researchers at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign developed a new sensor for reliable early detection of biomarkers for many forms of cancer. These developments in cancer treatment are expected to boost the demand for medical sensors, thereby driving the market in the forecast period.