In 2017, the total number of cases registered due to the adverse effects of medical treatment were around 34.9 million. Diagnostic and surgical errors have witnessed higher incidence as compared to other types of malpractice. Medical errors by practitioners have been identified as the unintended act and to reduce these kinds of errors, the robotics application has been adopted. Robot-assisted surgical procedures are performed to minimize the risk of errors and to improve the precision and accuracy of the surgical procedures. Other than surgical robotics, healthcare robotics comprises rehabilitation robotics, diagnostic robotics, and radiotherapy robotics.
Rehabilitation robots are expected to witness the highest CAGR in the forecast period. The healthcare robotics market is growing exponentially due to support of the government in increasing the funding for healthcare robotic research, growing investment from hospitals in healthcare robotics, and rising technological advancements in the healthcare robotics industry. There are factors that are also hindering the growth of this market which includes, the shortage of skilled professionals and high cost associated with the robotic platform, among others.
According to Pushplata Patel, Lead Analyst at BIS Research, "North America is currently the leading contributor to the global healthcare robotics market. The North America healthcare robotics market was valued at $3.51 billion in 2017. Factors, such as increasing cases of chronic diseases, aging populations, and established healthcare infrastructure are driving the growth of the healthcare robotics market in North America. However, the Europe region is expected to grow at an impressive growth rate, during the forecast period from 2018 to 2023."