The Journal of mHealth Vol 2 Issue 4 (August) | Page 11

Industry News
all device profile has been reduced so the
system can be worn discreetly under a
patient’s clothing. The effect is that the
system feels essentially “invisible” to the
wearer, providing a more comfortable
trial experience that allows patients to
focus entirely on their system’s therapeutic impact during their trial.
“When we developed the new Invisible
Trial System, we took into account physician and patient feedback that current

trial systems were in some cases preventing patients from adequately assessing
their therapy,” said Eric S. Fain, M.D.,
group president of St. Jude Medical.
“By providing a more patient-friendly
option, we think we can shorten the
learning curve related to trial programming devices and allow patients to better assess the potential pain relief they’re
receiving from spinal cord stimulation.”
The iPod touch controller offers patients

a simple, familiar platform to adjust their
therapy. An iPad mini tablet is used by the
patient’s physician to set the programming parameters. The programmer also
displays trial usage data from the EPG
and allows the physician to print or email
the data in PDF format. Bluetooth wireless technology safely and securely communicates wirelessly between the EPG
and patient and physician devices, eliminating the programming trial cable and
thus increasing the patient’s comfort. n

mHealth Market to Grow at
an Impressive CAGR 33.5%
between 2015-2020
A new report by Allied Market Research, titled, “Global mHealth
Market (Device, Service, Application, Stakeholders and Geography) - Size, Industry Analysis, Trends, Opportunities, Growth
and Forecast, 2014-2020”, has valued the global mHealth market at $10.5 billion in 2014 and forecasts it to grow at a CAGR
of 33.5% during 2015-2020.
Other key findings from the report suggest that blood pressure
monitors hold the largest share in the global mHealth device
market, followed by blood glucose monitors and cardiac monitors. Geographically, it was observed that the North American
region retained a leading position in the overall mHealth market
throughout the analysis period.
The report also highlights the current state of the market identifying the opportunities and risks for development.
Advanced mobile and wireless technologies are recognised for
their role in transforming the face of healthcare services across
the globe and driving growth in the mHealth market. Moreover,
the continued growth in coverage of mobile cellular networks,
rapid advances in mobile technologies & applications, increasing
lifestyle diseases and growing awareness among patient population in emerging economies, are some of the key factors fostering global market expansion.
On the contrary the market faces certain difficulties. Device
accuracy, technology infancy in middle and lower income economies, weak reimbursement coverage, uncertainty in government
regulations in certain regions, and low adoption among ageing
population is hampering the market growth to a certain extent.
It is observed that a major proportion of the mHealth devices
market (~71%) is collectively commanded by BP monitors,
blood glucose monitors and cardiac monitors. The reasoning
behind this market share is attributed to the increased affordability of mobile compatible devices, integration of innovative

technologies in monitoring devices and the increase of lifestyle
disease such as diabetes, stroke, and COPD. Within the market
for mHealth services, diagnostic, monitoring and treatment services collectively account for about 74% of the market.
The report identifies North America  and  Europe  as the two
largest markets for mHealth. Collectively they account for 67%
of the market revenue in 2014. It also suggests that they are
expected to remain as the leading global markets throughout the
forecast period.
Early adoption of innovative technology, large patient population
and high capacity to pay for services are some of the key factors
responsible for the growth of mHealth market in these regions.
However, the market outlook across developing economies
appears favourable owing to the increasing awareness of chronic
diseases, supportive government regulations and increased
healthcare W