Virtual Reality (VR) in Healthcare Market Size, Share & COVID-19 Impact Analysis, By Component (Hardware, Software, and Content), By Application (Pain Management, Education & Training, Surgery, Patient Care Management, Rehabilitation & Therapy Procedures, and Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)), and Regional Forecast, 2023-2030

The global Virtual Reality (VR) in healthcare market size was valued at USD 2.33 billion in 2022 and is projected to grow from USD 3.11 billion in 2023 to USD 25.22 billion by 2030, exhibiting a CAGR of 34.9% during the forecast period.

Virtual Reality (VR) in healthcare has proved to be a boon for hospitals and medical professionals. This technology is being used to diagnose, plan, and rehabilitate people suffering from autism, phobias, depression, and addiction. Many healthcare providers have realized the applications of virtual reality and started applying it in their operations. This technology has also proved to be a powerful tool for complex surgeries as it offers a risk-free environment.

Many major VR in healthcare solution providers have integrated 3D interactive content and 360-degree video features to develop the best learning programs for physicians and students. For instance, platforms, such as SentiAR and Proximie, which are based on a 360-degree scale, offer real-time body scan to help surgeons understand an underlying medical condition better.

COVID-19 IMPACT

COVID-19 Crisis Created Opportunity for Implementation of VR in Healthcare Industry

The demand for virtual reality tools drastically increased in the healthcare industry during the pandemic. The implementation of Virtual Reality in healthcare gave doctors an opportunity to understand and study the impact of the new virus strain. Virtual Reality in healthcare also helped medical professionals get real-time radio graphical insights, showcasing the impact of the disease on patients’ bodies. In most cases, patients who had recovered from the COVID-19 infection suffered from Post-Intensive Care Syndrome (PICS). In such a situation, virtual reality technology helped patients recover from this syndrome through virtual rehab sessions.

Similarly, owing to the pandemic, the demand for online and interactive learning sessions increased drastically. For instance, medical students faced challenges while opting for practical sessions, as no available technology could offer face-to-face learning for students. This fueled the implementation of virtual reality in medical learning and training sessions. VR simulation-based training sessions greatly helped medical students during the pandemic. Thus, onset of the coronavirus infection significantly boosted the virtual reality in healthcare market growth. However, due to restrictions on manufacturing and supply chain industries, the market growth was negatively impacted initially.

LATEST TRENDS

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Rising Trend of Wearable Technology is Driving Market Growth

Wearable technology has improved the approach of society toward health and fitness. Today, customers believe that this technology makes healthcare more convenient and affordable. The healthcare field is experiencing a massive technological transformation, and wearables are expected to lead the way. The combination of virtual reality with wearable devices, such as fitness bands, rings, fitness trackers, headsets, goggles, and more are likely to augment the industry development.

Mental health issues, such as depression can be treated instantly with the help of virtual reality headsets, allowing patients to feel safer and more comfortable. Wearable devices integrated with virtual reality will enable interaction between a patient and doctor from any location for analyzing real-time medical insights. These aspects are expected to increase the market’s revenue in the coming years.

DRIVING FACTORS

Increasing Application of VR in Patient Treatment to Drive Market Growth

Healthcare providers are using virtual reality to improve their patient’s treatment capacity. Through VR medical treatment, medical professionals are able to detect, diagnose, train, and treat health issues easily. Virtual reality tools are being extensively used by psychiatrists for the treatment of patients’ phobias. The application of virtual reality is increasing in therapy sessions to treat fear of heights, darkness, claustrophobia, and other such phobias. For instance, it is helping patients during MRI scans overcome claustrophobia. Besides therapy sessions, virtual reality is being widely adopted in other treatments as well. For instance, Vivid Vision, a vision care provider based in San Francisco, treats medical conditions, such as lazy eye with the support of virtual reality. It can offer remote treatment for crossed eyes, weak eyes, and convergence disorder.

Similarly, other applications of VR in patient treatment are pain management, damage examination & rehabilitation, social cognition training for an autistic patient, recovery after a stroke, Post-traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), and more. For instance, medical professionals are implementing virtual reality solutions for treating military veterans suffering from PTSD. As per healthcare experts, the technology offered a 40% improvement in patients’ symptoms. Thus, the increasing VR application and its remarkable positive effect are expected to drive the Virtual Reality in healthcare market growth.

RESTRAINING FACTORS

Technical Limitations in Healthcare Industry Likely to Challenge Market Growth

Virtual reality headsets and other hardware might challenge the technological limitations in the healthcare industry. These tools used in clinical settings are large in size and also have some other issues, including lumpiness, high cost of implementation, which slow down the process of using these tools. Similarly, for some healthcare centers, the available resolution and computer specification/configuration might act as a limiting factor. Also, as this industry has worked on the paper-based system for a longer period, the adoption of electronic medical records might require certain technical knowledge. This factor is likely to impact the market growth. However, as per industry experts, these challenges can be overcome in the next few years.

SEGMENTATION

By Component Analysis

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VR Hardware Demand is Increasing as it is Widely Used in Healthcare Training

Based on component, the market is segmented into hardware, software, and content.

The hardware segment dominated the market share in 2022. VR hardware includes Head-mounted Displays (HMDs), PCs, and other devices such as laptops and mobiles. VR headsets are extensively used for training, learning, and treatment applications. The software segment is expected to showcase a high CAGR during the forecast period owing to increasing demand for advanced training for healthcare professionals. This is expected to fuel the implementation of VR in healthcare.

The content segment is anticipated to gain traction during the forecast period as the demand for this type of content is growing in the healthcare industry. VR content can offer virtual training of human anatomy and carry out various patient treatments such as therapy sessions, rehabilitation, sessions to overcome PTSD, and more. For instance, Amelia (formerly Psious VR) offers a toolkit that includes more than 70 virtual reality scenes with 360-degree videos to treat almost any kind of mental disorder.

By Application Analysis

Adoption of Virtual Reality (VR) in Healthcare for Training and Education to Surge Market Progress

In terms of application, the market is divided into pain management, education & training, surgery, patient care management, rehabilitation & therapy procedures, and Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD).

The education & training segment generated the maximum revenue in the market in 2022. VR technology is being vastly used for medical education and training of healthcare professionals. As per recent studies, the VR 360° video improves a learner’s knowledge retention and skill acquisition levels. Considering the growing demand, in March 2021, Osso VR announced the expansion of its training platform for interventional surgical procedures and endoscopy.

Similarly, virtual reality alleviates patients’ pain to some extent during skin grafting, open surgeries, and bandaging a burn patient as these are extremely painful procedures. As the patient focuses on the headset content, it helps in reducing pain. This is surging the demand for technology in pain management. For instance, in March 2021, Los Angeles-based AppliedVR raised USD 29 million and developed digital therapy based on VR technology to reduce pain. In the trials, it witnessed a 42% reduction in intense pain.

Virtual reality’s exposure in therapy can significantly reduce PTSD symptoms, which is mainly useful for military personnel and other patients suffering from the same. Similarly, this technology has a key role in supporting surgeons, as it creates a three-dimensional model of the patient’s operated part using MRI and CT scans. This model helps surgeons in understanding the actual operation trajectory and reduces errors. This is boosting the Virtual Reality in healthcare market growth.

REGIONAL INSIGHTS

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Geographically, the market is studied across five major regions such as North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, the Middle East & Africa, and Latin America. Each region is further studied across countries.

North America generated the maximum market revenue in 2022. The adoption of VR is increasing in this region due to rising usage of immersive technologies in medical practices. The other factors include government initiatives and significant investments in research & development. Moreover, the U.S. government is providing funds to conduct research on VR applications in healthcare. Healthcare providers are outsourcing healthcare related IT services due to increasing pressure to reduce treatment costs. These factors are also expected to surge the demand.

Asia Pacific is expected to record a lucrative growth rate during the forecast period. Developing economies, such as India, China, and Japan, are set to dominate the healthcare market in terms of revenue. China is highly investing in its telehealth and digital healthcare industries. This is likely to drive the country’s market growth. Within the healthcare market, organizations are expected to spend more on VR technologies. As per the Invest India report, in 2022, the health sector in the country witnessed an increase of USD 370 billion in investments.

Europe is expected to hold a remarkable position in the market during the forecast period. The healthcare sector of the region is the second-largest in terms of growing investments and funds. As per the Healthcare Investments and Exits Annual Report 2022, the region’s overall healthcare investments have more than doubled from USD 16 billion in 2017 to USD 86 billion in 2021. The European Union is highly committed to promoting various innovative technologies to improve its healthcare systems.

The Middle East & Africa region is expected to register a significant growth rate owing to the rising focus on enhancing the region’s healthcare industry. Countries, such as the UAE, Saudi Arabia, and Qatar, are investing in advanced technologies, such as Artificial Intelligence (AI), the Internet of Things (IoT), and virtual & augmented reality, to improve their healthcare systems.

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Latin America is anticipated to showcase steady growth due to increasing research & development initiatives to boost the use of Virtual Reality in healthcare systems. For instance, in January 2023, EON Reality entered into a partnership with Hospital Metropolitan in Costa Rica to provide AI-powered XR solutions for patients and medical staff.

KEY INDUSTRY PLAYERS

Key Players Focus on Developing Advanced Virtual Medical Toolkits to Reinforce their Market Position

The key players in the market are focusing on offering advanced medical technologies to support healthcare workers and their patients. These companies are collaborating with hospitals and caregivers to offer virtual care and inspection solutions. Besides, these players are offering advanced virtual headsets and goggles for medical training and learning purposes. With the help of new content, these companies are providing virtual medical applications such as rehabilitation, vision inspection, psychological & mental administration, and more.

January 2020 – Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd., in partnership with IrisVision, launched wearable vision-assistance headsets. The new VR headsets offer support to people with weak vision. The company was focusing on expanding its market presence across the world.

January 2021 – Hologic Inc. acquired a molecular diagnostic company Biotheranostics to combine the capabilities of both the companies and utilize the latter’s expertise in oncology diagnostics and advanced woman health diagnostics to boost the quality of patient outcome.

List of Key Companies Profiled:

• Koninklijke Philips N.V. (Netherlands)


• Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd. (South Korea)


• EON Reality (U.S.)


• CAE Healthcare (U.S.)


• Oculus Rift (Facebook Inc.) (U.S.)


• Medical Realities Ltd. (U.K.)


• XRHealth USA Inc. (U.S.)


• Amelia (formerly Psious VR) (Spain)


• HTC Corporation (Taiwan)


• Sony Corporation (Japan)

KEY INDUSTRY DEVELOPMENTS:

• March 2022 – Immersive Touch, a leading medical technology company, entered into a collaboration with Mayo Clinic for commercializing Immersive Touch’s VR surgical planning platform equipped with intra-operative augmented reality surgical navigation technology.


• March 2022 – CAE Healthcare launched a non-invasive cardiovascular simulator CAE CathLabVR that is integrated with Microsoft HoloLens 2, offering realism while practicing the treatment of vascular and cardiac issues.


• February 2022 – XRHealth announced a funding of USD 10 million for expanding its virtual healthcare treatment in Metaverse.


• April 2022 – XRHealth launched a virtual reality therapy for treating patients with autism. This therapy had previously been utilized by patients in Australia, but the company made this therapy available for patients in the U.S. in April 2022.


• November 2022 – GE Healthcare collaborated with Mediview XR, Inc. for integrating medical imaging into mixed reality technology through the development of OmnifyXRTM Interventional Suite System.

REPORT COVERAGE

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The research report highlights leading regions across the world to offer a better understanding of the market. Furthermore, the report provides insights into the latest industry trends and analyzes technologies deployed at a rapid pace at the global level. It further highlights some of the key growth-stimulating factors and restraints, helping the reader gain in-depth knowledge about the market.

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