By Ojaswita Kutepatil / Special to Healthcare Facilities Today

With an immense potential to bring a transformation in quality, access, and cost, healthcare artificial intelligence market is witnessing a significant global popularity. The implementation of artificial intelligence in the medical fraternity is advancing at a rapid pace. The remarkable expansion of the market in a relatively shorter span is perhaps of no surprise today as artificial intelligence (AI) has enabled smoothening of almost every operation that a healthcare organization needs.

Operational and financial turbulence due to the increasing labor costs, growing patient base, digitization, and rising demand for interoperability are some of the challenges that have primarily driven healthcare artificial intelligence market so far.  As per reliable statistics, almost 35% of the overall healthcare organizations are planning to leverage AI within next two years. The potential power of this technology in achieving almost 60-70 percent accuracy in the detection of certain diseases via CT scan, PAC (picture archiving and communications), MRI scans, has further catalyzed healthcare artificial intelligence market demand.

Statistics depict Healthcare artificial intelligence market which had a valuation of USD 750 million in 2016, is slated to exceed USD 10 billion by the end of 2024. Exemplified by the continuous technological breakthrough in clinical research along with the explosion of healthcare IT - the adoption of AI in medical space today in much stronger than ever. Big data analytics application is growing at an incredible pace. Increasing volume of healthcare data has resulted in an increasing need for AI technology for data mining to speed up the health care delivery services. Advent of novel innovative technologies for effective diagnosis and treatment is further complementing the healthcare artificial intelligence market penetration.

Healthcare artificial intelligence industry provides a diverse set of application opportunities including drug discovery, therapy planning, medical imaging & diagnostics, and hospital workflow. Medical imaging and diagnosis applications are expected to chart a lucrative road map in the years ahead with a striking compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 40 percent over 2017-2024.

Owing to its credibility of improving patients’ life expectancy by effectively detecting cancer at an initial stage, penetration of healthcare artificial intelligence market in this application is anticipated to get deep rooted in the years ahead. The growing cancer population base across the world is further fueling the market demand. As per estimates, medical imaging and diagnosis will gain a huge acceptance in the healthcare sector, with expectations to exceed USD 2.5 billion by the end of 2024.

Healthcare artificial intelligence market is completely reshaping the diagnostic approach with advanced technologies that couldn’t even have been imagined a few years back. Robot-assisted surgery is one such byproduct. Cognitive surgical robotics integrate information from pre-operative medical records with optimal real-time operating info, which enables a much more efficient surgery.

Alongside, growing trends of incorporating computational tools in drug discovery and design are opening new opportunities for healthcare artificial intelligence market. Drug discovery represented 35 percent of the overall market in 2016 and is expected to grow stupendously over 40% CAGR over 2017-2024. With the increasing demand for time saving and economical drug development method, healthcare artificial intelligence market from drug discovery application is expected to hold a valuation of more than USD 4 billion by 2024.

Regionally, U.S. is witnessing strong grounds which is enhancing the global artificial intelligence market outlook. Supportive initiatives by the federal authorities promoting the adoption of advanced technologies such as big data analytics along with the country’s rigorous investments in clinical research is influencing the regional healthcare artificial intelligence market trends.

As per estimates, with 38 percent projected CAGR, this market is anticipated to chart a profitable road map in the years ahead, grounding on its previous revenue record of USD 320 million in 2016. Speaking of technological interference in the field of genomics, Europe is also marking its strong presence in the global industry. With U.K. at the growth front, the regional market is slated to grow strikingly at a CAGR of 39% over 2017-2024.  U.K healthcare artificial intelligence market alone is set to register a target revenue of USD 800 million by 2024.

Japan and China being the major revenue pockets for APAC market are also experiencing a lucrative business landscape on a global scale. China healthcare artificial intelligence market is projected to register a CAGR of 45 percent over the coming seven years. Advancement in big data analytics, incorporation of artificial intelligence in various healthcare services, and presence of large-scale investors are some of the factors that are complementing the regional healthcare artificial intelligence market growth.

The overall industry has been witnessing a growth in startup units over the past few years and the trend is likely to continue in the coming timeframe. However, huge capital investment, significant maintenance and repairing cost, complex ROI structure, and lack of proper computer know-how are the major issues that are disfavoring the healthcare artificial intelligence market expansion in certain topographies.

Nonetheless, since the incorporation of AI has proven its credibility by improving the health outcomes and quality of life, the importance of AI in healthcare in present scenario is undeniable. As per a report by Global Market Insights, Inc., “healthcare artificial intelligence market is poised to register a phenomenal CAGR of 40 percent 2017-2024.” Some of the renowned market players include Cyrcadia Health, AiCure, Google, Microsoft, and IBM.

Ojaswita Kutepatil, a mechanical engineer, working as a BDE and Technical Engineer before switching her profession to content writing. Currently, she develops content for Global Market Insights, Inc.