The metaverse continues to move toward mainstream adoption in 2024. While it has yet to find a killer app to spur mass adoption, it has found its niche within the healthcare market, where telemedicine, surgical training methods and futuristic surgical methods have prompted a flurry of positive speculation.
Multiple market research firms — including Spherical Insights, Towards Healthcare, and Research and Markets — have published recent reports indicating that the metaverse is slated for near-unfettered growth in the healthcare sector over the next decade.
According to these reports, the global metaverse healthcare market was valued at around $8.97 billion to $10.5 billion in 2023. Experts predict that it will move forward at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of somewhere between 26.3% to 49.3%.
Most analysts, over the past two years, appear to predict that the market will reach around $80 billion to $100 billion by 2033. However, a recent report from Spherical Insights released on Feb. 23 predicts that metaverse for healthcare will reach in excess of $496.23 billion in the same period.
Per the report:
“The global metaverse in healthcare market size is expected to grow from USD 8.97 billion in 2023 to USD 496.26 billion by 2033, during the forecast period 2023-2033.”
Metaverse
Big Tech is positioned at the forefront of the metaverse in every sector, and healthcare is no exception. Microsoft, Nvidia, Google and Meta appear across reports among the most noteworthy companies in the space, with an accompaniment of health tech companies joining the chorus.
The primary mover for CAGR is hardware, with augmented reality taking the pole position there. While virtual reality remains as popular as ever, augmented reality — digital imagery superimposed on the real world — shows increasing promise for training and surgical applications.
“Surgeons can use AR devices to plan and navigate surgical procedures and receive real-time information during operations,” write the analysts behind the Spherical Insights report.
Telemedicine
The reports also cited the dramatic increase in telemedicine in the wake of COVID-19. “Only 11% of Americans utilized telemedicine before the COVID-19 pandemic,” write the authors of the R&M report, “but the figure has risen to 76%” in the time since.
As increasing numbers of consumers around the globe get used to remote services, it’s likely that user interfaces, virtual clinics and patient onboarding will increasingly depend on metaverse technology. This trend has the potential to drive growth in the healthcare sector, but perhaps more importantly, it could help spur global adoption of metaverse tech as a baseline for customer service and client experience.
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