Disabled and Elderly Assistive Technologies

Report Highlights

The U.S. market for assistive technologies is projected to grow from $39.5 billion (including eyeglasses and contact lenses) in 2010 to $41.1 billion in 2011 and $55 billion in 2016, a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 6% between 2011 and 2016.

SCOPE AND FORMAT

The report focuses on the U.S. market for the various types of devices and products that are on the market or under development to enable disabled and elderly persons to move about, see, hear, speak, dress themselves, and perform many other everyday activities as “normally” as possible.  Where practical, market developments on the global level are also addressed, although in less detail than domestic market developments.

In the past few years, BCC has published a number of other reports in related areas, such as prosthetics and orthotics, microelectronic medical implants, drugs for the elderly, as well as anti-aging products.   The findings and conclusions of these other reports will be cited in this report, where appropriate, for the sake of completeness.  However, it is not the author’s intention to duplicate their coverage and analysis; attention will be focused instead on the following:

• Mobility- and dexterity-enhancing products.
• Products for the vision-, hearing-, and speech-impaired.
• Toileting and incontinence products.
• Medical/personal monitoring products.
• Other products such as environmental controls and daily living aids.

This report does not cover physical therapy and exercise equipment designed for the elderly and disabled.  The scope of this report also does not include therapeutic treatments such as surgery that are intended to mitigate or eliminate the underlying causes of a particular disability. 

In terms of format, the report is divided into the following major sections:

• Technologies used in disabled and elderly care products
• Conditions and applications addressed
• Product types
• Legal, regulatory, and insurance issues
• Patent and IP issues
• Market size and segmentation
• Market drivers
• Market projections from 2010 through 2016
• Industry size and structure
• Competition and market shares

ANALYST CREDENTIALS

The author of this report is Andrew McWilliams.  Mr. McWilliams, a partner in the Boston-based international technology and marketing consulting firm of 43rd Parallel, LLC, is the author of the previous edition of this report.  He is also the author of several other BCC Research studies related to the subject of this report, including HLC016D − Microelectronic Medical Implants: Products, Technologies and Opportunities; HLC038C − Patient Monitoring; HLC054B − Home Medical Equipment: Technologies and Global Markets; HLC045A − Prosthetics, Orthotics, and Cosmetic Enhancement Products; HLC014D − Telemedicine: Opportunities for Medical and Electronic Providers; HL048C −  Healthcare Information Technology; HLC066A − Medical Automation Technologies, Products and Markets;  and HLC070A − Preventive Healthcare Technologies, Products and Market.