Global Medical Exoskeleton Market consists of wearables rehabilitative device that has robotic functionality with the intended to assist individuals with impaired mobility due to neurological disorders, spinal cord injuries, or musculoskeletal injuries. Fed with motors, sensors and mechanical parts these exoskeletons boost the user’s strength and give a wider range of motion so that it can stand, walk or handle tasks all may struggle to perform themselves medical exoskeletons not only aids in physical therapy of the individual’s rehabilitation but can also help provide functional assistance and thus promote independence, mobility and eventually, users’ quality of life. On many occasions, it is convenient enough to adapt themselves to an individual specified needs and be applied in clinics, rehabilitation centers or even as a home-based treatment if supervised by trained professionals. Progress in exoskeleton technology keeps expanding their possibilities in terms of their capability, usability, and comfortableness. For those that have limited mobility exoskeletons and similar inventions are a great sign of the things to come.

The United States of North America and especially the US region, are described as being the leading region in the medical exoskeleton market. This preeminence is caused by a mixture of reasons, many of which I will address in the upcoming part of my speech. Firstly, the US has a large ageing population which is a huge chunk of unavoidable mobility impaired patients and as a result of this growing demand there has been the emergence of innovated assistive technologies such as medical exoskeletons. Another important factor is the efficient healthcare in the country that includes leading hospitals, rehabilitation institutions, and research institutions. That is why there is the possibility of implementation and integration of walking and running robots into clinical practices.

Player Names

• Bionik Laboratories (Canada)
• B-Temia Inc. (Canada)
• Cyberdyne (Japan)
• Ekso Bionics (United States)
• Fourier Intelligence (China)
• Gogoa Mobility Robots (Spain)
• Hocoma (Switzerland)
• Honda Motor Co., Ltd. (Japan)
• Myomo (United States)
• Parker Hannifin (United States)
• ReWalk Robotics (Israel)
• Rex Bionics (New Zealand)
• SuitX (United States)
• Wandercraft (France)
• Wearable Robotics (Germany)

Segment Analysis

1. By Component

• Hardware
  • Actuators
  • Power Sources
  • Control System
  • Others
• Software

2. By Extremity

• Upper Extremity Medical Exoskeletons
• Lower Extremity Medical Exoskeletons
• Full Body

3. By Mobility

• Mobile Exoskeletons
• Stationary Exoskeletons

Market Drivers

In the light of the growing world population, the occurrences of age-associated pathologies such as osteoarthritis, stroke and spinal cord injury are advancing. Medical exoskeletons provide a new hope to elders and people with disabilities who cannot get around without assistance, boosting sales of these products. development of technologies, especially in the fields of robotics, materials science, and sensor technologies, has resulted in exoskeletons, which are able to perform medical functions, to be redesigned to function with more precision, and to be made available in plenty. The adoption of such exoskeleton technology for rehab purposes has improved the comfort and convenience of exoskeletons with better features that has led to its wider use across healthcare settings. Conclusively, clinical studies and authentic evidence has recorded the operation of exoskeleton on paraplegic patients with upbeat contents that comprise spasticity, gait improvement, muscle strength, balance, and activities of daily living. The medical community is now discovering supportive exoskeleton therapy and using it more often in rehabilitation programs, which, in turn, leads to greater acceptance and integration into these protocols.

Market Trends

Accidents, injuries and chronic health conditions are becoming more widespread globally, leading to a rise in disabilities which are also increasing. The medical exoskeletons represent a novel solution which might be advantageous for people with mobility limitations, releasing them bound to their disability simultaneously increasing their ability to perform activities in daily living and to participate in the society. Medical exoskeletons are playing more and more role in rehabilitation centers and physical therapies, helping to speed up the healing process for those who had injuries in their nervous system, muscles, and who have some movement limitations. As a consequence, medications enable recovery from painful activities and return the muscle power, co-ordination and range of motion. Technological advances over the past years have resulted in the diversification of allopathic exoskeleton applications from mere rehabilitation and mobility help to different medical conditions and occupational environments. Exoskeletons, designed for various purposes may include gait assistance or the arc the upper limb support, the ability to pick up and move huge masses and other purposes such as help with surgical procedures.

Market Challenges

A considerable concern in the medical exoskeleton market is the cost of development, manufacturing, and buying these devices is quite high. The complex engineering, brand-specific materials, and the cutting-edge technology which get assembled in these gadgets also contribute to their high cost. However, these expenses raise a question mark over the wide utilization of these systems because healthcare provision, insurers and patients may discover it hard to wallow in such expenses or justify them. The fact that insurance coverage or reimbursement potency is low for medical exoskeletons can hinder the patient’s access to medical exoskeletons, which might be useful to them. Exoskeleton technologies are a relatively new treatment modality that both the healthcare systems and insurers may not identify as potential treatments of the goal and the standardized rules for reimbursement policies absent, resulting in uncertainties and reluctance to cover the costs. Overcoming reimbursement issues will ensure the affordability and accessibility of exoskeletons on the way to their patients willing to avail such technology.

Market Opportunities

Exoskeleton technology has been a focus in the world’s armed forces, and this investment of theirs is a bid to improve the capabilities and performance of their soldiers in the battlefield. Exoskeletons may aid soldiers in transversing heavy loads, enervate them in sustained missions, and require less physical protection from musculoskeletal injuries. In particular it can serve as a profitable market niche for exoskeleton producers along with military budget allocation and enhancing technologies as priority requirements. An exoskeleton has the capability to be a game changer in work place ergonomics and thus, reduce musculoskeletal injuries in industries that rely heavily on manual labor and heavy lifting such as manufacturing, construction and warehouse. In the meantime, researcher’s interests have started emerging around the use of Exoskeletons as a means to improve the safety of workers, increase productivity and comfort of workers, offering openings that can slowly adopt this suit in industries. Besides medical exoskeletons using for surgery needs, these devices are researched for sports performance enhancement and injury prevention as well. The exoskeletons are of great help for those who have got injuries and are going on rehabilitation since all can bring support to their movements and make the recovery faster. Also, exoskeletons created for sports training may enable the athletes to train faster, gain more power, and excel in their skills.

Regulatory Factors

The FDA provides regulation of the medical device, for example, medical exoskeletons, to protect public health, which is one of the main obligations of the FDA. If a device which manufacturers are producing is a class I or II device, it must undergo 510(k) or probably PMA, depending on the device’s classification. The FDA’s Center for Devices Radiological Health (CDRH) supervises the go through and get approval for the medical exoskeletons process, analyzing components such as the device design, clinical data, labelling and the manufacturing practice. In the EU, medical exoskeletons are defined according to the Medical Devices Regulation or the In Vitro Diagnostic Medical Devices Regulation, the MDR and the IVDR. EMA fulfills the task of drugs evaluation, testing and supervision whereas European Commission formulates rules and directives which regulate medical devises. A notified body conducts a conformity assessment procedure in which CE marking is issued to get data for obtaining market access within the EU.

Recent Industry Insights

• In March 2021, CYBERDYNE Inc., Japanese robotics and technology company, received medical device approval from Thai Food and Medical Products Approval Authority (Thai FDA) for HAL Single Joint Type. The product is for patients with reduced mobility in the upper and lower limbs due to muscle weakness or paralysis.

Recent Merger Acquisitions

• In December 2022, Ekso Bionics, an industry leader in exoskeleton technology for medical and industrial use, announced the acquisition of the Human Motion and Control (“HMC”) Business Unit from Parker Hannifin Corporation (“Parker”), a global leader in motion and control technologies. The acquisition includes the Indego lower limb exoskeleton line of products as well as the planned development of robotic assisted orthotic and prosthetic devices.

Competitive Landscape

Global Medical Exoskeleton Market is highly completive with major key players such as B-Temia Inc., Cyberdyne, Ekso Bionics, Fourier Intelligence, Gogoa Mobility Robots, and Hocoma. The main players in the medical exoskeleton market demonstrate their technological advances, clinical effectiveness, adapted options, cost effectiveness, wide-scale distribution and regulatory compliance in the industry. There should be more variation in design and utility, the products should be responded to the needs of the patient, and eventually highlight improvements in patient outcomes. Appropriate customization for diverse patients, competitive pricing and partnerships to go on globally are also amongst the most important features. Furthermore, conforming to the regulatory guide refers to a high stake in “trust” and “market credibility”.