A global industry analysis on mHealth (mobile health) market sector published in January this year by market intelligence company Transparency Market Research reported that the sector is expected to reach $10.2 billion (about Dh37.4 billion) by 2018. With the figure set at $1.3 billion in 2012, the market is estimated to see a CAGR of 41.5 per cent from 2012 to 2018.
A November 2012 report titled Mobile Health 2012, based on surveys conducted by the Princeton Survey Research Associates International and released by the Pew Internet & American Life Project, shed light on this growing trend. The report highlighted that half of smartphone owners have used their phone to look up health information and one in five smartphone owners have a health application.
The recently concluded International Consumers Electronics Show reported a 25-30 per cent growth of digital health and fitness technology from the previous year.
Healthy hardware will see a reinvention this year. The Nike FuelBand (below left), Jawbone’s UP and Fitbit’s The One (below right) wireless activity and sleep tracker have set the standards for mobile fitness.
Last year’s Gitex technology week saw iHealth lab, a manufacturer of mobile personal health-care products, display a range of medical smartphone accessories. A crowd favourite was the Smart Gluco-Monitoring System for iPod touch and iPhone. The device could be attached to your iPhone and record your blood glucose levels. Frank Jia, the sales manager of the company, stated that this was just the beginning and the company have many more innovations up their sleeves.
