Surgical robots are designed to solve the limitations currently present in minimally invasive surgeries, as well as to improve outcomes in open surgical procedures. According to GlobalData, a leading data and analytics company, the global surgical robotics market was worth $4.6bn in 2020 and is forecast to reach $10.3bn by 2030, at a strong compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 8.5%. This growth rate will be driven by the development of new medical device products that utilise the latest innovations in artificial intelligence (AI) and robotics technologies.

Tina Deng, MSc, Principal Medical Devices Analyst at GlobalData, comments: “Growth in the surgical robotics market is being driven by increasing elderly and surgical patient populations, technological improvement, and a growing focus on robotics training for physicians. The evolution of technologies, such as cloud computing and AI, will drive innovation in the robotics space improving clinical outcomes and reducing the workload for healthcare providers.”

Based on procedure types, the surgical robotics market can be broadly divided into three primary sub-segments: general surgery robotics, orthopedic robotics, and neurosurgery robotics. The general surgery robotics segment dominates the surgical robotics market due to strong acceptance of da Vinci Surgical Systems globally. As of 2020, general surgery robotics occupies nearly 89% of the global market. The market for orthopedic robotics is expected to be doubled by 2030, reaching $750m, primarily driven by the fast-growing robotic-assisted total knee replacement procedures. Neurosurgery robotics is the fastest-growing segment, expanding at a CAGR of 10.1% from 2020 to 2030.

Deng adds: “COVID-19 had a negative impact on the number of robotic surgical procedures due to the cancellation of elective surgeries in Q2 2020 according to GlobalData. A ‘surge’ period of sales in Q4 2020 made up for lost revenue in Q2 2020, as elective surgeries were rescheduled, and we expect that the number of surgeries performed in the US using robotic surgical systems between 2020 and 2030 will grow at a CAGR of 10.5%.”