Global Haptic Feedback Surgical Environment Market Research Report: Forecast (2022-2027)

Market Definition

Haptics technology is simulated touch interaction between humans, robots, and real or simulated environments that could be used in the healthcare sector. Haptic technology in the robotic environment provides a tactile sense in the form of force, motion, or vibration via a feedback mechanism integrated with computers. When haptic feedback is used in surgical robots & medical simulators, it provides tactile feedback to medical practitioners. It also allows the surgeon to experience a variety of sensations when using a remote mechanism, allowing him to feel as if his hands are operating and contacting a patient.

Furthermore, the adoption of haptic technology by surgeons to enhance their surgery experience along with attaining maximum accuracy has been escalating the market of haptic feedback technology in a surgical environment. The training institutes have also been adopting haptic-enabled surgical instruments to provide a time-effective training experience to the medical trainees, hence encouraging the market’s growth.

Market Insights

The Global Haptic Feedback Surgical Environment market is projected to grow at a CAGR of around 14.6% during the forecast period, i.e., 2022-27. The market expansion of the haptic feedback surgical environment is driven by the demand for advancements in robotic systems for surgeries. Additionally, the demand for haptic feedback systems for medical training purposes further fuels the market demand as it offers the user a feel of sensation (tactile), along with audio & visual experiences. The haptic feedback surgical environment can enhance the user’s training experience and provides better surgical performance & accuracy. Therefore, haptic-enabled devices help medical trainees to develop the skillsets required for clinical purposes.

The development of augmented reality, virtual reality, and mixed reality in the healthcare sector is increasing the application of haptic-enabled devices. The haptic devices in the medical sector mainly respond through force-dependent feedback mechanisms that provide sensations by constrictions & vibrations. Along with this, ongoing research to develop haptic-enabled medical wearables such as gloves creates an opportunity for the Global Haptic Feedback Surgical Environment market to grow.

Furthermore, the current implementation of haptic feedback technology in the healthcare sector is at its budding stage & is expected to grow further due to the rise in demand for Minimal Invasive Surgeries (MIS). However, the lower skillsets & expertise to handle this technology, along with the complexity of technical implementation of this technology restrains the growth of the haptic feedback market. Consequently, to overcome these challenges, ongoing innovations and advancements in haptic technologies to improve the performance of the instruments have been catering to the growth of the haptic feed surgical environment market.

Moreover, Haptic technology is relatively new in the healthcare domain, having previously only been used in medical simulators for training purposes. This technology is now being used extensively in the medical field, including pre-natal imaging, radiology, surgical robotics, allied health professions, dentistry, anesthesiology, and surgical interventions. Therefore, the expanding landscape of technological developments in the medical sector, including Virtual Reality (VR), augmented reality, and telepresence surgeries, are further estimated to amplify the growth of the Global Haptic Feedback Surgical Environment market in the coming years.

Key Trend in the Market

• Consistent Research & Development in Haptics Technology

The consistent research & development (R&D) in haptic technology to provide better feedback to the user has been a major trend that uplifts the adoption of this technology. Several manufacturers that provide robotic-assisted surgery equipment have emerged with technology that provides a mix of both haptic feedback & visual feedback signals. These dual-purpose devices escalate the surgical performance along with the overall training procedure as it enhances the accuracy & precision of the medical procedures.

Additionally, several companies such as Vicarious Surgical, Inc., Orbsurgical Ltd., and others are working on improving haptic devices & technology as well as integrating it into various surgical tools such as gloves, VR surgical devices, etc. For instance:

• In 2018, a patent was assigned to Stuart Schecter LLC for its operating device for a minimally invasive hand-held surgical instrument integrated with the haptic feedback device.

Hence, the research & development of high-end haptic-integrated surgical instruments has been escalating consistently to provide a better experience to surgeons. These new technologies allow surgeons to accurately detect the patients’ tissue structure compared to traditional surgery methods, thus enhancing the growth of the Haptic Feedback Surgical Environment market.

Market Segmentation

Based on Application:

• Haptic-enabled Surgical Robotic Systems
• Haptic-enabled Medical Simulators

Of them all, the Haptic-enabled Surgical Robotic Systems application held a considerable share of the market over the past few years and is expected to follow the same trend in the coming years as well. The rising technological advancement has been expanding the adoption pattern of surgical robots in hospitals, research centers, and training institutes. Additionally, haptic-enabled robotic systems allow for performing complex surgical procedures with high precision, control, and flexibility, leading to higher adoption among medical practitioners.

Besides, the Medical Simulator is predicted to be the second-leading application due to the rising adoption of VR simulation systems for medical training purposes. The medical simulation systems virtually reproduce the original operating environment & offer the benefits of surgical tools to the trainees to perform virtual surgeries. Further, it helps in enhancing the skillsets of a medical practitioner in a limited time & prevents unnecessary risks to the patients. As a result, medical simulation systems with physical sensations are preferred over traditional approved training models for medical training.

Regional Landscape

Geographically, the Global Haptic Feedback Surgical Environment Market expands across:

• North America
• South America
• Europe
• Asia-Pacific
• The Middle East & Africa

Of all the regions across the globe, North America accounted for the largest share of the Haptic Feedback Surgical Environment market during the past period, owing to its technological advancements that offer innovative solutions to the healthcare sector. North America was the early adopter of technological solutions like robotic surgeries, and the presence of most of the major companies assisted it to the acquire a major share of the market.

Moreover, Europe held the second dominant share in the Global Haptic Feedback Surgical Environment market due to rising collaborations between the key players to improve haptic technology. Further, Asia-Pacific owns the third-largest share in the global market due to the technological advancements in the robotic & simulator devices used in surgeries. Besides, extensive demand for medical simulations to train medical students is the key factor driving the growth of the market in the Asia-Pacific region.

Recent Developments by Leading Companies

• 2022: Simodont team installed 22 Simodont dental trainers that use Moog’s haptic technology at Queen Mary University of London (QMUL). Simodont dental trainers would offer additional training capacity & flexibility, along with advanced training capabilities by connecting with digital dentistry workflows.
• 2021: 3D Systems Corporation launched VSP® Hybrid Guides, a VSP surgical planning solutions portfolio. It could be used by maxillofacial surgeons, which will provide guide placement & surgical site visibility, as well as integrated with auditory & haptic feedback to provide proper connection of guides

Market Dynamics:

Key Driver: Integration of Haptic Technology in Simulation Systems & Surgical Robotic Systems

The escalated deployment of haptic technology in medical simulators & surgical robots benefits several healthcare procedures by enriching the tactile experience, along with audio & visual experience. Additionally, the deployment of haptic feedback in exoskeletal devices, advanced prosthetics, etc., enhances the user experience as they provide tangible feedback. The haptic feedback also helps the medical simulators to add a sense of touch when the user interacts in the virtual environment.

Furthermore, the dominant medical application that uses haptic feedback is medical simulators for endoscopy & laparoscopy environments, stitching, dental simulators, etc. As a result of haptic feedback, a surgeon has better hand-eye coordination and a better perception of depth, which are both challenging to achieve in conventional Minimally Invasive Surgery (MIS). Hence, driving the growth of the market.

Possible Restraint: Shortcomings in Integrating Haptic Technology Software into Medical Devices

Global Haptic Feedback Surgical Environment market growth has been constrained by implementation challenges such as insufficient sensitivity, unstable performance, high power requirements, etc. The installation of motors to provide stability in performance and increase feedback intensity is often bulky, rigid, and cumbersome. Several haptic devices, including wearables and VR, are limited by friction and the requirement for high power.

Aside from this, tactile sensation implementation is quite complex due to the difficulty of achieving optimum sensitivity. Hence, these limitations affect the performance of haptic devices rendering the patients at risk, which limits the adoption of haptic technology in the healthcare domain to ensure the safety of the patients.

Growth Opportunity: Use of Vibrotactile Feedback Mechanism in Medical Simulators

Using vibrotactile feedback over force feedback is projected to open up a market opportunity in the following years, owing to its higher sensitivity. Several researchers have approved that the vibrotactile feedback system is more effective due to the production of desired sensitivity, which decreases the risk during surgical procedures. Additionally, training medical practitioners through a vibrotactile feedback mechanism help to improve overall performance, as it immediately generates feedback, even at minor errors.

However, the use of the vibrotactile feedback mechanism is restricted in a surgical environment due to the emission of electromagnetic waves that could interfere with the medical instruments. Besides, various research & development is still going on to reduce the effect of the EM waves through the use of devices that can trap these emissions.

Key Questions Answered in the Market Research Report:

1. What are the overall statistics or estimates (Overview, Size- By Value, Forecast Numbers, Segmentation, Shares) of the Global Haptic Feedback Surgical Environment Market?
2. What are the region-wise industry size, growth drivers, and challenges?
3. What are the key innovations, opportunities, current & future trends, and regulations in the Global Haptic Feedback Surgical Environment Market?
4. Who are the key competitors, their key strengths & weaknesses, and how do they perform in the Global Haptic Feedback Surgical Environment Market based on the competitive benchmarking matrix?
5. What are the key results derived from surveys conducted during the Global Haptic Feedback Surgical Environment Market study?