The necessity to monitor the blood oxygen levels of asymptomatic and mildly symptomatic COVID-19 patients undergoing home isolation and proactive use by the common public in home care-settings will drive the pulse oximeters market in India to exceed $60 million by 2025, according to a GlobalData report.
GlobalData’s report, ‘Pulse Oximeter Systems (Anesthesia and Respiratory Devices) – Global Market Analysis and Forecast Model (COVID-19 market impact)’, reveals that in 2019, table top pulse oximeters accounted for more than 60 per cent of the pulse oximeters market in India. The market is highly fragmented in India with Medtronic, Masimo Corp, Smiths Medical, and GE Healthcare being the major players.
Healthcare professionals are recommending individuals suffering from COVID-19 symptoms use pulse oximeters in cases where there is a delay in getting admitted to hospitals due to limited hospital bed capacity.
Gopinadh Gundreddy, medical devices analyst, GlobalData, commented,“The desire of common people to take preventive actions and shifting trends of treatment from hospitals to home care in case of asymptomatic and mildly symptomatic COVID-19 patients are fueling the demand for pulse oximeters especially finger pulse oximeters.”
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He points out that some state governments have started providing pulse oximeters to COVID-19 infected patients undergoing home isolation. This helps patients to measure their blood saturation levels and report it to the COVID-19 care centers before their health condition turns critical as drop in blood oxygen levels below the threshold level is an early indication of lungs being infected requiring immediate doctors’ intervention. Gundreddy recommends that taking cue, other state governments should follow suit in handing out pulse oximeters to control deaths due to COVID-19.
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