Market and Technology Trends

BioMEMS Market and Technology 2020

By Yole Intelligence — Jun 2020

Pressure, inertial, MEMS ultrasound, microfluidic chips and other sensors are driving the growth of the life sciences and healthcare market.

WHAT’S NEW

A dedicated part on the COVID-19 impact at the sensor and end system level
Analysis of the dynamics of the market in the short and long terms due to the pandemic
Comparison of the different product developments and production cycle times and what to expect to reach the healthcare market
Top BioMEMS ranking for IDMs (Integrated Device Manufacturers) and fabless companies
Discussion of player origins: industrial, consumer and challenges to access to BioMEMS applications
Analysis of emerging BioMEMS sensors: design, integration and usage challenges

BEFORE AND AFTER COVID-19: HOW ARE THE HEALTHCARE APPLICATIONS CHANGING?

It is now a reality: the world and particularly the healthcare sector that existed before the COVID-19 outbreak will be different after it. The effects of the pandemic have strongly hit the medical device and in-vitro diagnostics (IVD) sector, with an impact on sales, applications and usage. However, the impact is slightly different in the healthcare sector than in other domains like consumer or automotive markets. Moreover, it is highly application-related. Thus, BioMEMS devices, defined as MEMS sensors and microfluidic devices integrated into medical devices and used for IVD and life sciences, are reflecting the market demand for the products in which they are integrated.

COVID-19’s acute respiratory symptoms have generated a sudden need for interventional equipment like ventilators, influencing the requirements for MEMS pressure sensors and
flowmeters. A huge demand for non-contact thermometers also came from Asia, particularly China. Infra-red (IR) thermometers play a big role for patient monitoring at hospitals and for preventive policies in public areas like airports or stations. Thus, IR thermopile shipments are increasing rapidly, with tremendous 90.5% growth expected from 2019 to 2020. In the IVD domain, many companies have started development projects to provide either rapid point-of-care tests or high-throughput tests for use in the central lab as soon as possible. Some of these tests are built on microfluidic chips, as well as the DNA sequencing flow cells that are useful tools to study the virus and hopefully develop a treatment or vaccine.

Apart from the hospital and central lab requirements, the pandemic has also moved patients towards more telemedicine and home consultation, to limit physical contacts. It accelerated adoption of home testing and monitoring using point of care devices. One example is the Butterfly IQ probe, which uses micromachined ultrasound transducer (MUT)
technology, allowing flexible use by nurses or general practitioners (GPs) for early diagnostics at the patient side. In the medium to long term, wearables and connected medical devices should find stronger interest from healthcare systems.

The impact of COVID-19 on BioMEMS market dynamics will definitely not be the same from one application to another. Increased demand for respiratory systems will raise the need for BioMEMS for the duration of the pandemic, while remote connected medical devices requirements will be intensified in the long term.

INTEREST FOR MEMS DEVICES IN HEALTHCARE REMAINS STRONG, WITH A CAGR2019-2025 OF 9.2%

The BioMEMS device market reached $3.7B in 2019 and is expected to reach $6.3B in 2025 with a Compound Annual Growth Rate from 2019 to 2025 (CAGR2019-2025) of 9.2%. Microfluidic chips still represent the largest part of the BioMEMS market and compete with MEMS pressure sensors when counting only silicon microfluidics. It is also worth noting that the BioMEMS device market is growing faster than the medical device market, which has about 4.5% growth year over year on the last decade, showing greater penetration of MEMS technologies compared to conventional ones. BioMEMS are more than ever the technology of choice, selected for high levels of integration, miniaturization and low power
consumption in a transforming healthcare sector.

MUTs are the latest newcomers in the BioMEMS field with 32% growth expected year-over-year in the next five years. Confirming the interest of the healthcare sector for a new type of highly integrated and affordable ultrasound imaging devices at the point of care, like the success of Capacitive MUT (CMUT) based probes and future generation of ultrasound based catheters.

On the other hand, several devices like Inertial Measurement Units (IMUs) for fall detection wearables, including the Apple Watch Series 4 and 5, or MEMS microphones for hearing aids, are more severely hit by the economic downturn than other devices. Nevertheless, the market’s drivers are linked to demography and ageing population.
Recovery is expected very soon, at the latest in 2021 as healthcare companies need to serve patients and practitioners.

A special part dedicated to COVID-19 is included in this report to better understand its impact on market forecasts in the short and medium terms. As usual, the report provides dedicated analysis of market trends for each BioMEMS device in the next five years with market forecast in value and units, along with a comprehensive analysis of the overall BioMEMS market.

IS THE BIOMEMS INDUSTRY RULE ‘ONE PLAYER, ONE MEMS DEVICE’?

Efforts to serve the healthcare sector that are related to MEMS device reliability, measurement accuracy and compliance with healthcare regulations, requested by the integrators at the system level, require highly developed skills and long experience.
Emerging BioMEMS devices like microneedles, MUT or optical MEMS devices sometimes have complex designs or are highly challenging for integration when the use case is not itself imposing other barriers. Analysis of the players and supply chain show that BioMEMS makers are often centered on a single MEMS device, or sometimes two device types. Most of the top BioMEMS players are also serving the industrial domain, having experience with high-end and highly regulated applications. MEMS foundries are playing a big role, working on high added value projects, developing key process steps like lead zirconate titanate (PZT) deposition or CMOS-MEMS integration.

A new wave of players is also getting increasingly involved, as the healthcare sector is currently moving to more preventive and personalized care. Consumer MEMS companies are strongly interested in serving consumer healthcare applications, where volumes could be attractive and regulations less strict. However, the frontier between regulated and non-regulated markets is blurred.

Discover in this report the latest changes in the BioMEMS landscape and the challenges new players must face, what opportunities are being created and who could take advantage of the current pandemic situation.

KEY FEATURES

The key drivers of the healthcare system transformation and MEMS sensor advantages
BioMEMS time to market to consider to serve healthcare industry
COVID-19 impact on market trends– short term impact forecast (2019-2020)
BioMEMS market forecast 2019-2025 in value ($) and shipment(units)
Market trends and main player market shares per BioMEMS device
Ecosystem and supply chain, including top BioMEMS players, MEMS foundries serving BioMEMS market
Technology trends: main technologies and drivers, challenges of the healthcare market

REPORT OBJECTIVES

The BioMEMS report is a comprehensive overview of MEMS devices including pressure sensors, microphones, inertial MEMS, microfluidic chips, microdispensers, optical MEMS, MUT flow meters, gas and humidity sensors integrated or used in the life science and healthcare domains
It provides the latest main information and key facts of the BioMEMS industry
It forecasts the BioMEMS market from 2019 to 2025 with graphics and market trends explanations
The report helps to understand the dynamics of the market and the competitive landscape for strategic decision making
It enables readers to understand the challenges for MEMS companies who want to serve the healthcare sector at the economic and technological level

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