医疗用机器人市场需求旺盛，价格瓶颈凸显

过去20年来，机器人技术已经被运用在某些特定医疗照护领域，以提升外科手术或是病患复健程序的效率与安全性；近几年来，随着机器人技术的演进，再加上医疗照护市场景气蓬勃，也让各种手术用、辅助用以及远距医疗应用的机器人需求水涨船高。

市场研究机构 ABI Research 的一份最新报告预测，全球医疗用机器人市场规模将由2011年的不到7.9亿美元，在2016年成长至13亿美元，主力是高端手术用机器人与相关的自动化放射手术(radio-surgical )系统。该机构新兴科技市场分析师Larry Fisher表示，机器人技术多年来已经运用在某些特定手术中，随着病患与医师对提升医疗效果的期望，医疗用机器人越来越受欢迎，也加入了其它辅助技术与远距医疗自动化工具。

虽然采用自动化与辅助技术有助于让医疗过程与相关活动更简化、更安全，也更具成本效益，但建置这类技术的初期成本还是一大门槛，尤其是对较小型的医疗机构来说；再加上，专为医疗应用所设计的机器人系统，需要经过复杂的临床测试与主观机关审查程序，这也可能使这类产品的定价高昂，上市之路也会十分漫长。

医疗机器人市场的采购者本来就限于具备特定资格的医疗机构或医事人员，同时又会受到经济条件的限制；较小型的医疗机构恐怕无力负担机器人的采购预算，因为这类系统价格动辄数万美元，甚至可能高达400万美元。因此Fisher表示：“医疗用机器人出货量成长有限，但是由于该类产品的高单价，将使得该市场营收金额在2016年以后达到数十亿美元水准。”

Medical robots market to approach USD1.3 billion in 2016, says ABI Research

Julien Happich

RoboTIc technology has been used to provide medical care on a limited basis over the past two decades, helping to make surgical procedures and physical rehabilitaTIon more efficient and effecTIve, and safer for paTIents. Recent advances in robots' technological capabilities, combined with the improving economic environment for medical services delivery and payments, are driving increased demand for surgical, assistive and telemedicine-based robots.

A new study by ABI Research, "Healthcare and Medical Robots" foresees the global market for medical robotics growing from just under USD790 million in 2011 to nearly USD1.3 billion in 2016, driven largely by sales of advanced surgical robots and related automated radio-surgical systems.

Larry Fisher, research director of NextGen (ABI Research's emerging technologies research incubator) says, "While robots to assist surgeons have been used on a limited basis for years, the desire of patients and physicians to maximize the efficiency and effectiveness of medical treatment has led to a recent surge in the popularity of medical robots, as well as to the introduction of additional assistive technologies and telemedicine-based automation tools."

Despite the benefits of using automated and assistive technologies to make medical procedures and activities easier, safer and more cost-effective, the initial cost of implementing such technologies remains a barrier to entry, particularly for smaller medical organizations. Moreover, robotic systems designed for medical care and treatment require significant clinical testing and trials as part of the regulatory approvals process, which can raise these products' price tags, and make their journey to market a lengthy one.

Moreover, the medical robots market is limited by the number of qualified medical institutions or practitioners that can use these devices. This group is further limited by economics; smaller organizations simply may not be able to afford the up-front capital expenditure associated with robots that can cost anywhere from tens of thousands of dollars to more than USD4 million per unit.

As a result, says Fisher, "On a unit basis, the market for medical robots will remain limited. At the same time, however, the high average selling price of most medical robots will help propel revenue to the billion-dollar level and beyond by 2016."