Market Challenges And Opportunities

Global Fundus Camera Market – Key Drivers

Increasing number of product launches by market players are expected to fuel growth of the global fundus camera market over the forecast period. For instance, in November 2020, Optomed, health care technology company launched Aurora IQ. Aurora IQ is a handheld fundus camera with integrated artificial intelligence for faster eye screening. The Aurora IQ is CE-approved product.

Market players are engaged in partnerships, which is expected to boost the global fundus camera market growth over the forecast period. For instance, in August 2021, Thirona B.V., a high-tech company focusing on development and marketing of automated analysis tools for medical images partnered NIDEK CO., LTD., an organization engaged in design, manufacture, and distribution of ophthalmic, optometric, and lens edging equipment announced the integration of Thirona's RetCAD artificial intelligence eye disease detection software and NIDEK's NAVIS-EX image filing software. The partnership between two companies allows instant screening of Age-related Macular Degeneration (AMD) and Diabetic Retinopathy (DR) on color fundus images captured by the AFC-330 and Retina Scan Duo from NIDEK.

Global Fundus Camera Market-Restraint

High cost associated with fundus cameras is expected to hinder growth of the global fundus cameras market. For instance, VisuCam 200 (Carl Zeiss), non-mydriatic color fundus camera, costs in the range of US$ 25,000 to US$ 30,000, which may be significantly high for private clinics or tier II and tier III hospitals.

Global Fundus Camera Market - Impact of the Coronavirus (COVID-19) Pandemic

Coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak was first reported on December 31, 2019, in Wuhan, China. The World Health Organization declared COVID-19 as pandemic on March 11, 2020. According to the Coronavirus (COVID-19) Weekly Epidemiological Update by the World Health Organization, over 645 million cases and 6.63 million deaths due to coronavirus (COVID-19) were reported till December 10, 2022, across the globe.

Impact of COVID-19 on Demand and Supply of Fundus Camera

The COVID-19 pandemic and lockdown in various countries across the globe has impacted the financial status of businesses across all sectors including private healthcare sector. The COVID-19 pandemic has impacted the entire supply chain of the healthcare industry mainly due to strict lockdown in several regions. The COVID-19 pandemic has affected the economy of various regions across the globe in three main ways; 1) by directly affecting the production and demand; 2) by creating disruptions in distribution channels; and 3) through its financial impact on companies and financial markets. Several countries such as Thailand, Indonesia, and Singapore are facing problems with regards to transportation and distribution of healthcare products.

Thus, COVID-19 pandemic negatively impacted the global fundus camera market owing to decrease in the ophthalmology appointments during the COVID-19 pandemic. For instance, according to an article published in Clinical Ophthalmology, a peer-reviewed medical journal of ophthalmology, December 2021, a retrospective observational study was conducted on eye clinic patients in Stanford Eye Institute, U.S., where only 59.3% of eye clinic appointments were completed during COVID-19 pandemic (March 16 to May 31, 2020) as compared to the 82.0% of eye clinic appointments visited eye clinic before COVID-19 during January 1 to February 29, 2020.