Surgical Instrument Tracking Systems Market Size, Share, Trends & Growth 2026

Surgical instrument tracking systems is a combination of latest scanning technology and application software for inventory management. It provides comprehensive surgical instrument management solution which allows users to maintain Quality, Compliance and Traceability of Instruments in work place. US FDA implemented Unique Device Identification (UDI) regulations in 1993 to identify medical devices/instruments sold in the surgical market from manufacturing end through distribution to patient use. Starting in 2014, different classes of medical devices are included in UDI program to provide more accurate tracking of medical devices. Moreover, EU acted to adopt UDI in 2017, under the EU Medical Device Regulation (MDR) but the obligation for submission of UDI data in the EUDAMED database applies from November 2022. Such regulations are likely to boost demand for surgical tracking system.

Advancements in Software/Hardware Usage Drives the Market Growth

Software accounts for lion’s share of the market. It is a crucial part of surgical instrument tracking systems due to adoption of latest information technology systems and inventory management systems in the hospitals. It also helps in data management. However, hardware segment is expected to witness the highest growth during the forecast period due to the repetitive purchase of non-durable RFID tags/barcode labels that needs replacement.

Shifts Towards RFID Technology Over Traditional Barcode Methods

Currently hospitals are using barcode method due to its low installation cost. The RFID technology is projected to grow due to the growing demand from users for advanced automatic identification technology instruments (such as RFID) to track medical devices and surgical instruments. Also, RFID systems has many advantages over barcodes, such as RFID can read multiple tags at the same time, and do not need line of sight, they come in read/write form, which means data can be read and rewritten or modified as and when needed, RFID tags have more places for data storage and data is secured due to its ability for encryption. Overall, RFID systems have many more features than simple barcode systems. However, both RFID and barcode technologies have considerable limitations. RFID tags are sensitive to high temperature, humidity and chemical reaction. On the other hand, Barcode requires manual procedure for scanning which can lead to human error and also repetitive use of surgical instruments damages barcode labels, which makes it necessary to be checked after every sterilization cycles.

Hospital Market Expected to Continue Its Dominance

Hospitals are major end-users of surgical instrument tracking systems. Hospitals are increasing in number due to growing demand of better healthcare stemming from increase in population and advancements in medical technology. Hospitals have higher patient inflow and also conduct relatively larger number of surgical procedures compared to other end users in the market. It utilizes more equipment and instruments on an average than any other healthcare providers/end-users in the market. Growing need of comprehensive surgical instrument management solution is driving the demand of these systems amongst the hospitals.

North America Leads the Adoption of surgical instrument tracking systems market 

North America commands the largest share of the market and is also expected to witness fastest growth during the forecast period. The UDI regulations proposed by the US FDA, increasing number of surgeries performed in US, and presence of leading players in this region are some of the key factors supporting the market growth.

Emerging economies such as India and China, as well as countries in the Middle East, Latin America, and Southeast Asia, are anticipated to grow significantly over the forecast period. Advancing healthcare infrastructure, improving access to healthcare facilities and government initiatives to implement instruments tracking solutions are likely to fuel the demand of surgical instrument tracking systems in the developing economies.

“The implementation of unique device identification (UDI) system by the FDA and an increasing incidence of instrument misplacements in the hospitals are the pivotal factors driving the surgical instrument tracking systems market.”  - Vice President, Innovation & Operational Excellence, Surgical Instrument Technology Company, United States

Competitive Landscape: surgical instrument tracking systems market 

The surgical instrument tracking systems market is a highly competitive market. Some of the key players operating in the market are Becton, Dickinson and Company, Fortive Corporation, Censis Technologies Inc., Key Surgical Inc., Steris PLC, and STANLEY Healthcare. Other promising players operating in the market are Syrma Technology, Xerafy Getinge AB, Haldor Advanced Technologies, Spatrack Medical Limited, Surgical Safety Scanner, Material Management Microsystems, B. Braun Melsungen AG, among others.

Covid-19 Impact on Surgical instrument tracking systems market

Health care systems worldwide have been affected by the impact of COVID-19 pandemic. The case with surgical instrument tracking systems market is no different as the outbreak has caused a steep decrease in elective surgeries. For instance, in the US, the overall rate of surgical procedures during the 2020 initial shutdown decreased by 48.0% compared with its corresponding period in 2019 mainly because of cancellation of elective surgical procedures. Decline in elective surgeries adversely impacted the demand of surgical instrument tracking systems. However, the future prospect of the market looks promising as the market is on the recovery path and is functioning at pre-pandemic capacity.