VISION IMPAIRMENT MARKET ANALYSIS

When a person’s eyesight cannot be corrected to a “normal level”, they are considered to have a vision impairment. Loss of visual activity may cause visual impairment, which is the inability to see objects clearly as usual. Many internal and external factors can drastically change a person’s vision.

Global vision impairment market is estimated to be valued at US$  4,951.3 million in 2022 and is expected to exhibit a CAGR of 8.83% during the forecast period (2023-2030).

Analysts' Views on Global Vision Impairment Market:

The Global Vision Impairment market growth is expected to have a positive impact over the forecast period, owing to increasing awareness programs on visual impairment conducted by the market players and government organizations. For instance, in August 2022, Sightsavers, an international non-governmental organization, in collaboration with Oracle India, a U.S.-based multinational computer technology corporation, launched the Inclusive Education project in multiple locations across India. The Inclusive Education project will be implemented in six districts including Jharkhand, Odisha, West Bengal, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, and Chhattisgarh. The project aims to improve learning outcomes for children with visual impairment through community mobilization, raising awareness and strengthening government systems.

Figure 1. Global Vision Impairment Market Share (%), by Product Type, 2022

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Global Vision Impairment Market- Driver

Adoption of technologically advanced products in Vision Impairment

Increasing focus on research and development activities in visual imparement market by key players is likely to drive the growth of the market. Moreover, the adoption of advanced technologies and also increase in many emerging stratergies in the markets will further give favorable opportunities for the vision impairment market growth. For instance, in March 2022, Envision, a multinational corporation company, announced the launch of advanced features for its acclaimed AI-powered (Artificial Intelligence) Smart Glasses for the blind and visually impaired. The newly launched smart glass includes greater Optical Character Recognition (OCR), improved text reading with contextual intelligence

Figure 2. Global Vision Impairment Market Share (%), by Region, 2022

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Global Vision Impairment Market- Regional Analysis

Among all regions, North America is expected to dominate the market over the forecast period. This is attributed as North America hold 37.8% market share and increasing government initiatives to promote assistive technology and provide assistive technology devices to disabled people is anticipated to drive the vision impairment market growth in this region. Government bodies are focusing on investing in NGOs that are developing assistive technology for visually impaired people. For instance, in July 2021, the governments of the U.S., the U.K., and others adopted a new resolution at the United Nations General Assembly to put greater efforts to make eye care services an integral part of universal health coverage.

Moreover, increasing collaboration between the market players is expected to drive growth in North America and Europe Region. For instance, in October 2022, Haleon, a global consumer health company, and Microsoft Corp, a technology corporation, announced a new collaboration to make everyday health more accessible for people who are blind and have low vision or have difficulty reading product labels due to low literacy. Under this collaboration, the companies will expand functionality in Microsoft Seeing AI app to provide consumers with more detailed labeling information for over 1,500 Haleon products across the U.S. and the U.K.

Global Vision Impairment Market – Impact of Coronavirus (COVID-19) Pandemic

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a highly contagious infectious disease caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). According to the World Health Organization (WHO), as of Deccember 18, 2022, 649,243,663 people are affected worldwide.

COVID-19 has resulted in several challenges to manage non-communicable diseases, especially to ensure continuity of treatment during the pandemic period. It has significantly affected healthcare systems and economies within a short timeframe. Furthermore, the unprecedented demand for hospital services during the COVID-19 pandemic has drastically reduced the capability for dealing with non-acute health needs, including vision impairment treatment.

Global Vision Impairment Market Segmentation:

The global vision impairment market report is segmented into Product Type and End User

Based on Product Type, the market is segmented into Educational Devices & Software, Mobility Devices, and Low Vision Devices. Out of which, the Educational Devices & Software segment is expected to dominate the visual impairment market over the forecast period, owing to increased product launches and collaboration between the market players.

Based on End User, the visual impairment market is segmented into Blind Schools, Enterprises & Social Organizations, Personal Use, Hospitals, and Others. The Enterprises & Social Organizations segment is expected to dominate the market over the forecast period due to increasing initiatives and awareness programs conducted by market players and Government Organizations.

Among product type segment, the Educational Devices & Software segment has the highest growth due to increasing initiatives taken by Governmnet organizations for visually impaired students. For instance, in September 2022, the American Foundation for the Blind (AFB), announced the launch of its Digital Inclusion Toolkits, a set of free resources to create, encourage, and advocate for more digitally inclusive classrooms. Digital Inclusion Toolkits are especially designed for school administrators, teachers, families, and blind or low-vision students. The toolkits include planning tools for educators and administrators with information and resources for families and students with visual impairments.

Global Vision Impairment Market Cross-Sectional Analysis:

In the product type segment, Educational Devices & Software held the dominant segment in North America region due increasing prevalence of visual impairment & blindness. For instance, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Report published in June 2020, approximately 12 million people aged 40 years and above in the U.S. had vision impairment, including 1 million who were blind, 3 million who had vision impairment after correction, and 8 million who had vision impairment due to uncorrected refractive error in 2020.

Furthermore, according to the Canadian National Institute for the Blind in 2021, the increasing prevalence of eye disorders such as diabetic retinopathy, refractive error, glaucoma, cataract, and age-related macular degeneration is projected to increase the number of visually impaired people, thereby fueling demand for assistive technologies in visual impairment. This will, in turn, drive the growth of the visual impairment market in North America.

Global Vision Impairment Market: Key Developments

In May 2022, Narayana Nethralaya, a Clinic in collaboration with Acer India, a device company, launched PC + tablet-based software, VisioNova. VisioNova is specially designed for children suffering from Cortical Visual Impairment (CVI). The collaboration aimed to break down barriers and provide patients with better access to treatment.

In July 2020, Envision, an multinational  corporate company, announced announced to integrate its AI-powered software technology into Google Glass at CSUN, held at assistive technology conferences in the US. Envision developed its software on Google Glass, with the upgraded hardware of their Google Glass Enterprise Edition 2.

In January 2020, Mojo Vision, software solutions company, announced a pair of initiatives integral to its goal of assisting people with low or impaired vision. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) had granted Breakthrough Device Designation to Mojo for the development of its smart contact lens.

In January 2020, Mojo Vision, software solutions company, announced a new partnership with Vista Center for the Blind and Visually Impaired, a Palo Alto-based nonprofit that offers rehabilitation services to more than 3,000 children and adults with blindness or impaired vision each year.

Global Vision Impairment Market: Restraint

Lack of understanding about smartphone-based assistive technologies and stringent global regulatory policies

The major factors that can hamper the growth of the global vision impairment market over the forecast period include a lack of understanding about smartphone-based assistive technologies and to overcome the lack of understanding about smartphone-based assistive technologies a proper instruction manual, tutorial or customer service should be provided with the product for easy understanding 

Furthermore, stringent global regulatory policies on quality assessments of medical device regulation & approval in some countries and increased supply chain security issues across emerging economies, which have a large impact on the global visual impairment market. For instance, according to the U.S. FDA(Food and Drug Administration), as device class increases from Class I, to Class II to Class III, the regulatory controls also increase, with Class I devices subject to the least regulatory control, and Class III devices subject to the most stringent regulatory control

Global Vision Impairment Market: Key Players

Major players operating in the global vision impairment market include Adaptivation, Inc., AbleNet, Inc., Amedia Corporation, Access Ingenuity, LVI Low Vision International, American Thermoform, Cambium Learning, Dolphin Computers Access Ltd., HumanWare Group, ViewPlus, VFO, Eyedaptic, Inc., and Envision