With the rise of COVID-19 cases across the globe, healthcare professionals and employers are turning to wearable technology to do everything from monitoring blood oxygen levels to devices that are used for contact tracing.

Read more: The Global Medical Sensors Market Is Poised To Grow Strong During 2018 – 2028 Period

New deployments and studies during the pandemic will boost the healthcare wearables market (which includes connected blood pressure monitors, continuous glucose monitors, pulse oximeters, and electrocardiogram monitors) to 30 million shipments in 2020, increasing to 104 million shipments in 2025, at a CAGR of 28.5%, states global tech market advisory firm, ABI Research, according to a press release.

"Wearables have often been used in medical trials and to aid healthcare professionals to monitor the vitals of many patients simultaneously, both in and out of the hospital, with a focus on specific healthcare issues and the onset of COVID-19 is no exception," says Stephanie Tomsett, Wearables Analyst at ABI Research.

A new report by IDTechEx studies the wearable sensors market, describing the technology, market trends, and competitive landscape for sensors used in wearable electronic products. The report states that globally, the wearable sensors market will reach $3.1 billion in 2021 and then soar to $5.3 billion in 2025. These electronics includes sensors for inertial measurement, including accelerometers, and gyro and compass sensors.

IDTechEx predicts that in 2022, the wearable sensors revenue will grow to $3.8 billion globally. According to the market research firm, chemical and gas sensors will be the largest segment (about 30%), followed by cameras, optical, microphones, IMU (inertial measurement), electrodes, and GPS. A small portion of revenues will come from temperature sensors and force, pressure and stretch sensors.

Read more: Wearables Market Will Reach $97.9 Billion by 2025, Reveals Yole Report

“The COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 has brought additional focus to sensors, including tracking early onset of conditions, facilitation of wearables for contact tracing, and remote patient monitoring for patients in isolation. Parallel trends see smartwatches driving towards medical metrics, hearables adding more sophisticated sensor options, skin patches successfully commercializing in new applications and many industrial, military and security applications maturing. As such, wearable sensors remain a fundamental enabling component for the entire wearable technology industry, and obtaining a clear understanding of their capabilities and potential is essential for any player within the entire value chain,” IDTechEx said.