Both Taiwan-based panel makers AU Optronics (AUO) and Innolux are gearing up their efforts to develop display products for medical applications in response to the lingering impacts of the coronavirus pandemic, according to Digitimes Research.
The two firms have managed to push their combined share in the global medical display market to 50% in 2020, said Digitimes Research, which added that the firms' share is expected to further expand in 2021 thanks to a decision by a display subsidiary of Japan-based Panasonic to withdraw from the high-end LCD medical display market.
AUO highlighted its premium 3D surgical display solutions at the recently concluded Healthcare Expo Taiwan 2020. The exhibits included a 15.6-inch 4K naked-eye 3D display for use in surgery rooms and a 32-inch 4K polarized 3D display solution integrated with MediaTek's 3D endoscope and minimally invasion surgery (MIS) visualization system.
While Innolux was showcasing its X-ray FPD (flat-panel detector) display solutions at the fair, other makers were exhibiting antibacterial AIO PC systems and AI-enabled recognition systems that can detect the subtle changes in organ tissues or blood during the operation processes.
Benefitting from a surge in demand for medical equipment amid the rampage of the pandemic, China-based Mindray has also seen its quarterly revenues expand by an annual rate of over 30% since the second quarter of 2020. Sales of its patient monitors alone grew over 60% on year in the first half of the year.
However, Barco and Eizo, the world's top-two medical monitor makers, saw their sales for the first three quarters of 2020 fall behind those seen a year earlier, as hospitals worldwide have delayed their investments for medical equipment amid the pandemic.