According to a new report from healthcare industry analysts GlobalData, the mobile health (mHealth) industry is poised for a huge jump in value over the coming decade thanks to a spike in apps, going from its worth in 2011 of $1.2 billion to a value of $11.8 billion by 2018. The industry, GlobalData says, will grow at annual compounded rate of 39 percent.

The report’s authors say the growth will come from the widespread use of smartphones such as iPhone, as well as Android and Blackberry platform, which all offer a multitude of apps that cover a wide spectrum of healthcare topics – from fitness and nutrition, to diagnostic imaging. According to the report, the large majority of the mHealth market is taken up by software and services, accounting for 80 percent. The two other sections of the industry are hardware, which makes up 12 percent of the market, and network and connectivity, which occupies the remaining eight percent.

GlobalData says 70 percent of the available healthcare apps are consumer focused, while the remaining 30 percent are designed for medical professionals. Most of these medical professional apps can offer clinicians access to patient information and the ability to conduct further analysis such as creating 3D anatomical models, says the report.

The US is the main market for mHealth solutions and made a contribution of $660m to the global market in 2011. Europe and the Asia-Pacific region contributed $420m and $120m, respectively.