The market for mobile health monitoring and diagnostics was worth $650 million in 2012, according to a new report from Transparency Market Research. The firm projects that the market will grow at a compound annual growth rate of 43.3 percent from 2013 to 2019. That will put the market at $8 billion in 2019.

Transparency defines the mobile health monitoring and diagnostic space as smartphone-connected cardiac monitors, glucose monitors, blood pressure monitors, pulse oximeters, multi-parameter monitors and sleep apnea monitors. They reported that cardiac monitors have held the majority of the market share so far, followed by glucose monitors and blood pressure monitors.

However, over the next five years, glucose monitors are projected to grow faster than any other category, followed by multi-parameter monitors. The glucose monitor growth rate is projected at over 45 percent.

Transparency chalks the growth up to several factors. One is the increased demand for remote patient monitoring in a healthcare landscape intent on reducing costs. Additionally, the aging population is growing each year, the incidence of chronic disease is increasing, and the mobile web is becoming more popular and accessible.

The firm also identified a few challenges for the market, namely continued uncertainty about FDA regulations, public concerns about privacy and data loss and a lower awareness of mobile health in developing countries.

Transparency Market Research's estimate of $8 billion in 2019 is conservative compared to other reports. In March, Grand View Research pegged the market at $49 billion by 2020 and BCC Research put it at $21.5 billion by 2018. The discrepancy could partly be due to Grand View and BCC Research using a wider definition of the category.