• Medical imaging allows medical examiners to observe the inside of a body to establish a medical condition using techniques and machines such as Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI), X-ray, and Computed Tomography (CT) scan. This imaging allows radiologists and other health professionals to take a picture of the structures and activities occurring inside the body.
Market Dynamics
• The growth of medical imaging equipment market size is driven by several factors such as an increase in prevalence of chronic diseases, technological advancement in the medical industry and the investments by government and private organizations. However, high costs associated with medical imaging systems, unfavorable reimbursement scenarios, and the shortage of helium are some of the factors that are restraining the growth of medical imaging equipment market. Growing utilization of refurbished medical imaging devices is further hampering the market growth especially in developing economies.
• Government plays an important role in purchasing, pricing, and distributing medical devices globally. Governments undertake various initiatives to develop healthcare infrastructure aimed at providing safe and cost-effective medical products to the public. The funding by government bodies also helps in opening new facilities. Also, the implementation of regulations that comply with import and export is expected to help generate revenue for the market. For instance, in the UK, the National Health Service focuses on addressing the unmet needs through cost-effective ways to help the government in economic growth of the country. Small Business Research Initiative for Healthcare by National Health Service provided US$ 1.1 million contract to Fuel 3D Technologies to develop 3D medical imaging systems. In the US, the formation of the Accountable Care Organizations (ACO) represents a significant growth opportunity and is likely to change radiology practice dramatically.
• However, the global medical imaging market has witnessed major product recalls in the past few years. Product recalls occur when there is a product defect that could affect or harm the consumer. This hampers the reputation of companies and hinders the market growth. An increasing number of such instances results in inaccuracy errors. Some major instances of product recalls witnessed in the medical imaging market are from Philips Healthcare, which in May 2015, had to recall its DigitalDiagnost System X-ray due to the technical malfunctioning of the system.
• The global medical imaging equipment market is segmented on the basis of product type into x-ray, computed tomography, ultrasound, magnetic resonance imaging, nuclear imaging, tactile imaging, photoacoustic imaging, thermography, elastography, echocardiography, functional near-infrared spectroscopy and mammography.
• X-ray segment holds the most significant share of medical imaging equipment market owing to the versatility of the system and convenience in use. It holds 34.1% of the market share in 2018, and is expected to be 35.9% by 2026, for global medical imaging equipment market by product type. The X-ray segment of medical imaging equipment market is valued at US$ 11,010.0 Million in 2018.
• An X-ray is a noninvasive medical imaging test that helps physicians diagnose and treat medical conditions. X-ray is used to diagnose skeletal systems, oral cavity, lungs, breast, digestive systems and ingested objects. The growth in X-ray segment is mainly due to its cost effectiveness. Other factors responsible are technological advancements, increasing incidents of cancer and orthopedic diseases, and growing aging population. Advanced X-ray equipment are patient friendly and have high adoption rates. For example, in 2017 GE Healthcare launched a patient-assisted mammography device, Senographe Pristina Dueta, which enables innovative remote controlling, thereby allowing women to manage their own compression during the examination.
Market Segmentation
• By application, oncology is the dominant application in the medical imaging equipment market. The oncology segment holds 36% of the market share in 2018, and is expected to be 39% by 2026. Oncology is the study of medicine dealing with the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of cancer. Effective diagnostic imaging techniques used to confirm the presence of cancer include Computed Tomography (CT), Positron Emission Tomography (PET CT), Mammography, Ultrasonography and Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) scans. PET/CT is the gold standard diagnosis equipment/procedure for Oncology. Tactile imaging is the emerging technology to diagnose breast and prostate cancer. By region, most of the oncology patients are predominantly found in Europe and North America, followed by the Asia Pacific.
• The North America segment holds highest market share of about 32.2% of the market share in 2018, and is expected to be 33.1% by 2026, for global medical imaging equipment market by region. In North America, the U.S. has major market for medical imaging equipment, with major units of Computed Tomography (CT) Scanner and Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) equipment. The North American market is driven by extensive use of imaging modalities such as mammography, CT scan, and MRI, increased investment in research and development, high healthcare expenditure, improved healthcare infrastructure and presence of major companies in the region. In 2017, Carestream Health while validating its expanding portfolio of medical imaging and healthcare IT systems, proposed, to develop the diagnostic review procedure for X-ray exams and expedite delivery of results to doctors and patients at the annual Radiological Society of North America (RSNA) tradeshow.
• Emerging markets such as China and India are focusing on acquiring advanced imaging equipment, primarily because of the construction of new hospitals and improvement in healthcare infrastructure. With increasing development and launch of new products by manufacturers, the medical imaging market is booming in Asia-Pacific region. For instance, in April 2017, Toshiba Medical Systems Corp. launched two latest 1.5 Tesla MRI systems; Vantage Titan™ Zen Edition and Vantage Elan™ Zen Edition to expand their business in Asia-Pacific region.
• The global medical imaging equipment market is a highly consolidated market with the domination of top four companies. Shimadzu Corporation, Ziehm Imaging Inc., Aribex Corportaion, Hitachi Corportation, and Samsung Medison are some of the other major companies in the medical imaging equipment industry.
• The companies are increasingly focusing on implementing inorganic growth strategies to expand their presence in the market. Key players are also expanding their presence into emerging nations through R&D cooperation, mergers, acquisitions and geographical expansion.
• For instance,In July 2019, Philips and Centre Hospitalier Régional Universitaire (CHRU) de Nancy, France announced a 10-year agreement to implement Philips’ IntelliSpace enterprise imaging solution, including Illumeo software with adaptive intelligence.
• In March 2019, Carestream Health has signed an agreement with Royal Philips a global leader in health technology, to sell its healthcare information systems (HCIS) business to Philips.
• In January 2018, GE Healthcare has introduced an easy-to-use ultrasound system with efficient quality and affordability bringing advanced capabilities to a range of physicians, including OB/GYN, general practitioners, and family practice physicians
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