The global market for CT scanners, valued at $3.4 billion in 2011, should hit $3.7 billion in 2012 and is expected to increase annually by 6.7 percent over the next five years and reach $5.1 billion by 2017, according to a market research report from Global Information, Inc.
According to the report, the hot growth area for CT scanners is Asia, with an expected five-year annual growth rate of 9.8 percent, from nearly $1.4 billion in 2012 to almost $2.2 billion 2017. The European CT scanner market is expected to see just a 3.7 percent annual growth rate through 2017, and the North American market is expected to see even slower growth.
The superior outlook for the CT scanner market in emerging countries jibes with a report issued earlier this year by GBI Research on the "Diagnostic Imaging Market to 2017." That report explains that the demand for diagnostic imaging equipment in emerging markets like China and India will compensate for low demand in developed markets.
Such markets, like the U.S., are mature "and the growth of this market is reaching stagnancy" the GBI report states. In addition, the recent recession and reimbursement cuts in the U.S. also have had an impact, according to the report, resulting in a decline in the U.S. market from $71.3 billion in 2008 to $61.4 billion in 2010.
A number of studies and reports over the last year have suggested that the rate of CT scanning has decreased significantly since 2006 for a number of reasons, including those related to reimbursement, as well as concerns about patient radiation exposure.
To learn more:
- read the Global Information, Inc. report summary