An aging population, a desire for healthcare cost control and technology improvement all are driving the imaging systems market--and in particular, the global X-ray market--which is predicted to rise from $3.6 billion to $4.23 billion by 2018, according to a recent report from Kalorama Information.
North America and Europe will continue to be the dominant geographical areas in terms of market share, according to report author Joe Constance, who added that the European market could present problems to manufacturers because the economic slowdown has made it difficult for hospitals to buy new imaging systems.
"With their budgets cut but with an increasing number of procedures, healthcare institutions must spend less on new modalities and instead focus on purchasing refurbished imaging systems," Constance said in an announcement.
Outside of North American and Europe, market growth also can be attributed to aging populations, as well as improving health conditions in developing countries, which has resulted in an increased demand for new imaging systems, according to Kalorama. In China, market growth is being driven by market incentives for advances in healthcare technology, reflected in more public sector spending on hospitals, and the growth of private sector healthcare institutions.
Research published last summer by U.K.-based firm InMedica predicted that the interventional X-ray market, driven by a trend toward the development of hybrid systems, is expected to grow by 50 percent by 2017. Meanwhile, a second report published last summer by IMS Research predicted that the global X-ray equipment market for medical, dental and veterinary applications should increase by 18 percent to $12 billion by 2017.
To learn more:
- see the announcement from Kalorama