GE Healthcare Leads the Diagnostic Imaging Market in 2010

Monday 23 January 2012, Amsterdam

The report provides market landscape, competitive landscape and market trends information on Computed Tomography (CT) systems, mammography equipment, Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) systems, nuclear imaging systems, ultrasound systems, X-ray systems, bone densitometers, C-arms, angio suites and contrast media injectors. The report provides comprehensive information on the key trends affecting these categories, and key analytical content on the market dynamics. The report also reviews the competitive landscape and the profiles of companies operating in these geographies.


Modalities Based on Fusion Technologies to be the Mainstay in the Future

The US Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) approval of Biograph mMR from Siemens has given the diagnostic imaging industry its first Positron Emission Tomography and Magnetic Resonance Imaging (PET-MRI) system. This trend of fusion of two different modalities will continue to evolve and experts in the diagnostic imaging field feel that it will be the mainstay of imaging in the coming years. Positron Emission Tomography and Computed Tomography (PET-CT) was one of the first outcomes of hybrid technology and has been successfully integrated into radiology. Radiologists have seen tremendous value in combining PET and CT and are using the hybrid modality for diagnosis and treatment planning for radiation therapy. The advantages of combining two different modalities have been manifold. PET-CT has been adopted across the globe due to its advantages in imaging anatomy as well as the physiology of the organs; this has been extremely useful in the imaging of tumors as well as in cardiac imaging.

With the Biograph mMR, Siemens was able to bring together a compact MR system with specialized PET detectors. The PET-MRI system has a 3 Tesla MR that provides the morphological and functional details of human tissue; and PET goes further to investigate the human body at the level of cellular activity and metabolism.


Reimbursement Cuts and Economic Crisis to Negatively Impact the Diagnostic Equipment Market in the US

The diagnostic imaging industry in the US has undergone many upheavals following reimbursement cuts and a decrease in the technical component of physicians’ pay. The Deficit Reduction Act (DRA) put a cap on the technical component of imaging and computer-assisted imaging services performed in physicians’ offices. The reimbursement for the technical component has been limited to the lesser amount of what would be paid under the Hospital Outpatient Prospective Payment System or the Medicare fee schedule. This had a significant impact on individual physicians. Reimbursement cuts, reduction in physician fee schedule and the speculation about bundled payments is having a negative impact on the diagnostic imaging market. The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) and healthcare and education reconciliation act were passed as laws in 2010. The Medicare Payment Advisory Commission (MedPac) in the US issued broad-ranging criteria for imaging procedures taken up by in-office self-referred physicians and put forward various steps that could curb the self-referral practice.

The reimbursement cuts have negatively affected the growth of the diagnostic imaging market in the US. The diagnostic imaging market in US, which was worth $71.3 billion in 2008, was worth $61.4 billion in 2010. This situation has more or less been attributed to stringent reimbursement cuts, as well as other regulatory and legislative issues that have been introduced as a part of the healthcare reforms.

 
GE Healthcare Leads the Diagnostic Imaging Market in 2010

Figure: Diagnostic Imaging Market, Global, Key Company Share (%), 2010

GE Healthcare was the leading player in the global diagnostic imaging market in 2010 with a market share of 22%, followed by Siemens (20%) and Philips healthcare (17%). The diagnostic imaging market is dominated by three major companies that occupy more than 59% of the total market. Other important players in this market are Toshiba Medical Systems (9%), Hitachi Medical (4%) and Shimadzu Corporation (2%). The strength of the three big established companies lies in the fact that they have broad product portfolios and adequate depth in the product range.


Demand in Emerging Countries will Compensate for Market Saturation in the Developed Countries

The demand for diagnostic imaging in emerging countries will compensate for the saturated market conditions in the US and European region. The diagnostic imaging market in the developed countries is a mature market and growth of this market is reaching stagnancy. The economic recession faced by these markets also contributes to the lack of growth. In such a situation, demand generated for diagnostic imaging equipment is less in the developed countries; hospitals either put off making any decisions to acquire new equipment or simply decide not to install equipment.

The emerging markets such as China, India and Brazil, are witnessing a high growth rate in the diagnostic imaging market. The demand for diagnostic imaging equipment will compensate for the low demand in the developed markets. China, with its huge healthcare reforms, is surging ahead as far as new installations are concerned. The healthcare reform plan in China involves building about 30,000 hospitals, mostly in rural areas; these will need new diagnostic imaging equipment. In India, increasing affordability and the establishment of new hospitals in urban areas is creating additional demand for diagnostic imaging equipment. In India, there is a high demand for fast, economical, sophisticated and convenient modern technology. Brazil and China are fast gaining ground as production centers for diagnostic imaging equipment. The importance of emerging markets in the diagnostic imaging market is reflected in the fact that industry giants such as GE Healthcare, Siemens and Philips have all set base in China, India and Brazil and have started production and Research and Development (R&D) centers in these countries. These companies are shifting their focus from the developed countries to emerging countries. They are introducing economically priced products to tap the potential of these markets. As well as introducing low-priced products, companies are also manufacturing diagnostic imaging equipment in China, India and Brazil for local and global use.