GIA announces the release of a comprehensive global report on Nuclear Medicine market. The global market for nuclear medicine is forecast to reach US$1.69 billion by the year 2015, driven by huge demand from the US market. In addition, ·developments in image-guided interventions and molecular imaging, as well as aging population will provide further impetus to market growth.
Nuclear medicine is one of the fastest growing and most promising segments of the medical imaging industry. Nuclear medicine comprises of diagnostic and therapeutic procedures through the use of safe, painless, and cost-effective techniques.
The technology provides functional as well as anatomical information, and is found highly beneficial in diagnosis of organ function abnormalities, cancerous growths, cardiac diseases, neurological disorders, blood flow blockages, and dysfunction of any major organ.
The procedure faces immediate competition from alternate methods such as Magneto Cardiography (MCG) and Magneto Encephalography (MEG), although on the whole, the impact of these methods remains restricted in terms of widespread acceptance.
Over the last few years, there has been a heightened level of R&D activity aimed at use of nuclear medicine in diagnosis and treatment of serious and incurable diseases.
Some of these areas coveting medical attention include Parkinson’s disease, central nervous system (CNS) disorders, autoimmune disease, Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), among others.
Gamma cameras and PET scanners are the most widely used imaging equipment in nuclear medicine, whereby the market is experiencing a marked shift to hybrid PET/CT imaging from PET-only imaging. This transition is driven by use of the technology in an expanded variety of clinical applications.
Advancements in imaging technologies that help diagnosis and treatment of diseases, as well as aging population is driving demand for nuclear medicine equipment.
Proven efficacy of technology, reimbursement approvals and improved supply and distribution of radiopharmaceuticals, are expected to drive market growth. Greater use in applications such as cardiology and oncology would positively impact the market in the coming years.
Technological developments in PET/CT scanner technology is also expected to generate greater revenues as they promise excellent market diffusion for cancer detection and therapy planning. Dedicated positron emission tomography equipment is expected to exhibit strong growth prospects compared to conventional imaging modalities.
In addition, the growing number of new application areas such as neuroendocrine tumor imaging is expected to establish SPECT/CT as an important technological tool in the area of nuclear medicine in the near future.
The global market for nuclear medicine systems experienced steep decline in revenues in late 2008, as a result of the worldwide economic downturn. Decrease in demand from US, the most influential and mature nuclear medicine market worldwide, was one of the major reasons for the revenue decline. The medical imaging systems and equipments in the country were not used to their fullest capacities and did not yield the required revenue gains.
Apart from these, factors such as saturated western markets, low reimbursement rates and government-imposed restrictions in certain countries like China played a major role in sustained slowdown and decrease in market growth for 2008-2009. Nevertheless, the world market is expected to stabilize as the economic downturn retreats in 2010, making way for replacement sales and growth in PET/CT procedure volumes.
This would be mainly driven by PET/CT scanning benefits in oncology. Developments in technology and novel clinical applications meant for imaging modalities are expected to drive growth in the nuclear medicine market.
The nuclear medicine market is highly dependent on the US, one of the leading demand drivers for the technology worldwide, as stated by the new market research report on Nuclear Medicine.
The region garners the single largest share of the worldwide market, trailed by Europe and Japan. In terms of fastest growth potential, Asia-Pacific, powered by China, India and Korea is forecast to exhibit the highest CAGR through 2015.
The PET Scanners segment represents the largest segment in the global nuclear medicine market. However, the Gamma Cameras segment is projected to drive future growth, expanding at the fastest compounded annual rate for the period 2007-2015.
The nuclear medicine market space comprises of a handful of large and influential players, controlling majority stake in the worldwide market. The rest includes various existing firms, emerging startups and research institutions.
Key players profiled in the report include Digirad Corporation, GE Healthcare Plc, Mallinckrodt, Inc., Molypharma S.A., Orbotech Medical Solutions Ltd., Philips Healthcare Inc., Positron Corporation, IS2 Medical Systems, Siemens Healthcare USA, Inc, PETNET Solutions Inc, Toshiba Medical Systems Corporation and Toshiba America Medical Systems, Inc.
The report titled “Nuclear Medicine: A Global Strategic Business Report” announced by Global Industry Analysts Inc., provides a comprehensive review of industry outlook, market insight, imaging equipment, R&D, product innovations, recent industry activity, and profiles of market players worldwide.
Analysis and overview is presented for major geographic markets such as US, Canada, Japan, Europe, Asia-Pacific and Rest of World. Market analytics are provided for nuclear medicine (imaging equipment) in terms of dollar (value) for product segments Gamma Cameras and PET Scanners.
The US and Europe markets further analyze the Gamma Cameras segment by sub-categories Single Head Gamma Cameras, Dual Head Gamma Cameras and Triple Head Gamma Cameras. The study also presents historic data for an insight into market evolution over the period 2000 through 2006.
Ben Zinga