Ultrasound Market Presents Opportunities For Growth Despite Recession

Main Category: MRI / PET / Ultrasound
Article Date: 30 Jan 2009 - 2:00 PDT

email to a friend   printer friendly   view / write opinions

Despite the current economic downturn, the third edition of InMedica's report on the global ultrasound market predicts that worldwide revenues will continue to experience robust growth and exceed $6 billion by 2012. The flexibility, ease of use and relatively low cost of ultrasound equipment has ensured continued growth in the market despite the current economic conditions. Moreover, the trend to miniaturisation and the quick adoption of hand-carried ultrasound equipment is fuelling growth.

"There is an increasing confidence in hand-carried systems globally. Previously the adoption of these systems was much quicker in North America and Western Europe but other regions of the world such as Eastern Europe, Latin America and parts of the Asia Pacific, are beginning to show significant interest in this equipment. The demand is coming from traditional applications, such as OB / GYN, and increasingly from point-of-care applications" reported Diane Wilkinson, Market Research Analyst at InMedica. "The global ultrasound market is being driven by the need to maximise space, time and efficiency and hand-carried systems are evolving to adapt to any given environment. This can be seen by an increase in the number of hand-carried products designed for specific applications, such as nerve blocking, musculoskeletal and breast imaging", continued Wilkinson.

The down-turn in the economy is also favouring the lower-end of the cart-based ultrasound equipment market with greatest growth found in the mid-range segment, and higher than usual growth forecast for the low-end segment, particularly in 2009. There is a step wise movement away from very high-end systems due to the increasing functionality and picture quality of systems at the lower end of the market. The improving quality and functionality of lower-end systems is helping to stabilise prices in an otherwise price competitive market.

About InMedica (a division of IMS Research)

InMedica is the medical research division of IMS Research, a specialist supplier of market research and consultancy services on a wide range of global electronics markets. The company is supported by headquarters in Wellingborough, UK and offices in Austin, Texas and Shanghai, China. InMedica regularly publishes detailed research on professional point of care markets such as ultrasound and x-ray equipment, and consumer medical devices such as blood-pressure monitors and heart-rate monitors.

Source
Simon Harris
Senior Research Director
InMedica - A Division of IMS Research
http://www.In-Medica.com
http://www.IMSResearch.com