Advances in MRI Market Technology Trend Analysis

September 6, 2013 -- Reportlinker.com released a new report on the MRI market titled “Advances in Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) Market (2013-2018) - Technology Trend Analysis – By Architecture, Field Strengths, Technology & Applications in Medical Diagnostics with Market Landscape Analysis – Estimates up to 2018.”

The research showcases the technology and market impact of existing and emerging MRI systems having a huge growth potential in medical imaging for the coming five years. Closed MRI imaging systems command the market due to the high clinical value delivered by the systems.

MRI imaging has become the preferred diagnostic imaging method for imaging the central nervous system, particularly for detecting brain tumors, spine lesions, imaging blood vessels, and stroke affected areas of the brain. This technology has gained impetus from the keen interest shown by technology developers and manufacturers that wish to make it more patient friendly.

The current magnetic resonance imaging industry is producing more than 2,000 units per year. The global market for these systems values $4.13 billion, as of the first quarter of 2013, and is expected to grow at a CAGR of 4.56 percent and reach approximately around $5.24 billion by 2018. As of March 2013, North America dominated the market with nearly 40 percent share, followed by Europe due to technological developments for effective diagnostics and rapidly aging population. However, Asia is slated to grow at a high CAGR of 5.2 percent over the analysis period. Improved spending capability and physicians’ inclination towards MR imaging over other conventional medical imaging modalities is fueling demand for MRI across this region. Asia holds enormous growth potential, particularly from countries with large population bases such as China and India. The demand is anticipated primarily from private hospitals rather than public hospitals.

The adoption of MR imaging equipment in the market is also likely to grow owing to the rising incidences of cardiac diseases, neurological and oncological cases in the region.

Liquid helium, which has an extremely low boiling point of minus 452 F, is used for cooling the superconducting magnets of MR systems. A severe shortage in the availability of helium across the globe would affect significantly for MR OEMs. The prices for hospital-grade helium are anticipated to rise from 2013, leading to higher health-care costs or, in the worst scenario, the need for an alternative technique for cooling MRI machines.

Moreover, changing healthcare reforms from early 2013 in the United States also resulted in 20-25 percent reimbursement cuts for MRI, affecting the global clinical OEMS, physicians and healthcare payers. Nevertheless, once market barriers of tight R&D budgets, high costs of MRI scans and alternate cooling systems are resolved, the industry is expected to grow considerably. With technology developers exploring many new applications, especially those involving cardiac and breast imaging, it was inevitable that magnetic resonance imaging would evolve into a highly sophisticated medical imaging tool.