An estimated 5.4 million diagnostic nuclear medicine patient studies were performed in Western Europe in 2005, a negligible increase from 2004, according to a new study published by healthcare consultants Medical Options of London.
The European nuclear medicine studies were performed on approximately 4,000 gamma cameras installed in both hospital and nonhospital sites, with dual-head cameras accounting for about 60% of the installations, according to the firm. Bone scans comprised 45% of the conventional studies in the countries surveyed, with cardiology and lung applications accounting for an additional 31%, Medical Options said.
The firm estimates that growth will occur in bone scanning and niche applications, for example sentinel node investigations and with targeted agents such as octreotide, but this will be offset by a fall-off in other areas such as ventilation scans and potentially cardiology.
The study, "Nuclear Medicine Europe 2005," is based on more than 200 interviews in five major markets, according to Medical Options.
The company said that the impact of competing modalities, such as MR, CT, and PET/CT, will determine the future growth of conventional nuclear medicine studies. Medical Options predicts that diagnostic studies will rise at a compound annual growth rate of approximately 1% over the next five years, but cautions that the European market is extremely heterogeneous.
If PET and PET/CT are included in the mix, the firm predicts a growth in studies of 3%, but notes that the estimate masks wide variations between countries, with practitioners in southern Europe optimistic and others pessimistic about future growth.
By AuntMinnie.com staff writers
April 25, 2006
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