A new market research report is predicting that the global MRI market will grow at a 6% annual rate, reaching a value of $6 billion by 2018.
Future growth in MRI will be driven by technological advances in MRI scanners, a growing number of clinical applications, and the advent of pacemakers that can be used in MRI scanners, according to ReportsnReports.
Future growth will also be driven by a rapidly aging global population and the low penetration of MRI systems in developing economies such as India and China.
For example, China has three MRI scanners per 1 million population, and India has fewer than one scanner per 1 million population. These figures are far lower than the average of 12 MRI scanners per 1 million population as stated by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD).
The global MRI market, as of 2011, is dominated by a small number of vendors, according to the report:
- Siemens Healthcare -- 25%
- GE Healthcare -- 20%
- Philips Healthcare -- 13%
- Toshiba Medical Systems -- 12%
- Hitachi Medical -- 9%
The report pegs the value of the U.S. MRI market at $1.3 billion in 2011, or 31% of global revenue, and forecasts it to reach $2.1 billion by 2018, a compound annual growth rate of 7%. The market is highly saturated, and it will be primarily driven by the replacement of low- and midfield scanners with high-field systems, as well as the advent of new technologies such as PET/MRI and MRI-guided high-intensity focused ultrasound (HIFU). On the other hand, declining reimbursement and legislation against self-referral will tamp down demand.
