Sluggish growth predicted for imaging equipment servicing market

The U.S. market for diagnostic imaging equipment servicing will remain largely flat, with a slow growth rate of half a percent per year expected through 2017, according to a report from Millennium Research Group (MRG).

Currently, the U.S. servicing market has a value of $2.72 billion. That value will increase to $2.78 billion by 2017, according to the medical technology market intelligence firm.

In the report, titled “U.S. Markets for Diagnostic Imaging Equipment Servicing 2013,” MRG explained that increases in diagnostic imaging system sales and the installed base will be counterbalanced by declines and slow growth in diagnostic imaging procedures, as well as the effects of uncertainty in the economy and with healthcare reform.

Other factors influencing the servicing market include a slowly expanding proportion of premium-priced imaging systems, which expands the number of high-priced, full-service contracts. The flipside of this expansion is that fewer high-capability systems are needed to accommodate the same demand, shrinking the installed base.

Utilization of imaging will increase as the obese and elderly patient population grows, increasing the need for servicing due to wear and tear, according to MRG.

CT and ultrasound segments of the market are projected to grow through 2017, while MRI and general radiography is projected to shrink.

Together, GE Healthcare, Siemens Healthcare and Philips Healthcare account for more than two-thirds of the diagnostic imaging equipment servicing market. The executive summary of the report pegs GE as the market leading vendor for CT, ultrasound and general radiography servicing, while Siemens leads the MRI servicing market.