Report: Global PET, SPECT market to reach $10.3B by 2015

FDOPA PET brain scan. Image source: Hôpital Neurologique Pierre Wertheimer, Bron, France

The global PET and SPECT market is expected to grow from an estimated $6.5 billion in 2010 to $10.3 billion in 2015, at an estimated compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 9.4 percent from 2010 to 2015, according to a report published by MarketsandMarkets.

Propelled by the transparent reimbursement policies, new emerging economies, novel applications such as Alzheimer's and the continually expanding oncology application segment, the global PET market is estimated to reach around $6.3 billion in 2010, stated the report. The PET segment is estimated to account for 75 percent of the overall PET and SPECT installations at 3,691 units in 2010. This segment is expected to reach 6,390 units in 2015, at a CAGR of 11.6 percent for the same period.

According to the report, the PET/CT segment accounted for the largest share -- 97 percent of the overall PET market at an estimated $6.1 billion in 2010. This segment is expected to reach $9.8 billion in 2015, at a CAGR of 9.8 percent for the period 2010 to 2015.

Oncology and cardiology are the most significant applications of the PET and SPECT market. Oncology accounts for about 90 percent of the PET market, whereas cardiology accounts for about 85 percent of the SPECT application market. Neurological application of PET and SPECT is a niche market and is dependent on the development of appropriate radionuclides and tracers. Moreover, technological advancements such as attenuation correction and image acquisition and reconstruction tools have enhanced SPECT end users' confidence in its diagnostic and prognostic capabilities.

The U.S. held the largest share in the global PET and SPECT market, at an estimated $4.1 billion in 2010, said the report. Growth in the PET and SPECT market is primarily attributed to the improvement in diagnostic capabilities of the nuclear medicine imaging equipment, as compared to the simply anatomic diagnostic imaging equipment. Technological advancement in these products in the past decade brought about an introduction of the hybrid variants of both PET and SPECT (mainly in conjunction with CT).

The global market for both PET and SPECT is significantly consolidated with players such as GE Healthcare, Siemens Healthcare and Philips Healthcare ruling the roost, noted the report.