Global Computed Tomography Growth Opportunities

Increased Demand and Purchase Parameters on Multivariate Trends Propel Transformational Growth

An estimated 375 million computed tomography (CT) procedures are carried out globally, increasing annually by 3%-4%. CT has become an indispensable tool in illness diagnosis and management, playing an instrumental role in COVID-19 management. The dynamic CT industry involves many participants introducing technological innovations frequently to match the rapidly evolving needs of clinicians, radiologists, and technologists. CT innovations such as spectral imaging, photon counting (to lower radiation dosage) with new detector materials, wide-area detector, and reconstruction algorithms for multi-detector CT technology are expected to drive the market toward quicker upgrades and equipment refresh.

Most developed economies, such as North America, Western Europe, Japan, and Australia, have a CT penetration of over 80% in their health systems. With CT being used for screening, intervention, and therapy planning and a considerable increase in CT procedures in the last three years, tertiary care hospitals are liaising with secondary care services to handle patient volume. The global CT market is witnessing a gradual shift from low-end CT scanners to mid-high and high-end scanners, primarily due to CT technology innovations in reducing radiation dosage and expanding clinical applications in vascular, oncology, cardiac, and breast cancer imaging.

High-end CT purchases by universities and public hospitals in North America, Western Europe, and Japan are expected to propel the high-end CT segment revenue. The proportion of 16-to-64-slice scanner shipments to diagnostic imaging centers and practices is increasing and anticipated to experience moderate growth during the forecast period (2020-2025).

CT was in the forefront of combat against the COVID-19 pandemic as the majority of countries immediately installed CT for lung screening. Despite new purchases, the capacity of traditional unit shipments per year did not yield its full strength. As such, a pent-up demand for CT to fulfill needs-based requirements is expected during the forecast period.

The COVID-19 pandemic further resulted in the postponement of elective surgeries, which took a toll on patient footfall in radiology and affected CT modality. Procedural volumes declined by 26% in 2020, creating a backlog of procedures. At present, health systems are performing more elective surgeries and addressing the backlog at varying capacities. This continuous surge in demand for procedures, coupled with new CT capacity purchases/replacements, is expected to bolster CT market growth throughout the forecast period, achieving pre-COVID-19 business performance breakeven by 2024 or 2025.

With reimbursement approval from the Current Procedural Terminology (CPT) and European regulations, cardiac imaging has taken a significant stride toward CT usage. Coronary CT angiography is the most commonly used imaging modality to diagnose pulmonary embolism and will remain so during the forecast period.