Cost pressures have been the main culprit for the sluggish growth in advanced imaging equipment sales and innovation over the past few years, and they will continue to limit the purchase of new or replacement systems. But according to a new trend prediction report from IHS, this era of cost cutting is also driving users to focus on some creative solutions.
One of the trends the report cites is the growth of application specific systems, particularly for large hospitals.
"Systems designed for emergency medicine, cardiology or extremity imaging offer significant benefits in terms of costs in the short term, reducing pressure on multi-application systems and increasing total patient volume," said researchers in the report.
But many providers remain in the dark about these types of systems. The report said the key challenge will be educating potential customers about these types of systems — like extremity MRI or non-dental cone beam CT outside of niche applications — and the benefits.
Facilities will still have to upgrade their aging systems, and it will have to become a priority, especially as integration with health IT networks becomes more prominent, according to the report.
Within X-ray, IHS does not see a lot of payback for retrofit flat panel detector (FPD) upgrades for existing analog, CR or portable X-ray systems — something that has been popular over the last two years.
The option has been attractive for small hospitals since the price point for retrofit can be almost 50 percent lower than a new FPD system. But for most customers in large and mid-sized hospitals, extending the life cycle with a retrofit option may not be the best investment. They are also turned off by the complications that can arise from servicing, according to the report.
These customers want efficiency and workflow solutions that new systems often provide and aging system often lack. These facilities actually see brand new systems as a more cost-effective choice in the long-term.
