InMedica (IMS Research's medical research division) has released a report predicting that worldwide revenues of the global ultrasound market will exceed $6 billion by 2012, regardless of the current economic downturn.

The technology's flexibility, ease of use and relatively low cost are cited by researchers as reasons for continued growth. They also noted a trend toward "miniaturization" and the popularity of hand-carried ultrasound equipment.

While ultrasound adoption was significantly quicker in North America and Western Europe, an increasing confidence in hand-carried systems has made its way around the globe to other regions of the world including Eastern Europe, Latin America and parts of the Asian Pacific. Demand is coming from traditional applications, such as OB/GYN, and increasingly from point-of-care applications.

Researchers say the economic downturn is favoring the lower end of the cart-based ultrasound equipment market. In this segment, the greatest growth is found in the mid-range segment, and there is a higher than usual growth forecast for the low-end segment, particularly in 2009.

Furthermore, the report indicates movement away from very high-end systems due to the increasing functionality and picture quality of systems at the lower end. With the improvement in quality and functionality of lower end systems, prices are stabilized in an otherwise price competitive market.

Read DOTmed's industry sector report on ultrasound:
https://www.dotmed.com/news/story/5788/

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