Abstract
High-growth Areas Propel Overall Ultrasound Market
The ultrasound market in the United States was estimated to reach $1.27
billion in 2003. Frost & Sullivan has identified three areas that are
expected to exhibit higher growth rates than the overall market. The first is a
relatively new product category - hand-carried ultrasound (HCU) units. Growing
from a $5-million market in 1999 to over $96 million in 2003, these
high-performance portable, affordable systems are accelerating the proliferation
of ultrasound imaging to medical specialties other than cardiology, radiology,
and OB/GYN. Even within these traditional clinical segments, cardiology
ultrasound is showing an exciting pipeline of technological innovations and
strong procedural volume growth. Lastly, adoption of ultrasound imaging by new
user groups - surgeons, anesthesiologists, and emergency physicians - is also
spurring the ultrasound market growth.
This Frost & Sullivan research analyzes the U.S. markets for ultrasound
imaging equipment. The study covers ultrasound imaging equipment in radiology,
cardiology, OB/GYN, and other clinical areas. For each segment, revenue, unit
shipment, and installed base forecasts are provided, along with an overview of
the competitive structure and market share breakdowns, where available.
HCU Set to Transform the Ultrasound Industry Landscape
The HCU market is driven by two technology trends - advanced PC-based
architecture and rapid miniaturization. "Hand-carried ultrasound systems
can reshape the U.S. ultrasound market in two ways and the industry participants
will ultimately decide the direction of the market," says the analyst. On
one hand, higher performance HCU systems can help expand the installed base of
ultrasound equipment to include new medical users who previously could not
afford the highly priced cart-based systems. However, the growing tendency of
vendors to position HCU systems as lower cost replacements of cart-based systems
can suppress the average selling prices of ultrasound systems, dampening overall
ultrasound market revenues.
Current Demographic Trend Creates Sizeable Opportunities for Cardiology
Ultrasound
"The cardiology ultrasound market is expected to experience the highest
procedural volume growth rate due to the aging U.S. population - the number of
ultrasound imaging procedures performed by cardiologists has been increasing at
10 percent and more annually since 2000," says the analyst.
In addition, Medicare reimbursement for echocardiography procedures is very
rich compared to reimbursement for radiology and OB/GYN procedures. As a result,
the U.S. cardiology market is expected to be the strategic contention point
amongst the "Big-3" vendors - Siemens, Philips, and GE Medical
Systems. A strong pipeline of technological breakthroughs such as "Live
3D" or real-time 3D and contrast perfusion imaging will usher in a
favorable cycle of upgrade and replacement for the cardiology ultrasound market. | 
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