Abstract
Awareness of Cancer Screening Stimulates the Mammography Systems Market
With breast cancer being one of the primary causes of mortality in Europe, governments have
launched extensive screening and awareness programmes across the region. This is expected to cause
an exponential rise in demand for the purchase and installation of mammography systems. Almost all
European countries have initiated pilot studies, increasing the scope of mammography systems. In
regions such as the Netherlands and Scandinavia, where the diverse geographic area makes it
difficult to install mammography equipment, mobile mammography units have taken off in a big way.
This has further contributed to the expansion of the mammography systems market.
This Frost & Sullivan research examines the European mammography systems market and segments
the market by technology into analog and digital systems. Analog systems are further categorised
into screening and stereotactic interventional, while digital systems are subdivided into full field
and small field digital. This study enables companies to align their positioning strategies to
benefit from the changing markets and obtain maximum return on investment.
Full Field Digital Mammography Poised for Robust Growth
Full field digital mammography (FFDM) segment initially did not show very high growth as
anticipated by the market, but with manufacturers proving its advantages in screening programmes
beyond doubt, this market segment is all set to take off. Many options provided by FFDM make it much
more efficient than analog screening mammography systems. Features such as transition to soft copy,
easy data retrieval, easy assimilation to the digital workflow and integration to picture archiving
and communication system (PACS) benefit both technicians and radiologists.
"Apart from the screening advantages, FFDM systems provide immense workflow advantages such
as online retrieval of the images, absence of films and archiving of images, thereby leading to
greater sales," says the analyst of this research. Countries such as Belgium have adopted FFDM
for their screening programmes, further boosting the market for the FFDM. Moreover, as FFDM systems
cost as much as five times the price of analog ones, this market segment has excellent potential to
increase the profit margins of market participants.
Use of Computer Aided Detection to Encourage Adoption of Mammography Systems
Computer aided detection (CAD), by acting as the second reader, increases mammography systems
detection rate by almost 25 per cent. CAD is essentially a set of sophisticated algorithms, which
are of immense help in improving radiologists ability to detect cancer in its initial stages. The
incorporation of CAD not only enhances the overall market value of mammography systems, but also
specifically bolsters sales in the radiologists end-user group.
One of the major reasons for CADs redoubtable success has been its easy assimilation into the
digital environment. "Digital CAD systems are much efficient and have more potential for growth
due to the likely expansion of the FFDM segment," notes the analyst. "CAD has immense
potential in Europe, as many North American CAD developers have started collaborating with
mammography manufacturers to package the systems with the modality." | 
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