The U.S. ultrasound market is expected to experience "stable, reliable" growth and surpass the $2 billion mark by 2020, according to a new iData Research report. The cardiology and radiology ultrasound segments make up more than half of the market and will be responsible for much of the growth.
"Medical device markets are often volatile, spiking up and down with FDA approvals and reimbursement changes," Dr. Kamran Zamanian, CEO of iData Research, said in a statement. "But the ultrasound equipment market shows unusual stability. A noticeable, steady level of growth is projected."
The market is mostly driven by new, innovative technologies. In the future, the point-of-care ultrasound segment will see the most growth due to the interest in radiation-free needle placement procedures.
The report noted that the number of anesthesiologists performing ultrasound procedures more than doubled from 2010 to 2013.
The report also found that smaller and more specialized devices are becoming more popular, since general imaging devices are expensive and oftentimes outside of hospitals' budgets. In addition, radiology ultrasound equipment sales have diminished now that many hospital departments are performing their own procedures instead of directing patients to radiology.
GE Healthcare, Philips Healthcare and SonoSite together make up more than half of the market, and replacement sales are expected to continue to provide them with stable revenues. But investors have also been keeping a close eye on Zonare, Hitachi Aloka, Esaote, Analogic, Toshiba, Siemens Healthcare, Terason and Mindray.
Going forward, mergers and acquisitions are expected to crop up as new technologies are developed and the leaders in the market look to maintain their control.
