The global diagnostic imaging market is set to reach $31.9 billion in 2023 and will record steady growth with a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 4.8% to reach $45.8 billion in 2030, mainly driven by an increase in the prevalence of chronic diseases and increased demand for imaging procedures from an aging population, forecasts GlobalData, a leading data and analytics company. 

Aidan Robertson, Medical Analyst at GlobalData, comments: “Diagnostic imaging will become an increasingly vital process in healthcare as more and more people are developing chronic diseases. Additionally, the market is still recovering from the COVID-19 pandemic which caused tremendous backlogs for imaging appointments and we are still attempting to catch up to that backlog.”

As a result of the pressures created on this market due to COVID-19 and the increase in chronic diseases, companies are attempting to produce more advanced technologies as well as more accessible procedures to drive down the costs of the devices and address the growing demand for imaging. This has led to an enhanced focus on developing products centred on point-of-care diagnostics such as hand-held or portable ultrasound devices which saw a huge boom in usage during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Robertson continues: “One major challenge in the diagnostic imaging space is cost. For example, for MRI systems, which constitute 20% of the diagnostic imaging market, one machine can cost a minimum $150,000 with high-end systems priced at $1 million or more. Finding methods to greatly reduce the price of imaging systems will improve accessibility, allowing the market to expand to a greater proportion of the population and we are seeing some companies looking to accomplish that.”

According to GlobalData’s Pipeline Products Database, there are approximately 1,949 imaging-related devices in the development and testing stages, and 112 of these products are on track to gain approval in 2023.

Robertson concludes: “While changes to diagnostic imaging technology and imaging processes can be slow, the current advancements are steadily contributing to the growth of the market.”