Despite the economic downturn, IMS Research medical research division InMedica has released a report predicting that worldwide revenues of the global ultrasound market will continue to enjoy growth and exceed $6 billion by 2012.
Researchers cite the technology’s flexibility, ease of use and relatively low cost as reasons for continued growth. They also noted a trend to “miniaturization” and the popularity of hand-carried ultrasound equipment.

Despite the economic downturn, IMS Research medical research division InMedica has released a report predicting that worldwide revenues of the global ultrasound market will continue to enjoy growth and exceed $6 billion by 2012.
Researchers cite the technology’s flexibility, ease of use and relatively low cost as reasons for continued growth. They also noted a trend to “miniaturization” and the popularity of hand-carried ultrasound equipment.

While ultrasound adoption was faster 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, such as Eastern Europe, Latin America and parts of the Asia Pacific. Demand is coming from traditional applications, such as OB/GYN, and increasingly from point-of-care applications.

“The global ultrasound market is being driven by the need to maximize space, time and efficiency and hand-carried systems are evolving to adapt to any given environment,” reported Diane Wilkinson, Market Research Analyst at InMedica. “This can be seen by an increase in the number of hand-carried products designed for specific applications, such as nerve blocking, musculoskeletal and breast imaging.”

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.