Magnetic Resonance Imaging Systems Market Trends and its Emerging Opportunities

The sale of such systems generated $5.9 billion in revenue in 2017, and the market is projected to progress at a CAGR of 5.2% during 2018–2023 (forecast period).

The magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) systems market is being positively impacted by government support, the rising awareness on early disease diagnosis, increasing geriatric population, surging prevalence of chronic diseases, and technological advancements.MRI systems utilize radio waves and magnetic field to generate images of bones, tissues, organs, and blood vessels, helping doctors identify edema, tumors, vascular blockage, lesions, and other anomalies.

On the basis of strength, the MRI systems market is categorized into low-to-mid (<1 T), high (1.5 T), very-high (3 T), and ultra-high (7 T and above) fields. A revenue contribution of $3,031.7 million, the highest among all, came from high-field systems in 2017, as they offer high accuracy of pictures and have the capability to provide spatial resolution. Further, imaging is faster in such systems, compared to those with a lower strength.

When segmented by application, spine, breast, pelvis and abdomen, vascular, musculoskeletal, cardiac, and brain, head, and neck are the major market divisions. Among these, the brain, head, and neck division led the MRI systems market, in 2017, and it is expected to experience the fastest growth, at a CAGR of 5.7%, during the forecast period. This is attributed to the surging incident rate of traumatic neck and brain injuries; the Journal of Neurosurgery reported in 2017 that every year, 69 million people suffer such mishaps.

Apart from government support, another major driver for the MRI systems market is the increasing awareness on the early diagnosis of diseases. Reaching the correct diagnosis as soon as possible significantly lowers the chances of complications in the advanced stages of the disease. Several initiatives are being taken to make people aware of the advantages of early disease diagnosis, especially for cancer. By getting diagnosed sooner, the treatment cost borne by patients also sees a reduction.

A lucrative opportunity for the market growth is being offered by hybrid MRI scanners. As such devices utilize the soft-tissue MRI as well as positron emission tomography (PET) technologies, they overcome the limitations of both individual imaging modalities, resulting in more-accurate and faster results. With doctors becoming increasingly aware of this new technology, the adoption of such scanners is forecast to rapidly surge during the forecast period across the globe.

In 2017, North America held the dominating share in the MRI systems market, of 38.5%. The major factors behind the region’s market lead are the high healthcare spending and advanced healthcare facilities here. Though North America will still be the largest market for such scanners during the forecast period, the fastest growth is forecast to be experienced by Asia-Pacific (APAC), at a CAGR of 6.0%, driven by the increasing prevalence of chronic diseases, improving healthcare infrastructure, and technological advancements.