Report: Global cardiac MRI sales to reach $605M in 2012

Developments in imaging technology and software continue to help cardiac MRI exams gain prominence in the medical imaging market and will drive global sales of the technology to a projected $605 million in 2012, according to a report by healthcare market research firm Kalorama Information.

Kalorama projected sales of MRI equipment to customers in the cardiac area to grow between 2.5 percent and 4 percent starting in 2010.

“While it’s likely that an ECG and angiography will be utilized before a cardiac MRI, the 3D whole-heart applications provide an additional option for cardiologists,” said Bruce Carlson, publisher of Kalorama. “MRI will increasingly be used not just for more complicated applications, such as assessing a cardiac tumor or evaluating congenital heart disease prior to surgery.”

According to the report, new MRI systems featuring “sophisticated 32-coil designs, low signal-to-noise ratio and improved image acquisition” have driven the increase in utilization. The modality has proven useful for diagnosing a variety of unusual cardiovascular problems and its image-acquisition speed has earned it a place as an important research tool for studying ischemia and cardiomyopathy, Kalorama noted.

While new techniques can non-invasively image the coronary arteries in a way that is more precise than angiography, Kalorama still expects that they are constrained by the need for staff trained in making cardiac MRI evaluations.

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