IMV: RF procedures increase while installs decline over past decade

Image source: Professional Radiology

The number of patient visits accommodated by the radiographic fluoroscopy (RF) departments increased at a rate of 3.5 percent per year between 2004 to 2009, while the total RF installed base declined at a rate of 2 to 3 percent per year over the past decade, according to a report issued by market research firm IMV Medical Information Division.

An estimated 19.3 million procedures were conducted in hospitals with 150+ beds in 2004, according to IMV, and when compared with 2009’s estimated data, a total of 17.2 million procedures were conducted in the same hospitals, which would yield an annual decrease of 2 percent. However, the actual numbers for 2009 revealed a 3.5 percent annual increase from 2004 to 2009, stated IMV.

This year’s 2009/2010 study also reports a 24 percent decrease in RF unit installations, with 4,805 units identified at 2,070 hospitals with 150+ beds, down from 6,360 units installed according to IMV’s 1998-1999 study.

“The use of certain procedure types performed in RF rooms has shifted, with declines in GI contrast and ERCP studies, as other modalities have gained preference,” offered Lorna Young, senior director of Market Research at IMV, as a reason for the decline.

According to the 2010 data, 21.1 million radiographic-only and RF procedures were performed on 5,780 RF x-ray units in 2,670 hospitals with 100+ beds and these 21.1 million procedures are estimated to have involved 18.6 million patient visits. Of these 18.6 million patient visits, 38 percent were general radiography studies and 62 percent were fluoroscopy procedures, comprised of GI contrast, modified swallow/speech, urinary, myelography, arthrography/orthopedic/joint, OB/GYN, PICC lines/vascular access and ERCP studies.

The report also noted:
• 26 percent of the study sites reported plans to acquire RF units from 2009 to 2012 and later. This proportion of 26 percent of sites planning to purchase “over the next three years” has decreased from 34 percent of the sites covered in the 2004-2005 report and 39 percent of the sites covered in IMV’s 2003 report.
• Of the RF units planned for acquisition, 54 percent are planned to have a flat panel detector.
• Over half (56 percent) of installed RF units are serviced by the “manufacturer or OEM,” 42 percent by “in-house” service, 11 percent by “independent” service organizations and 7 percent by “other manufacturers.”
• Of the 18.61 million total patient visits to RF rooms in 2009, 60 percent used contrast agents (including oral and injectable contrast agents) and 40 percent did not.