Signify Research has released its top 10 predictions for the medical imaging market in 2024, including five for imaging IT and AI and five for modalities.
Imaging IT and AI:
- Consolidation is not over yet; 15 AI vendors will be acquired or exit the medical imaging AI market in 2024. Acquisitions, market exits, and pivots will become inescapable to the AI vendors who have watched their funding dwindle and sales languish.
- AI vendors will address entire clinical care pathways. A technology can inspire interest, but solving providers’ problems will win deals. AI vendors can achieve this by addressing entire clinical care pathways, achieved via native development, partnerships, and “tuck-in” acquisitions.
- Collaboration between different imaging IT vendor types will grow. In the making for a while, 2024 will bear the fruit of partnerships between imaging IT, advanced visualization vendors, and pathology vendors. No single vendor can meet the needs of large enterprise imaging deals.
- Vendors will capitalize on the renewed excitement for structured reporting. The excitement around generative AI has reiterated the importance and possibilities structured data generation offers providers. Vendors will double-down on promotion of vendor-neutral archives (VNAs), data management, and reporting workflow solutions and look to leverage this impetus.
- Providers will realize the power of data. Similarly, healthcare providers will realize the value their data has, and be open and more willing to profit from it. A data race is starting, and providers will realize the head start they have built.
Modalities
- Vendors will facilitate imaging system use by inexperienced users. Providers are facing staff shortages. Solutions, both hardware and software, which allow providers to conduct more imaging exams with fewer experienced technicians will be highly valued.
- Specifications will no longer be the main differentiator between imaging solutions. In many categories, image quality is close enough between vendors that it will make little difference to providers. Instead, software, service, and product ecosystems will be the difference in winning sales.
- Economic realities will make the mid-range market more cutthroat; equipment price increases will stall in 2024. Tightening belts will force providers to more aggressively consider a system’s return on investment. Competent workhorse solutions and Chinese systems punching above their price bracket will make this a ruthless market.
- Imaging will be increasingly mobile and available in new settings. Miniaturization and mobilization will increasingly take hold. Providers will therefore need to be equipped where it is needed and operationally prepared to sell into new channels.
- CT vendors will capitalize on changes in patient care pathways. Changes in clinical pathways in the U.S. and internationally means that computed tomography angiography volumes will grow rapidly. Demand for high-end systems with whole-heart, one-beat imaging will be boosted.
Kelly Patrick is a principal analyst at Signify Research, an independent supplier of market intelligence and consultancy to the global healthcare technology industry. Signify's major coverage areas are healthcare IT, medical imaging, and digital health.
The comments and observations expressed do not necessarily reflect the opinions of Auntminnie.com or AuntMinnieEurope.com, nor should they be construed as an endorsement or admonishment of any particular vendor, analyst, industry consultant, or consulting group.
