Purchases of ultrasound equipment made in Africa, Central and Eastern Europe, and the Middle East were key factors in driving the recovery of the global ultrasound market, according a new report from market research firm InMedica.
The company attributed a more than 12% market growth and almost 10% of global revenues in these regions, particularly Russia, Romania, Hungary, and the Middle East, to the market's recovery in 2010. The report projects that a unit shipment growth of more than 10% will be sustained until 2015, due to the fact that new compact and cost-effective ultrasound systems have been developed for applications in cardiology, emergency medicine, and anesthesiology.
By comparison, for Western Europe, InMedica forecasts a growth rate of 6% until 2015.
In 2009, the ultrasound market had revenues decline by more than 30% in some regions of the world, due to challenging and economic political conditions. The market rebound occurred more rapidly than expected, but challenges that ultrasound vendors face include reliance upon third-party distribution networks, which limit the market visibility of vendors and increase market pricing pressure.
