London, UK, 12th May, 2004. The European market for digital radiography
(DR) systems has more than doubled since 2000. From $51.6m, DR revenues
jumped to $114.4m in 2003. While strong regional variations persist in terms
of uptake levels, speed and manner of penetration and motivations for
purchase, the overall market is projected to continue expanding. Growing at
a sedate annual average of 7.7%between 2003 and 2010, the total market is
forecast to reach $192.3m.
Pioneering the adoption of digital imaging technologies were the northern
European countries, particularly Scandinavia, Belgium and the Netherlands.
Quickly following suit were a second wave of highly developed countries
including Germany, France and the United Kingdom. At present, over 80% of DR
sales currently derive from these early adopters.
Digital Radiography is only now making inroads into countries such as
Spain, Portugal and Greece. And while prices still remain fairly prohibitive
for the vast majority of providers in Europe, there are indications that
select facilities in some eastern European countries are committed to
upgrading their outdated equipment with DR systems.
Similar to the North American experience, DR technology in Europe is
gradually set to broaden from traditional early-adopter facilities to
mid-market purchasers. Another point of similarity has been the
complementary positioning of DR within the clinical environment to existing
computing radiography and analogue xray installations.
However, the market penetration profile for DR in Europe differs from
North America. Frost & Sullivan Medical Imaging Industry Analyst Antonio
García comments, "For the most part, facilities that adopt DR in Europe
already have a sophisticated digital image management system in place (such
as PACS), or else they purchase DR as part of their overall plan for PACS
implementation."
There are, however, exceptions to this trend. "Many eastern European
countries are experiencing substantial economic growth, enabling them to
invest greater resources into developing their mostly outmoded medical
imaging infrastructure, and they are investing in digital solutions even in
the absence of a PACS or digital image management strategy", adds Mr García.
The European installed base is expected to quadruple between 2003 and
2010, exhibiting double-digit growth rates. Initially, most of the installed
base growth is likely to occur in the more industrialised countries of
northern and western Europe followed by rising growth in southern and
eastern Europe.
For the industrialised countries, particularly Scandinavia, DR is
considered key to the long-term strategy of achieving filmless operation. In
less-industrialised countries, DR is regarded as a high-throughput
alternative to analogue xray and a means to cutting incremental costs in
film and consumables. In both regions, however, DR is identified as a
powerful tool to control radiography-related expenditures.
Unit shipments are poised to register an annual average growth rate of
12.4% over the 2003–2010 period. Demand for DR systems is set to derive
primarily from Germany, Scandinavia, the Benelux countries and the United
Kingdom. Lower levels of demand are forecast for France, Italy and Spain.
With the notable exception of Poland, Hungary and Romania, demand from
eastern European countries is set to be even lower. Aggressive competition
characterises the market with nearly 15 DR vendors fighting over an
extremely limited pool of unit sales. However, the number of competitors is
expected to dwindle even as annual unit sales are forecast to register rapid
growth.
Swissray has ceded its once dominant position to the three major global
DR vendors: Philips Medical Systems, Siemens Medical Solutions and GE
Medical Systems. In 2003, this troika accounted for over three-quarters of
the European DR market.
"Little threat is posed by the entrance of new companies. The barriers to
entry are formidable, with the high cost of building a manufacturing
facility, acquiring components and expertise and high marketing costs", says
Mr García.
"In fact, the European market could experience significant consolidation
in coming years as additional companies exit the DR market due to intense
competition from the dominant vendors."
If you are interested in an analysis overview providing major market and
technology trends, challenges and strategies of the World Digital
Radiography Markets, send an email to Katja Feick, Corporate Communications
at katja.feick@frost.com
with the following information: Full name, Company Name, Title, Contact Tel
Number, Email. Upon receipt of the above information, an overview will be
emailed to you.
World digital radiography
markets to expand steadily