From the November 2022 issue of HealthCare Business News magazine
• An increase in the complexity of interventional procedures maintains demand for high-end solutions, where the required generator power is regulated to ensure patient safety. Most new demand for mobile C-arm technology will be accounted for by outpatient clinics and facilities in the United States.
• Most countries in Latin America have budget constraints and are price-sensitive, so tend to purchase low-end to midrange systems rather than higher-end systems. In Brazil, there has been a transition from image intensifier technology toward midrange and low-end mobile 2D FPD C-arms with basic functionality to support simple surgery. The rest of Latin America has both emerging and developed markets, with pockets of strong growth coming from Columbia, Argentina, and Chile.
EMEA:
• Western European governments are expected to focus on healthcare reforms, cost containment, and increasing return-on-investment throughout the forecast period. Demand for interventional X-ray systems is, therefore, dependent on the expansion of existing healthcare facilities, such as larger, new hospitals to replace older hospitals and new cardiac centres.
• The Western European market has a strong preference for floor-mounted systems. There is a greater uptake of 2D and 3D FPD systems compared to Eastern Europe, with the German market having the highest uptake of 3D C-arms in 2021.
• Higher-specification, higher-cost equipment is typically purchased in Northern Africa and South Africa, while central Africa is predominantly a very low-end interventional X-ray market.
• In Eastern Europe, Poland is forecast to be a growth market as the European structural and investment funds will support healthcare investment over the coming years.
Asia Pacific:
• China is the second largest market for interventional X-ray systems, after the United States. A key growth driver is the rapidly increasing number of Tier 1 hospitals.
• India has one of the best practices for cardiovascular medicine globally, ranking the third highest country for the number of TAVI procedures performed. From a clinical standpoint, the increasing number of stent procedures is facilitating additional growth for cath labs and better utilisation of existing cath labs.
• Demand for image intensifier mobile C-arms is falling in China, with 2D FPD mobile C-arms accounting for most of the market. Strong price erosion due to increased competition amongst local mobile C-arm vendors in China is hindering revenue growth. Low-cost mobile C-arm systems in India tend to fall into the super-value market segment, which accounts for more than 70% of the total mobile C-arm market in India.
