By Kaitlyn Wilkie

The mammography market took a big hit in 2020 when the COVID-19 pandemic put women’s health research on hold and hospitals’ funds were redirected to equipment and other resources needed to combat the pandemic. Like many other healthcare technology companies, symplr saw significantly decreased interest in this technology during the pandemic. Most hospitals opted to upgrade currently installed systems instead of purchasing new systems, or held off on any purchases altogether throughout 2020 and 2021. Conversely, symplr saw increased interest for new, fully configured systems in 2022, with interest in 2023 returning to pre-pandemic levels. Upgrades for older systems were still frequently considered against new system purchases in 2022.

Although COVID-19 put women’s health research on the back burner, hospitals are once again looking closely at the market due to an increased demand for early-stage diagnoses of breast cancer and new government initiatives. The U.S.’s aging population is increasing the need for mammography in hospitals in addition to women’s health clinics: the risk of breast cancer continuously increases after age 40, and based on the 2021 U.S. census, 35% of the U.S. population is over 40 years of age. The need for accessible women’s healthcare will only increase with time as people continue to live longer thanks to medical advancements.
In March 2023, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued a new rule to mammography regulations. All facilities will be required to report breast density and provide this information to their patients and to healthcare providers. The aim of this update is to improve facility oversight and communication to the patient and to healthcare providers. The change requires more, including precise language in the reports, informing patients and providers of the limitations of the mammography images, and educating them on the risks. This new rule takes effect in September 2024, to allow facilities time to make policy changes and purchases needed to comply.

Since tomosynthesis became the gold standard for mammography, manufacturers have turned their attention to artificial intelligence (AI) to tackle the current limitations of mammography. AI can improve patient outcomes by triaging exams for the radiologist to review, highlighting key areas that need closer attention, reducing the occurrence of call-backs and the need for additional imaging exams, and decreasing the time needed to read each exam. AI software is especially beneficial to women with denser breasts. According to the American Cancer Society, women with dense breasts are four to six times more likely to get breast cancer, and dense breast tissue makes finding the cancer in early stages more difficult than in less dense breast tissue. Tumors show as bright white areas on images; however, dense breast tissue also shows as bright white, and the normal tissue can easily hide abnormalities, even to the trained eye of a radiologist without assistance from software. Often, tumors are found in dense breasts when they are large, and the cancer is in an advanced stage. AI is proving to be a useful tool in distinguishing small tumors and early-stage breast cancer from normal tissue on mammograms. AI’s aid in reading images and improving workflow is also beneficial in decreasing burnout in clinicians, an important factor in a hospital’s ability to adequately staff their radiology and women’s health departments.

According to various global market forecast analyses, the mammography market is expected to grow 8% to 10% over the next decade. Increased demand for this type of healthcare and advancements in AI will drive this growth.

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