9.18.2009

Cardiac MRI Exams Emerge As "Gold Standard" For Heart-Cardio Imaging

Developments in imaging technology and software continue to help cardiac MRI exams gain prominence in the medical imaging market by meeting the demand for faster scan times and the ability to view areas of the body that were previously deemed impossible to image, according to "Medical Imaging Markets: MRI (Magnetic Resonance Imaging) and Ultrasound" by healthcare market research firm Kalorama Information. And this trend will drive sales of MRI equipment. Kalorama projects sales of MRI equipment to customers in the still underutilized cardiac area to grow between 2.5% and 4% starting in 2010. World market revenue for MRI systems used in heart-cardio scanning is forecast to reach $605 million in 2012, up from $556 million in 2008.

"While it's likely that an ECG and angiography will be utilized before a cardiac MRI, the 3D whole heart applications provide an additional option for cardiologists," said Bruce Carlson, publisher of Kalorama Information. "MRI will increasingly be used not just for more complicated applications, such as assessing a cardiac tumor, or evaluating congenital heart disease prior to surgery."

source: Medical News Today

No comments: