PET Market Expected to Surge

A detailed analysis of the nuclear medicine systems market has found that despite recent reimbursement cuts to the positron emission tomography (PET) procedures in the United States, this largest segment of the market will still experience strong growth.

Currently valued at close to US$638 million in 2006, the US PET market will grow to $1009.7 million by 2011 according to a market report from Millennium Research Group (MRG; Waltham, MA, USA). In the United States, the Medicare reimbursement changes, which were implemented in January 2007, cut reimbursement for imaging procedures performed in non-hospital settings. Combined with the stipulations under the Deficit Reduction Act (DRA), this reduced reimbursement will cause the market to shift toward hospital-based PET procedures.

"Over the next five years, this will induce a shift in demand from outpatient centers to hospitals,” said David Plow, senior analyst at MRG. "In addition, procedure volumes will grow due to the growing number of PET applications, thus limiting the impact of these cuts over the next five years.”

PET/CT systems are used for diagnostic imaging in oncology, neurology, and cardiology. Procedures performed on these systems range from detection and follow up of cancers to scanning for Alzheimer's disease.

MRG provides medical technology market intelligence and is a leading provider of strategic information to the health care sector.


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