Medical Imaging News

February 14, 2007

IMV Census Shows the Rapid Evolution of CT Technology

Since 2003, CT procedures have increased by 24%, for an average annualized rate of 8% per year, according to the 2006 CT Market Summary Report, published by IMV's Medical Information Division Inc.

The number of procedures jumped from 50.1 million in 2003 to an estimated 62.0 million procedures, performed in 7,650 hospital and nonhospital sites, in 2006.

"It’s amazing how broadly we see CTs used, both in a more routine basis as well as a very high-level clinical basis; CT is very well-diffused in that way," said Lorna Young, senior director of market research for IMV, who noted that CT is being used in all levels of care, including routine, specialized, and trauma cases, regardless of the type of facility. "Trend-wise, we have found that the hospitals are still going faster in terms of the procedures per site, as well as per scanner, and the nonhospitals are very stable, because it's become such an essential tool.

"In terms of procedures per site in 2006, the average number is about 8,100—with hospitals performing 10,700 and nonhospitals at 3800," she continued. "In the 2003 census, nonhospitals were doing around 3,400, so that volume is stable. However, volume-wise and proportion-wise, hospitals are much more aggressive, because the bigger hospitals have more scanners and also just have that much more call for it."

The report details trends in procedure utilization, the CT installed base and purchase plans, workstations, power injectors, contrast media utilization and budgets, and site operations characteristics. More than 80% of the CTs installed in 2006 were multislice CTs with more than 16 slices, according to IMV.

“With the rapid technological innovations in volumetric scanning, increased scan speed, thinner CT slices, and 3D visualization, CT scanners are continuing to transform the clinical landscape,” Young said. “As a result, radiology departments and imaging centers are stepping up the pace of replacing their installed base and adding capacity."

In fact, the survey found that the replacement market will range from 1,200 to 1,600 units per year over the next 5 years, and the total annual market will exceed 2,000 units. According to the report, two thirds of the installed CTs will be replaced within 7 years of installation, with an average replacement cycle of 6.7 years.

IMV also queried about adoption trends of new procedures, such as CT angiography (CTA), and advanced technologies, including 64-slice CTs, finding that CTA procedures are performed in 58% of the participating CT sites. These new techniques and technologies also are impacting the way images are viewed, with the majority (60%) of sites naming 3D software as an essential capability on the workstations used for processing and displaying CT images.

The 119-page CT Market Survey, which sells for $7,750, is one of two reports generated from the data collected by IMV.

"We actually issue two types of reports. The market summary report is oriented toward the industry and companies; it provides detail about trends it is monitoring very closely, such as the latest data points and comparisons to the prior findings," Young said. "The second report is called the benchmark series, which are about 15 pages long and are priced much lower at $550. Our benchmark reports make it possible for providers to benchmark their volumes against comparable hospitals. It has that added value in areas that are helpful to them in operational review, so they can get an idea of how they compare to everyone else."

Medical professionals who respond to the survey are provided with a complementary copy of the benchmark report as an honorarium.

Contact IMV directly for information on purchasing either the modality benchmark report or market summary reports.  

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