November 14, 2013 — The Eurozone economic slowdown has made it difficult for hospitals, particularly in Southern Europe, to procure new imaging modalities. With streamlined budgets and escalating number of medical procedures, the need to spend less on technologies while gaining the maximum benefit from them has sustained demand for high-quality refurbished imaging equipment.
As a result, refurbished systems are now preferred across most imaging departments, including nuclear medicine, mammography and minimally invasive surgeries in private hospitals.
Frost & Sullivan's Analysis of the European Refurbished Medical Imaging Equipment Market finds the market earned revenue of $417.6 million in 2012 and estimates this to reach $582.3 million in 2019.
"Growth of the private healthcare sector has increased the uptake of high-quality imaging modalities, as private hospitals focus strongly on returns on investment," said Raghuraman Madanagopal, healthcare research analyst, Frost & Sullivan. "Refurbished medical imaging equipment provides these hospitals with an opportunity to stay ahead of competitors by conducting more advanced procedures at a lower cost."
The market, however, presents its challenges. For instance, reimbursement laws across some European regions, such as France, compel reimbursement to be halved if the equipment is older than five years. This forces some hospitals to purchase new equipment. Moreover, regulations in certain countries such as Romania and Bulgaria restrict hospitals from purchasing old equipment using state funded loans. Because almost all public hospitals are covered by the state, they opt for new systems over refurbished models.
"Government regulations that have restricted the purchase of used equipment in some regions are expected to ease following the rapid acceptance of refurbished systems globally," said Madanagopal. "With governments relaxing their regulations, the scope for these systems in the public sector will grow."
Analysis of the European Refurbished Medical Imaging Equipment Market is part of the Advanced Medical Technologies Growth Partnership Service program. Frost & Sullivan's related research services include: Western and Eastern European Image and Information Management Systems Market, Global Medical Imaging Equipment Market Outlook and U.S. and European Digital Pathology Systems Market. All research services included in subscriptions provide detailed market opportunities and industry trends evaluated following extensive interviews with market participants.
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