Prevalence of public health care institutions challenges vendors of refurbished medical imaging equipment

Even as health care systems across Europe recognise the potential of medical imaging equipment in diagnosing diseases and fuel demand for cost-effective refurbished medical imaging equipment, market participants face several crucial issues.

Private healthcare institutions are the key end users of refurbished medical imaging equipment market. Predominance of public institutions – that can afford new high-end equipment – over the private ones poses a significant challenge to market participants.

“The proportion of public and private healthcare institutions is a key determinant of refurbished medical imaging equipment market’s growth potential,” explains Frost & Sullivan Industry Analyst Srividya Badrinarayanan. “Nonetheless, anticipated increase in the number of private institutions is likely to mitigate this challenge and strengthen the market.”

New analysis from Frost & Sullivan, European Markets for Refurbished Medical Imaging Equipment, reveals that revenue in this market totalled USD 139.5 million in 2004 and is projected to reach USD 213.1 million in 2009.

While rapidly evolving technology is a major driver for the refurbished medical imaging equipment market, it also forms a substantial challenge to market participants. New technology introduction slows down the decision-making process of customers as they get baffled whether to go in for new equipment or for the refurbished one.

Further, many end users perceive refurbished equipment as old systems that fail to meet the specifications of new ones. It is imperative to educate end users – that refurbished equipment is brought back to original specifications and vary from used ones – to improve rate of acceptance of these products.

Differing rules and regulations as well as reimbursement laws across parts of Europe also impede acceptance of the refurbished equipment. Standardisation of norms is vital to tackle regional inconsistencies in uptake.

Another significant challenge is the low-quality products delivered by local refurbishers. Original equipment manufacturers (OEMs), who are key participants in the market, undertake rigorous quality checks before selling refurbished equipment to their customers.

“Several local refurbishers make cosmetic changes to used systems and sell them off as refurbished equipment marring the name of these products in the market,” notes Ms. Badrinarayanan. “Participants will have to focus on rendering superior quality refurbished equipment in order to develop robust and long-term customer relations.”

Overall, increased procedure volumes and new technology innovation along with demand for cost-effective but technologically advanced equipment continue to drive the European markets for refurbished medical imaging equipment.