Cardiac MRI exams gain prominence in the medical imaging market

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."

New MRI systems featuring sophisticated 32-coil designs, low signal-to-noise ratio and improved image acquisition have driven the new uses. Besides providing physicians with a noninvasive technique for acquiring comprehensive data related to cardiovascular function and disease, cardiac MRI exams offer rapid analysis and increased accuracy. The modality has also proven useful diagnosing various unusual cardiovascular problems. The speed of MRI systems has earned them a place as an important research tool for studying ischemia and cardiomyopathy. While new techniques can non-invasively image the coronary arteries in a way that is more precise than angiography, Kalorama still expects that they are constrained by the need for staff trained in making cardiac MRI evaluations.

Moreover, cardiac MRI has proven useful in unexpected ways that are helping to fuel growth in the market. For instance, it can demonstrate the effects of airway pressure therapy on the hearts of patients with obstructive sleep apnea. This capability could open the modality to a large market in the U.S., where about 18 million people have obstructive sleep apnea or similar sleep-related breathing disorders.