Friday, February 11, 2011

IMV Reports General X-ray Procedures Growing at 5.5% per Year, as Number of Installed X-ray Units Declines

According to a recent study published by IMV Medical Information Division, in 2010 an estimated 182.9 million procedures were performed in U.S. hospital radiology departments using fixed general x-ray equipment. Compared with an estimated 140.1 million procedures conducted in 2005, this represents an average annual growth rate of 5.5% per year.

These 182.9 million procedures were performed on an estimated 15,900 fixed x-ray radiography units, including both conventional x-ray and digital radiography (DR) units. This represents a slight decline in the total fixed x-ray installed base of approximately 1% per year since 2005, when an estimated 16,510 units were installed in the nation's hospital radiology departments.

"DR and computed radiography (CR) technology has allowed facilities to reduce their total installed base, while increasing their productivity," observed Lorna Young, Senior Director, Market Research. "Presently, over one-quarter of the installed x-ray units have DR technology (which allows digital x-ray images to be acquired directly into a computer without requiring the use of a removable cassette). CR technology (in which the x-ray image is acquired on a phosphor plate that is installed in a cassette, which is then taken to a CR reader that digitally captures the x-ray image) is used by 70% of the units. The remaining 4% of the fixed x-ray units are traditional film-only units, which has decreased from about one-third of the total installed base back in 2005."

source: PR Web

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