Global MRI market forecast at $5.24B by 2018

The worldwide MRI industry is expected to be worth more than $5 billion in the next four years with a calculated annual growth rate of 4.56 percent, according to a market report from research firm MarketsandMarkets.

The market for MR systems was valued at $4.13 billion in March 2013, up from $4 billion in 2011 and $4.1 billion in 2012. The report includes all MR technologies including those of variable field strengths and both open and closed systems, as well as MR classifications including molecular MR spectroscopy, functional MRI, Fusion MR and organ specific systems such as those for the breast, brain and cardiovascular imaging.

Applications in brain and neurological disorders are especially viable and comprise a significant segment of the market, with growth expected for cardiac and breast MR due to rising prevalence of disease. MRI technologies are being used in the surgical space as well as in perfusion and diffusion imaging.

Hybrid systems that combine MR with PET, SPECT and ultrasound are improving image quality. The higher resolution and MR field strengths of closed systems put them at the top of the market due to broad clinical application, according to MarketsandMarkets. Drivers of industry growth include the emergence of digital broadband and MR-conditional pacemakers as well as demographics that point to older patient populations with chronic disease.