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Adoption of Flat Panel Detectors,
Workflow Integration and Advancement in Diagnostic Techniques Drive European
C-Arms Market
The need to replace existing image intensifier based
systems with flat panel detectors (FPD) is driving the European C-Arms market.
This trend has been spurred by the need for complete workflow integration in a
fully digital radiology environment. Moreover, FPDs provide improved,
distortion-free images in comparison to image intensifiers. However, their high
cost, coupled with a lack of funding for healthcare projects, will pose an
important limitation to their adoption in the mobile C-Arms segment.
Frost & Sullivan finds that the European C-Arms Market earned revenues of $375.2
million n 2005 and estimates this to reach $548.8 million in 2012.
"New systems fitted with FPDs instead of conventional image intensifiers are
replacing fixed C-Arm systems across Europe," notes Frost & Sullivan Medical
Imaging Team Leader, Karthik Arun B. "This trend will be evident in mobile
C-Arms too by the year 2008 and will be the single, most important factor
driving this market."
FPDs make the C-Arm system inherently digital and eliminate the need for
analogue- to- digital conversion of images captured using an image intensifier.
Moreover, they are lighter and more compact enabling manoeuvrability and ease of
handling during procedures using mobile C-Arm systems. Moreover, FPDs provide
distortion free images. These advantages, combined with the push towards a
completely digital radiology environment, will motivate the C-Arms market to
completely convert to FPDs.
However, primarily due to their high cost, FPDs are not yet being widely adopted
by mobile C-Arm users and vendors. Even with fixed C-Arms, FPDs increase the
cost of systems. Furthermore, with Europe being on a capital investment model,
C-Arms - especially mobile systems - tend to take a back seat when it comes to
resource allocation, resulting in prolonged replacement cycles.
"The lack of investment in healthcare across Europe has led to price pressures
in the C-Arms market," explains Mr. Karthik. "This situation has hindered faster
adoption of FPDs in fixed C-arms and has completely prevented its use in mobile
C-Arms, so much so that only one vendor has introduced an FPD-based mobile C-Arm
in the market."
The focus of C-Arm system vendors should be to develop an FPD that is both
efficient and cost-effective. This would require sustained investments in R&D
and continued adoption of FPDs in the fixed C-Arm domain. An aggressive,
vendor-backed campaign detailing the advantages of FPDs will ensure robust
growth for the European C-Arms market.
For more details : Contact Radhika Menon Theodore- Corporate Communications at
rmtheodore@frost.com with the following information: your full name, company
name, title, telephone number, e-mail address, city, state, and country. We will
send you the information via email upon receipt of the above information.
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