Analyst Insights and Signify Premium Insights

This year marks the tenth anniversary of the launch of the first handheld ultrasound scanner, GE Healthcare’s Vscan, yet the market has largely failed to live up to expectations. In 2018, sales of handheld ultrasound accounted for less than 2% of the $6.9 billion global market for ultrasound equipment.

Against the backdrop of artificial intelligence in medical imaging and other hyped healthcare IT technologies, market trends in core radiology IT software and services can easily be overlooked. Many of the largest markets in North America and Western Europe have reached saturation, with few new "greenfield" opportunities.

Earlier this month, Philips Healthcare announced it had signed an agreement to purchase the IT business (HCIS) of Carestream Healthcare for an undisclosed amount. The deal, expected to close in the second half of the year, is one of the largest M&A moves in the imaging informatics market for some time.

The world market for Electronic Health Records (EHR) and associated software, comprising PAS, clinical, interoperability, PHM and RCM solutions, is estimated to have been worth $23.0B in 2018 and is forecast to grow at a CAGR of 4.4% to $28.6B in 2023. This is according to a new report from Signify Research, an independent supplier of market intelligence and consultancy to the global healthcare technology industry.

At ECR this year, there were over 25 independent software vendors (ISVs), many of them start-ups, showcasing artificial intelligence (AI) solutions for medical imaging within a dedicated space.

ECR 2019 was a particularly special conference as it marked its 25th year anniversary in Vienna. While I was disappointed to miss the philharmonic orchestra at the grand opening, I did get to experience a symphony of new product launches and the latest technological innovations the industry has to offer.

A change of perspective for imaging IT vendors was clear at the conference this year. Tools improving the individual radiologist workflow, solutions aimed at streamlining and optimising operations and dashboard analytics for business intelligence across the entire enterprise were all prominent.

25 years since it settled in Vienna, the European Conference of Radiology achieved record attendance as over 23k delegates made their way to Vienna. Breast imaging was one of the most talked about areas of radiology at the show, however it's a market traditionally slow to change in terms of technology.

This show report presents the views from Signify Research's analyst team attending this years 25th European Congress of Radiology Show (ECR) in Vienna.

As well as attending the ECR show in Vienna, Signify Research analysts also provided a daily column for the Congress Newspaper – ECR Today.

The HIMSS conference is viewed as a challenging proposition for vendors with an imaging IT focus, given the scale and breadth of healthcare IT solutions on show. It is also a difficult place to launch new products due to the barrage of press releases and media that accompanies the conference. It was no surprise then that big new product releases were relatively thin on the ground for imaging IT. This may be a consequence also of the proximity of HIMSS, sandwiched between the premier radiology conferences of RSNA and ECR