Small diagnostic centers are buying used and refurbished MRI systems, which is hampering the sale of new MRI systems in the market.
Many local vendors are exporting and importing used and refurbished MRI systems, which are usually available at half the price of new ones. Many vendors also provide a warranty period of a couple of years on them.
In addition, customers have low awareness and purchasing power and therefore trust local companies to provide better after-sales support, which compels the large vendors to scale down the prices of the MRI systems.
Intense Competition among Vendors
With many healthcare institutions opting for refurbishing older MRI machines, vendors are facing more pressure from a market already plagued with intense competition.
The Global MRI Systems Market is very fragmented with the presence of a large number of vendors. Several large manufacturers such as GE Healthcare, Philips Healthcare, and Toshiba Medical are facing intense competition from medium- and small-sized vendors.
Large vendors provide an extensive range of advanced instruments globally, whereas the medium- and small-sized vendors deliver a broad range of products to their customers at reasonable prices. This results in intense competition among the vendors, which eventually leads to increased pressure on the pricing strategies of vendors, which affects the profit margin.
Luckily, there is light on the horizon for vendors.
Increase in Global Healthcare Spending
According to the CDC, in 2011, healthcare expenditure grew rapidly, by 15 percent in the US and 8 percent in Europe. Over the last decade, the Healthcare industry has witnessed an increase in the demand for MRI systems to help in the detection of various diseases at an early stage.
Therefore, patients are increasingly opting for MRI testing. Also, global healthcare expenditure is estimated to be more than US$5 trillion per year, which is unsustainable for the economy in the future.
Advances in MRI Technology
MRI systems have become the most preferred diagnostic imaging method for scanning various areas of brain for detecting conditions such as brain tumors, spine lesions, anomalies of blood vessels, and stroke affected areas of the brain.
Vendors are focusing on the advances in technology of MRI systems to improve the field strength to provide a better signal, improve the quality of the image, and improve the output.
