This Report Provides In-Depth Analysis of the Nuclear Imaging Equipment Market Report Prepared by P&S Intelligence, Segmented by Type (SPECT, PET, Planar Scintigraphy), Application (Oncology, Cardiology, Neurology), End User (Hospital, Diagnostic Center, Academic & Research Institute), and Geographical Outlook for the Period of 2019 to 2032
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Nuclear Imaging Equipment Market Future Prospects
The nuclear imaging equipment market size stood at USD 3.9 billion in 2024, and it is expected to grow at a CAGR of 4.9% during 2025–2032, to reach USD 5.7 billion by 2032.
The market size is expected to increase as a result of the aging population, rising healthcare costs, and surging demand for imaging procedures. Moreover, the increasing rate of cancer and heart disease are the main reasons propelling market expansion.
Nuclear imaging is a modern method that makes use of minute amounts of radiotracers, which are molecules related to those employed by the body’s cells; they bind to tumor cells. A detector measures the amount of radioactive decay from the tracer within the body, to figure out when and where it concentrates, by measuring the amount of the radioactive material absorbed by the target tissue. This method can enhance clinical research, medical diagnosis, and treatment, while also enhancing illness prevention.
The most-common way to administer radiotracers in nuclear medicine is intravenous. They can be taken orally in some investigations. These tracers have no negative effects and are neither dyes nor medications. Typically, a patient only receives a small quantity of radiation during a typical nuclear medicine scan.
The shift from standalone to hybrid modalities, improvements in radiotracers, growing emphasis on personalized medicine, investments made through public–private partnerships to modernize diagnostic centers, and the rising incidence of cancer and cardiac conditions are the main driving factors for the demand for PET and other similar scanners.
The need for better diagnoses is being addressed by advanced healthcare IT solutions. In terms of the clarity and accuracy of the scans, technologically improved devices have surpassed traditional techniques. Over the past 10 years, hybrid systems have seen tremendous progress as a result of the advances in imaging technology. The combined PET methods represent significant advancements in this regard.
The global availability of healthcare resources has been considerably impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. The pandemic was controlled, in part, by drastically reducing in-patient and out-patient services for other illnesses and putting in place concrete infection prevention and control measures. Hence, the volume of nuclear imaging tests for diagnostic and therapeutic purposes sharply decreased as the epidemic spread to several nations.
The majority of the heart patients are often older than 60 and thus, at an extremely high risk of conditions such as diabetes, hypertension, chronic renal and lung disorders, and cancer. They are also extremely susceptible to COVID-19 as a result of their low immunity, which has decreased the demand for nuclear imaging treatments. However, a lot of medical professionals think that this drop in treatments is only temporary.
Nuclear Imaging Equipment Market Trends and Growth Drivers
Technological Advancements Are Biggest Trends in Market
Some of the recent advancements in imaging technology that are relevant to radionuclide therapy include:
A key advantage of PET/MRI over PET/CT is a better soft tissue contrast, which is necessary for treatment planning, dosimetry, and post-radionuclide therapy evaluation.
It is advantageous because it offers the simultaneous co-registration of MR images, which is important for correct dosimetry.
Additionally, MRI can be used to determine the radionuclide dose that will cause the least organ damage.
Further, the gathering of anatomical and molecular images offers improved motion correction.
Moreover, venous thrombosis can be investigated using molecular imaging, which involves determining the thrombus acuity and activity, which may be crucial for patient care.
The glycoprotein receptor GPIIb-IIIa, which is found on activated platelets’ membrane, interacts with 99mTc apcitide, a drug under trial.
Through this, acute deep vein thrombosis can be found.
Another drug in phase I/II trials, 99mTc-DI-DD3B6/22-80B3, which is a humanized monoclonal Fab fragment, which binds to D-dimer, has demonstrated excellent safety and showed the promise of accuracy.
Additionally, among the PET tracers under research is 64Cu-DOTA fibrin-targeted probe, which has already been tested on animal models.
Furthermore, nearly all discussions of precision or personalized medicine revolve around genetics.
In the context of precision medicine, nuclear medicine procedures and assays are typically not discussed.
But, only nuclear theragnostic can successfully address the target structure and offer non-invasive readouts of target expression.
Therefore, the advancements in nuclear imaging equipment and its rising application in the diagnosis of major diseases will offer growth opportunities to the sector.
Rising Incidence of Chronic Diseases Drives Market
The biggest driver for the market is the increasing prevalence of chronic diseases, since nuclear imaging is widely used to diagnose cancers, heart diseases, kidney problems, neurological issues, diseases of the blood, endocrinological diseases, neurodegenerative conditions, traumatic brain injuries, stress fractures, inflammation, and certain infections.
PET, PET-CT, PET-MRI, and SPECT scans are also used for finding the best area on the body for surgery, evaluate the effect of therapy, and tracking the functioning of the brain and heart.
Hence, the growing cancer incidence with more than 9.8 million annual deaths is one of the primary drivers for the market as nuclear scans are widely used to diagnose tumors of the blood, brain, breasts, cervical spine, colon & rectum, esophagus, head & neck, lungs, lymph nodes, bones, pancreas, thyroid, prostate, and skin.
Similarly, heart diseases kill almost 18 million a year, which makes nuclear scans vital to see the blood flow to the heart, detect coronary artery disease, assess damage to the heart muscle after a myocardial infarction, evaluate the effectiveness of revascularization and cardiac bypass surgeries, and see the functioning of the heart.
In neurology, the key applications of these modalities are Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s, which affect 25 million and 10 million people globally, respectively.
Growing Demand for Data-Integrated Imaging Systems Offers Opportunities
Data-integrated imaging systems make it possible to process and reconstruct images, identify medical issues with the aid of a computer, create 3D digital representations of the anatomy, and employ proper quality control measures.
Physicians can quickly compare scans to accurately track the disease's course, with the use of data integration.
Clinicians now desire easy access to comprehensive data on the diagnostic history of patients, to develop a treatment plan that would be successful as well as cost-effective.
Moreover, making the data accessible through mobile phones would bring the concept of digital health within the reach of physicians and enable remote consulting.
This makes it easier for clinicians to view and examine scans from any location.
Hence, companies are concentrating on developing high-tech systems with integrated technologies due to these benefits and their ease of usage, which is driving the demand for them from physicians.
Nuclear Imaging Equipment Market Analysis
Type Analysis
The SPECT technology dominated the market in 2024 with around 55% revenue share. The major advantages of SPECTs are their affordability, versatility for diagnosing diseases of the heart, bones, and brain, as well as cancer. They are also used to monitor the effectiveness of treatment and assess the functioning of certain organs.
Compared to standalone devices, hybrid equipment delivers more-accurate images, with a higher resolution. In a single examination, such devices can offer both morphological and physiological data.
For instance, the SPECT/CT system enables precise localization and enhanced specificity of the data provided by a CT scan, in the case of skeletal examination. Many hospitals are increasingly switching from standalone to hybrid equipment due to these advantages.
The PET category will witness the fastest growth due to the advancements in this technology, specifically the emergence of hybrid variants over standalone ones. PET provides metabolic diagnoses with a higher precision and images with higher resolutions. This modality is widely used for functional imaging, cancer detection, therapy effect evaluation, and devising treatment plans.
These types have been considered:
SPECT (Largest Category)
Hybrid
Standalone
PET (Fastest-Growing Category)
Hybrid
Standalone
Planar Scintigraphy
End User Analysis
Hospitals accounted for the largest market share in 2024, with around 50% revenue share. This is attributed to the high frequency of chronic diseases, growing public awareness of nuclear therapy, and the transition from solo to hybrid modalities.
Furthermore, several countries, particularly the U.S. and those in Europe, are creating a readiness assessment framework for effective and smart ways of using radio drugs, so as to provide safe and effective treatments. Thus, most hospitals are focusing on the therapy for cancer patients, encouraged by its high efficacy and few side-effects. Nuclear imaging is already making a major contribution in detecting the area of cancer spread in the body.
The market in this category is also driven by the rising investment in nuclear imaging equipment R&D, increasing number of diagnostic institutions, and a high volume of nuclear imaging procedures.
Diagnostic imaging centers are the fastest-growing category. This is attributed to the improving standards of healthcare services provided by these places, which is reflected in their rapid adoption of advanced imaging equipment. Moreover, compared to full-fledged hospitals, diagnostic imaging centers offer quicker and more-affordable procedures.
Oncology dominates the market with around 50% revenue share in 2024. This is attributed to the rising incidence of cancer and the utility of standalone and hybrid PET and SPECT scans to diagnose tumors in various part of the body. As per the WHO, new diagnoses of cancer around the globe are expected to increase to 35 million by 2050 from 20 million in 2022, reflective a massive rise of 77%. Not only does nuclear imaging provide insights on the type and stage of the cancer but also helps evaluate the effectiveness of therapy.
The cardiology category will witness the highest CAGR as heart diseases account for the highest mortality in the world. Hence, the focus on their early diagnosis and effective treatment is increasing around the world. Myocardial perfusion imaging is widely performed to assess the flow of blood to different chambers of the heart, to evaluate cardiac function and detect potential CHD. The test tells doctors if patients’ coronary arteries are blocked or narrowed, which could be causing less blood to flow to the heart. The test can also help assess if someone has had a heart attack by evaluating the health of the cardiac muscle.
We studied the following applications:
Oncology (Largest Category)
Cardiology (Fastest-Growing Category)
Neurology
Others
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Nuclear Imaging Equipment Market Geographical Outlook
North America dominates the market with 40% revenue share in 2024. This is attributed to the presence of advanced healthcare infrastructure, high prevalence of chronic diseases, and favorable medical expense reimbursement regulations. As per the American Cancer Society, more than 2 million new cancer diagnoses are expected in the U.S. in 2024, the highest on record. The National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke says that over 50 million people in the country suffer from over 600 neurological diseases. Additionally, most of the major market players are either based or have their manufacturing plants or offices in this region, which leads to the easy availability of nuclear imaging systems.
APAC is set to be the fastest-growing market during the forecast period. This is attributed to the high prevalence of cancer, heart diseases, and neurological diseases and the vast unmet need for effective diagnosis and treatment. Therefore, governments and international agencies are taking steps to make people aware of the significance of early diagnosis and enable access to cost-effective screening and treatment procedures. As per estimates, China had the largest cancer-ridden population in the world in 2022, numbering 19,976,499, while India had the third-largest, at 1,413,316.
Here is the geographical breakdown of the market:
North America (Largest Regional Market)
U.S. (Larger and Faster-Growing Country Market)
Canada
Europe
Germany (Largest and Fastest-Growing Country Market)
Brazil (Largest and Fastest-Growing Country Market)
Mexico
Rest of LATAM
Middle East and Africa (MEA)
Saudi Arabia (Largest and Fastest-Growing Country Market)
South Africa
U.A.E.
Rest of MEA
Nuclear Imaging Equipment Market Share
The market is consolidated as PET and SPECT systems, both hybrid and standalone variants, are costly and technically demanding to develop.
Moreover, the clinical trial and approval process for these systems is long and complex, with a high failure rate.
Therefore, only established medical device companies that operate internationally are able to survive.
Another reason for the market consolidation is that the users are majorly well-funded hospitals, diagnostic centers, and academic institutes with a reputation to protect.
Hence, they only buy from the major market players, with whom many users also sign long-term repair, maintenance, and overhaul (MRO) contracts.
Major Companies in Nuclear Imaging Equipment Market:
Koninklijke Philips N.V.
GE HealthCare Technologies Inc.
Siemens Healthineers
Digirad Corporation
Neusoft Medical Systems Co. Ltd.
Canon Inc.
SurgicEye GmbH
DDD-Diagnostic A/S
Shimadzu Corporation
Nuclear Imaging Equipment Market News
In December 2024, Siemens Healthineers acquired Advanced Accelerator Applications Molecular Imaging from Novartis SA. Post the acquisition, this network of radiopharmaceutical producers and distributors in Europe for PET scans will be renamed Advanced Accelerator Applications.
In December 2024, GE HealthCare Technologies Inc. exhibited its Aurora dual-head SPECT/CT scanner and Clarify FL nuclear imaging portfolio at 2022 AGM of the Radiological Society of North America (RSNA).
In October 2024, Koninklijke Philips N.V. signed an MoU with Siloam Hospitals Group, in partnership with Universitas Pelita Harapan (UPH) Medical Sciences Group, to build capacity, share knowledge, and deploy AI-integrated tools for healthcare delivery.
In September 2024, Shimadzu Corporation operationalized its new subsidiary in Mexico. Named Shimadzu México, S. A. de C.V., the company will sell and service measurement & analytics and medical systems from its operational base in Mexico City.
Frequently Asked Questions About This Report
What is the projected size of the nuclear imaging equipment market?+
The 2032 size of the market for nuclear imaging equipment will be USD 5.7 billion.
What are the key driving factors for the nuclear imaging equipment industry?+
The nuclear imaging equipment industry is driven by the growing cancer and CVD prevalence.
Which is the leading region in the nuclear imaging equipment market?+
North America is the largest market for nuclear imaging equipment.
Which end user dominates the nuclear imaging equipment industry?+
Hospitals generate the highest nuclear imaging equipment industry revenue.
What is the nuclear imaging equipment market competitive scenario?+
The market for nuclear imaging equipment is consolidated.
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