An estimated 126.8 million X-ray procedures were performed on fixed general X-ray systems in main radiology departments and other locations managed by radiology, according the newly released 2021 X-ray DR/CR Market Outlook Report.  Technology advancements have contributed to the adoption of DR systems while usage of CR systems has declined throughout the past decade.

Market drivers to reduce radiation exposure for patients and faculty has contributed to the increase in demand for DR systems.  Compared to IMV’s 2010 study, the adoption of DR systems has progressed quickly, as the percentage of main radiology departments having DR systems has grown from 9% to the current 82%, while those having CR systems has declined from 81% to 8% of facility sites.  Keeping hospital departments up to date with state-of-the-art technology is a departmental priority with 73% of IMV’s 2021 survey respondents rating this as important.

The Covid-19 pandemic has had a significant impact nationwide on workflow procedures and lead to an increase in the usage of mobile systems.  According to IMV’s survey conducted from April to May 2021, 87% of the general X-ray sites reported that radiology owns or manages mobile/portable X-ray imaging units.  64% of respondents reported a recent surge in the use of mobile X-ray equipment within their facility.  Radiology departments are planning to purchase additional mobile systems in the upcoming years.

IMV’s 2021 survey concluded almost three quarters (88%) of mobile X-ray units owned/managed by radiology use DR technology and 12% use CR cassettes only.  Respondents reported systems located outside of the main radiology department (that are owned or managed by radiology) are in the emergency room (69%), inpatient/med-surg floors (57%), surgery/OR (48%) and intensive care/ICU (41%).

More information on this topic can be obtained in IMV’s full report — X-Ray Market Outlook

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Jennifer Weldon is Senior Imaging Analyst, at IMV Medical Information Division, part of Science and Medicine Group.  IMV’s  2021 X-ray DR/CR Market Outlook Report discovers market trends in U.S. hospitals and radiology centers, including procedure volume, manufacture installed base and market share, the use of OEM vs. third-party service providers, purchase plans, and site operations characteristics.  IMV’s  2021 X-ray DR/CR Market Outlook Report was published in July 2021 and is based on responses from 294 X-ray administrators/managers of radiology who participated in IMV’s nationwide survey from April-May 2021. Their responses have been projected to the IMV-identified universe of hospitals and x-ray centers in the U.S. that use fixed and mobile X-ray DR/CR systems from 2021-2024.  Vendors covered in this report include Agfa, Carestream, Canon/Toshiba, Del Medical, Fujifilm, GE, Konica Minolta, Philips, Samsung, Siemens, Shimadzu, and Swissray.