The prevalence of chronic diseases, including cancer, is increasing rapidly across the globe. Chronic diseases have been posing major problem for the healthcare industry, since the treatment of these diseases actually involves management of diseases leading to high healthcare cost. Furthermore, no cure has been found for several chronic diseases, such as cancer, Alzheimer’s, and Parkinson’s. As per the International Agency for Research on Cancer, approximately 12.7 million new cancer cases were reported in 2008 across the globe, and this number is expected to increase up to 21.4 million by 2030.
Because of this surging prevalence of cancer and other chronic diseases, the need for advanced diagnostic systems and treatment methods is increasing rapidly. This, in turn, is driving the demand for nuclear imaging equipment. This imaging modality involves injection or inhalation of radioactive tracers in order to visualize different organs. The tracer is produced by the addition of a radioactive isotope to a specific pharmaceutical to the organ that is being imaged. This tracer emits gamma radiation, which is later imaged by utilizing a gamma camera. The information captured by the camera is converted into digital format for producing 2D or 3D image on a screen .
Nuclear imaging procedure is painless and non-invasive, which is why physicians are increasingly using it for diagnosing patients. Owing to the advantages of this procedure, the global nuclear imaging equipment market is expected to advance at a substantial rate in the coming years. different product types of nuclear imaging equipment are hybrid positron emission tomography, single photon-emission computed tomography (SPECT), including standalone SPECT systems and hybrid SPECT systems, and planar scintigraphy. An SPECT scan is utilized for detecting blood flow in veins and arteries. This imaging technique is more sensitive, in comparison to CT and magnetic resonance imaging, to brain injury, since a radioactive substance is utilized for producing pictures.
Nuclear imaging equipment have various applications including neurology, oncology, and cardiology. Among these, the largest demand for nuclear imaging was created for oncology applications in the past, which is attributed to the surging number of cancer cases all across the globe. Hospitals, research centers, and diagnostic centers are the major users of nuclear imaging equipment. Out of all these, the largest demand for this equipment was created from hospitals in the past. this is attributed to the surging patient pool and increasing number of hospitals.
In conclusion, the demand for nuclear imaging equipment is growing due to the surging prevalence of chronic diseases, including cancer across the globe.
