1.1 Definition and presentation

The term "imaging" diagnosis refers to imaging. Imaging technologies in medical diagnostics make it possible to see an anatomical structure, assess its functionality, and look for abnormalities. Imaging techniques can provide functional data in addition to morpho-structural data. Medical imaging has been based on radiography and radioscopy for more than fifty years; however, new technologies such as ultrasound, nuclear medicine, and computed tomography have recently transformed this field. Computed tomography, ultrasound, echocolordoppler, MRI, PET and SPECT are the modalities currently considered advanced. The set of different techniques can be divided into two broad categories: Structural Imaging, which provides information about the anatomy of organs by various methods (X-ray, CT Scanner, etc.) and Functional Imaging, which informs the health care provider about the functions of organs (PET, MEG, EEG, etc.).

The global medical imaging market was worth $15.9 billion in 2020 and is expected to grow at a CAGR of 5.2% from 2021 to 2028.

Despite the fact that Italy's healthcare system is public, it is experiencing a period of significant investment in imaging instrumentation innovation. In 82 percent of cases, portable ultrasounds were purchased less than five years ago, as were 78 percent of digital systems for arch surgery and 81 percent of mobile digital X-rays. Unfortunately, the country did not previously stand out among countries adopting the most advanced technologies; of the 18,000 obsolete imaging devices in Italian hospitals, many are in the process of being replaced to reach a set threshold of technological development in the sector. Italy's private medical and healthcare sector has a wide range of adoption of new technologies, increasingly investing in Italian companies and research. Italy stands out in Europe for the advancement of its medical and diagnostic research. The market is growing and needs cutting-edge investment.

Many of these technologies are purchased by private hospitals not only for diagnosis, but more importantly for prevention of problems. Increasing demand for early-stage diagnosis of chronic diseases and an aging population, which is expected to increase demand for diagnostic imaging worldwide, are two main reasons driving activity.

1.2 The World Market

In ****, the global diagnostic imaging market was estimated at $**.** billion. One year later, in ****, the global market size was estimated at $**.** billion, an increase of *.*% from the previous year. The market is expected to continue growing at a CAGR of *.*% to reach $**.** billion in ****.

Evolution de la taille de marché mondial ...

1.3 The Italian Market

As for the Italian market, this has been steadily and strongly increasing in recent years. Companies that perform diagnostic imaging services fall under the category of Ateco Code "**.** - Other health care services. According to a survey by MedioBanca, diagnostic imaging is a market that was worth *.* billion euros in Italy, ...

1.4 Foreign trade

For the analysis of imports and exports of equipment used to perform medical imaging services, the following HS codes reported from the United Nations database were used. The HSs used are :

****: Equipment based on the use of X-rays or alpha, beta and gamma radiation for medical, surgical, dental or veterinary ...

2.1 Overview of the hospital sector in Italy

In Italy, there were **** hospitals as of ****, a number that has been steadily decreasing over the years. Among them were about *** private for-profit hospitals, a figure that is clearly up from **** but slightly down , -*%, from **** figures .

The N.H.S. has about ***,*** ordinary inpatient beds, **.* percent of which are in ...

2.2 The type of diagnostic imaging services provided and geographic distribution

There are several types of medical imaging that can be requested by patients. The two main types are nuclear medicine and diagnostic radiology. Nuclear medicine refers to the branch of medicine that uses radioactive substances (***) for diagnostic, therapeutic, and biomedical research purposes. While diagnostic radadiology uses X-rays, CT, MRI, ultrasound, etc. ...

2.3 The machinery in different regions

In the following section, the number of certain equipment used to make imaging diagnoses will be analyzed. These are :

Echotomograph(***).

Computerized Gamma Camera(***) : equipment used in nuclear medicine to acquire scintigraphic images; no X-rays are used here

Radiology Group(***):

Integrated Gamma Camera CT system(***) : equipment used in nuclear medicine for scintigraphic ...

2.4 Socio demographic characteristics

There are several drivers that can drive the demand for diagnostic imaging. we can find two main categories, demographic characteristics of the Italian population and income characteristics .

The age distribution andmedian age of the Italian population are also important factors to consider in order to better understand this market and its ...

3.1 Value Chain

The following is a simplified value chain of the diagnostic imaging industry:

The market for medical imaging equipment manufacturing in Italy is held by a handful of international players; this is caused by high R&D and manufacturing costs, which raise barriers to market entry and restrain the arrival of new ...

3.2 Italian medical imaging societies

As seen, the ateco code for firms employed in the manufacture of diagnostic imaging equipment is **.**. As can be seen from the graph, there was a steady decrease in the number of firms and employees between **** and ****, -**.*% in terms of the number of firms operating in the market. In ****, however, ...

3.3 Companies offering Medical Imaging Services

There are a total of **** facilities in Italy surveyed under the Ateco Code"**.**.** Clinical analysis laboratories, radiographic laboratories and other diagnostic imaging centers."

The code may seem vague but it should be kept in mind that many times companies that offer clinical analysis services also offer medical imaging services. The number ...

4.1 The different types of Equipment

There are many technological modalities of medical imaging, for multiple applications, the main ones of which are listed in the table below:

Source: ****

The following is a non-exhaustive list of the main types of medical imaging equipment:

Conventional and digital radiography Radioscopy / fluoroscopy CT / CAT SCAN Magnetic resonance imaging (***) Functional magnetic ...

4.2 Equipment prices and diagnostic imaging fees

Equipment prices

Prices of medical imaging equipment can vary widely depending on the brand, the features and modifications made to the equipment, and the customer's needs. However, SNITEM offers a range of prices for high-end equipment:

Installation costs are added to the cost of the equipment. Installation costs between ***,*** and ***,*** euros ...

4.3 An obsolete fleet

There are **,*** obsolete imaging equipment such as MRIs, PET scans, CT scans, angiographs, and mammograms. **% of conventional mammograms are more than ** years old, **% of PET scans are more than * years old, and **% of closed *.* T MRIs are still more than ** years old. A positive sign can be seen among portable ultrasound ...

4.4 Supply trends

The world of medical imaging is undergoing major changes with the improvement of equipment technology and the development of artificial intelligence.

Technological Innovations

There are many technical advances in every type of medical imaging, particularly in the finesse of equipment, which is producing increasingly accurate images more quickly and in a ...

5.1 Regulation

European regulations

At the European level, new regulations were approved in **** and applied from **** for medical imaging equipment. [***]

This new regulation:

Strengthens controls on high-risk devices through the establishment of an expert committee to verify the risks of a device before it is placed on the market.

Improves transparency in the ...