Dear AuntMinnie Member,
Ever since its launch in the late 1990s, digital radiography (DR) has been maligned as a technology looking for a market. The tables are beginning to turn, however, and DR now makes up half of all shipments of radiography systems in the U.S.
The data is from a new market research report we're highlighting in our Digital X-Ray Community. Published by market research firm IMV Medical Information Division of Des Plaines, IL, the report tracks the growth and usage patterns of DR, computed radiography (CR), and conventional analog radiography.
Many facilities, particularly larger hospitals, are finding that DR is a good match for their higher patient throughput. DR's high price tag, however, is still making it difficult for centers to replace all their analog systems at once.
The report also finds there's still room in the market for CR, an alternative digital technology that's cheaper but doesn't have DR's throughput advantages. CR purchasing continues to be robust at smaller hospitals and at facilities looking for CR's flexibility in patient positioning and for portable studies.
Get all the details on the growing DR market by clicking here, or visit our Digital X-Ray Community at x-ray.auntminnie.com.
When you're done, check out our current Question of the Week, which queries AuntMinnie members on their purchasing plans for CR and DR in the next year. Results so far indicate that among those facilities planning to make a radiography equipment purchase in the next 12 months, a plurality plan to buy both CR and DR -- and few sites plan to buy analog equipment. Check it out, at question.auntminnie.com.
