Radiology department administrators are enthusiastic about acquiring new ultrasound equipment over the next three years, driven by the anticipation that procedure volumes will shift from other imaging modalities to ultrasound, according to the recently published IMV 2023 Ultrasound Market Summary Report.
Davin Korstjens.The report found that, when it comes to ultrasound purchases planned between this year and 2026, 32% of sites expect to purchase at least one type of ultrasound equipment and an additional 29% of sites are tentatively planning a purchase. This yields a combined 61% of sites considering an ultrasound equipment purchase in the next several years.
The top two future outlook factors revealed by the survey included high ratings for current ultrasound technology meeting the department's clinical and throughput needs (with 66% of respondents rating this statement as a 4 or 5 out of 5), and the fact that "ultrasound procedures are increasing because some procedures are shifting from other imaging modalities" (with 48% of respondents rating this statement a 4 or 5 out of 5).
This enthusiasm for ultrasound persists despite a 2.3% decrease in overall number of general ultrasound patient exams, from 38.5 million prior to the COVID-19 pandemic in 2019 to 37.6 million in 2022.
| Percent changes in use of general ultrasound, 2019 to 2022 | |
| Metric | Change |
| Overall number of general ultrasound patient exams | -2.3% |
The report also found the following:
- Among the three types of ultrasound systems -- cart-based, tablet/laptop, and handheld -- 68% of sites have one type, 28% of sites have two types, and 4% of sites have all three.
- In terms of individual general ultrasound systems, 85% of units owned and managed by radiology departments are cart-based, 11% are laptop/tablet, and 4% are handheld.
- Regarding ultrasound vendors, 56% of sites have at least one GE HealthCare cart-based ultrasound system, followed by Philips at 37%, Siemens Healthineers at 18%, Canon Medical Components USA at 15% and Samsung Electronics at 5%.
- 95% of ultrasound exams are performed with cart-based systems, 5% with laptop/tablet systems, and less than 1% with handheld systems.
| Intent to purchase ultrasound equipment over next 3 years | |
| Number of ultrasound systems | 3-year purchase consideration |
| 1 type | 32% |
| 2 types | 3% |
| 3 types | 1% |
As for sonographer staffing, the 2023 survey shows that there are 4.4 full-time equivalent (FTE) sonographers performing ultrasound exams per site.
Ultrasound will be an interesting modality to watch to see if the shift in procedure volumes from other modalities continues and track how the different types of ultrasound systems are utilized in a clinical setting.
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Davin Korstjens is a senior market research program manager at IMV Medical Information Division, part of Science and Medicine Group.
IMV's 2023 Ultrasound Market Summary Report explores market trends in U.S. hospitals including department priorities, future outlook, artificial intelligence trends, procedure volume, manufacture-installed base features and share, the use of OEM vs. third-party service providers, purchase plans, brand loyalty, and site operations characteristics. The report was published in July 2023 and is based on responses from 204 radiology/departmental administrators and clinicians who participated in IMV's nationwide survey from February 2023 -April 2023. Vendors covered in this report include Butterfly Network, Canon, Clarius, Esaote, Fujifilm, GE, Healcerion, Hitachi, Konico Minolta, Mindray, Philips, Samsung, Siemens, and SonoScape.
For information about purchasing IMV Market Outlook Reports, visit the corporate website at https://imvinfo.com/ or call 703-778-3080 ext. 1033 to speak with a representative. In addition to the report, all purchases will include a complimentary recording of an executive summary presentation of findings conducted by IMV's Senior Program Manager.
Disclosure: IMV Medical Information Division is a sister company of AuntMinnie.com.
![Examples of ultrasound findings and techniques. (A) Images in a 39-year-old male patient with a mass in the left thigh. The mass is heterogeneous on the B-mode US image (compared with the patient in D) and showed increased microvascularity (superb microvascular imaging [SMI]) and shear-wave elastography (SWE) values. Undifferentiated pleomorphic sarcoma was diagnosed at biopsy (with pleomorphic rhabdomyosarcoma in surgical specimen). (B) Images in an 18-year-old male patient with a mass in the left leg. The mass is hypoechoic on the B-mode image, with no other findings suggestive of malignancy. The lesion is in contact with the cortex of the tibia, which is slightly irregular. CT revealed a doubtful anteromedial tibial erosion. The microvascular study demonstrated high vascularization, suggestive of malignancy. Periosteal Ewing sarcoma was diagnosed with both histologic and immunohistochemical confirmation. (C) Images in a 69-year-old female patient with a lump growing on the outside of the left leg. Multiple SWE examinations were performed (please note the high values obtained in the measurements, whereas the color map highlights the stiffness relative to adjacent tissues). SMI showed areas of increased vascularization to target for sampling. Undifferentiated spindle cell sarcoma was diagnosed at biopsy, with residual leiomyosarcoma in the surgical specimen after neoadjuvant therapy. (D) Images in a 56-year-old female patient with a mass in the right thigh. The mass is heterogeneous at both B-mode ultrasound (similar to patient A) and MRI (coronal T2-weighted spectral attenuated inversion recovery [SPAIR]; T1-weighted pre-contrast and postcontrast imaging), which even shows uptake after the administration of paramagnetic contrast material, which is traditionally suggestive of malignancy. Low values at SMI and elastography are suggestive of benignity. Spindle cell lipoma was diagnosed at biopsy, with atypical spindle cell lipomatous tumor in the surgical specimen.](https://img.auntminnie.com/mindful/smg/workspaces/default/uploads/2026/08/images-radiol250278fig2.APCFLSvX6p.jpg?auto=format%2Ccompress&fit=crop&h=100&q=70&w=100)
![Examples of ultrasound findings and techniques. (A) Images in a 39-year-old male patient with a mass in the left thigh. The mass is heterogeneous on the B-mode US image (compared with the patient in D) and showed increased microvascularity (superb microvascular imaging [SMI]) and shear-wave elastography (SWE) values. Undifferentiated pleomorphic sarcoma was diagnosed at biopsy (with pleomorphic rhabdomyosarcoma in surgical specimen). (B) Images in an 18-year-old male patient with a mass in the left leg. The mass is hypoechoic on the B-mode image, with no other findings suggestive of malignancy. The lesion is in contact with the cortex of the tibia, which is slightly irregular. CT revealed a doubtful anteromedial tibial erosion. The microvascular study demonstrated high vascularization, suggestive of malignancy. Periosteal Ewing sarcoma was diagnosed with both histologic and immunohistochemical confirmation. (C) Images in a 69-year-old female patient with a lump growing on the outside of the left leg. Multiple SWE examinations were performed (please note the high values obtained in the measurements, whereas the color map highlights the stiffness relative to adjacent tissues). SMI showed areas of increased vascularization to target for sampling. Undifferentiated spindle cell sarcoma was diagnosed at biopsy, with residual leiomyosarcoma in the surgical specimen after neoadjuvant therapy. (D) Images in a 56-year-old female patient with a mass in the right thigh. The mass is heterogeneous at both B-mode ultrasound (similar to patient A) and MRI (coronal T2-weighted spectral attenuated inversion recovery [SPAIR]; T1-weighted pre-contrast and postcontrast imaging), which even shows uptake after the administration of paramagnetic contrast material, which is traditionally suggestive of malignancy. Low values at SMI and elastography are suggestive of benignity. Spindle cell lipoma was diagnosed at biopsy, with atypical spindle cell lipomatous tumor in the surgical specimen.](https://img.auntminnie.com/mindful/smg/workspaces/default/uploads/2026/08/images-radiol250278fig2.APCFLSvX6p.jpg?auto=format%2Ccompress&dpr=2&fit=crop&h=167&q=70&w=250)
