According to recent data, the size of the market for medical software designed for image analysis amounts to billions of dollars. There are predictions that it will grow further, and medical imaging software development will remain in high demand.
This trend is fueled by technological advances in medical imaging and related image processing. In addition, investments in this area are constantly growing. We observe an increase in usage of MRI and CT equipment due to a high number of patients with chronic diseases. At the same time, more and more applications for computer-aided diagnostics appear. Let us discover the modern opportunities in this sphere.
What medical images are and how they can be used
Cardiologists and oncologists, neurologists and urologists, dentists and other medical specialists are increasingly bringing digital imaging into their daily routine. According to the existing demand, a custom software development company can provide applications for the following types of medical imaging:
- Radiography
- Thermography
- Ultrasound technology
- Echocardiography
- MRI or Magnetic Resonance Imaging
- Nuclear medicine imaging (including different types of tomography)
- Tomography scans (CT)
- X-ray
Integrated solutions became the most popular software type for medical-image analysis. They are in high demand because of their great usability, high speed of data processing, and compatibility with different types of equipment.
Nevertheless, another segment, which covers so-called stand-alone solutions, is expected to grow at the same level. This type of software boasts higher flexibility coupled with convenient and understandable tools for checking, evaluating, and processing information.
Hospitals are leading the field of medical imaging software implementation. The dynamics are generally lower in medical diagnostic and research centers.
Prospects of the medical imaging sphere
The key factors propelling the development of medical imaging include:
- huge investments pumped into the sector;
- population aging and the growing number of people suffering from chronic diseases;
- high demand for special equipment;
- the improvement of clinical imaging technologies;
- the emergence of novel applications for computer-assisted disease detection systems.
Although the implementation of modern technologies is vital for the healthcare area, the advancement of the software market for medical image analysis is hampered by financial problems, a lack of highly qualified specialists, and growing risks of equipment and software hacking in healthcare institutions. Still, experts predict that this area will show further expansion. Therefore, development companies are constantly working on building integrated software and other solutions that can be helpful for the healthcare system, and their efforts are expected to yield benefits.