A 2009 report from research firm Global Markets Direct forecast that the global diagnostic imaging market will increase from approximately $15.8 billion in 2008 to $24.6 billion by 2015, at a compound annual growth rate of 7 percent. According to the report, market growth is expected to be driven by an increase in the construction of hospitals and independent diagnostic centers in the U.S., China and India; the move toward electronic health records; and technological advances.
Technological advances are not only allowing people worldwide to live longer, they are creating more work for the radiologists who interpret image slices from the MRIs, CT, and PET-CT scans undergone by patients. Digital scanning systems can now generate 100 to 7,000 image slices per image study. The number of images that radiologists must work with daily is expected to increase dramatically over the next few years, from an average of 15,000 image slices per day to well over 100,000 per day, predicts Dr. Eliot Siegel, Professor and Vice Chairman University of Maryland’s Department of Diagnostic Radiology. The workload for radiologists is expected to more than triple over the next three years. The entire process of interpreting a diagnostic scan and generating a report can take 2 to 3 days.
Software company DataPhysics Research (DPR) has developed a workflow solution that, according to company estimates, could cut this time by as much as 40 percent. The Danville, Calif.-based company offers CaseReader, a software solution that is designed to deliver faster, more accurate analysis of image scans. Radiologists must currently create a 3-D reconstruction of the patient’s system from the 2-D image slices. CaseReader has the ability to create this 3-D reconstruction for them. The system can also generate a structured report based upon the radiologist’s impressions during the review process, eliminating the need for a medical transcriptionist to write up the radiologist’s notes. By condensing these crucial steps in the radiologist’s workflow, CaseReader has the potential to save both time and money while improving the accuracy of diagnostic readings.
DPR is scheduled to present at the OneMedForum San Francisco 2011. Investors will have the opportunity to meet one-on-one with representatives from numerous emerging growth healthcare companies. To learn more about the conference, visit http://www.onemedplace.com/forum.