Market Trends of Spain Digital X-Ray Industry
Portable Systems Segment is Expected to Hold a Significant Market Share Over the Forecast Period
A portable X-ray machine is an X-ray unit that's smaller than a fixed one and can be moved. It allows radiographers, vets, and dental professionals to take X-ray images of patients without having to call them into a special lead-lined room. Professionals with mobile practices or those who work in busy medical facilities with limited room or access to equipment frequently employ portable X-ray machines.
Factors such as an increase in chronic diseases, a rise in the adoption of portable X-ray systems in hospitals, an increase in the geriatric population, and technological advancements in fixed digital X-ray systems are expected to drive segment growth over the forecast period. For instance, during the International Radiology Day conducted in November 2022, the Spanish Society of Medical Radiology (SERAM) revealed that more than 40 million imaging tests are performed each year in Spain to detect or monitor many pathologies. Of these, more than 45% were X-rays. Thus, owing to the rise in the adoption of X-rays for disease diagnosis, the studied segment is expected to foresee notable growth over the forecast period.
Furthermore, rapid technological advancements and various strategic product launches and donations by the key players contribute to segment growth. For instance, in December 2022, Chiesi Spain, the subsidiary of the international biopharmaceutical company, donated Portable X-ray equipment for La Casa de Sofía, one of the first care centers for children with rare diseases, complex chronicity and palliative care in Spain, belonging to the hospital Sant Joan de Déu Barcelona.
As a result of this new equipment donation to the center, a smaller number of kids with mild pathologies will need to be transferred to the children's hospital, and medical needs at the diagnostic level will be met. Hence, such strategic donations are expected to increase the utilization and demand for portable digital X-ray systems, thereby fuelling market growth over the study period.
Thus, due to the increase in the adoption of portable X-ray systems and the rise in strategic activities, the studied market is expected to witness significant market growth in the coming years.
Cancer Segment is Estimated to Witness a Significant Market Growth Over the Forecast Period
The cancer segment is expected to witness significant growth in the coming years owing to the increase in the prevalence of cancer, the rise in the adoption of digital X-rays for the detection of various tumors, and technological advances in X-ray equipment. For early cancer diagnosis or to determine whether the disease has progressed to the lungs or other parts of the chest, chest radiography and mammograms are frequently employed. X-rays are used in mammograms to check for tumors or other uncertain breast tissue.
According to the estimated report of the Spanish Network of Cancer Registries published in 2023, in women, the most frequent cancer detected is likely to be breast cancer, and 35,005 cases are estimated to be diagnosed in Spain in 2023. Hence, the high prevalence of cancer cases is expected to augment the market growth in Spain over the forecast period.
Furthermore, strategic activities by the key players to improve the digital X-ray platforms in Spain in the field of oncology are expected to bolster segment growth. For instance, in October 2022, Royal Philips collaborated with the Vall d'Hebron Children's Hospital to renew its conventional radiology and fluoroscopy equipment with the new Ambient Experience and CombiDiagnost technologies. In this way, the Vall d'Hebron University Hospital became one of the first Spanish hospitals to have Ambient Experience technology in conventional radiology rooms.
CombiDiagnost version 90 provides high patient throughput and allows the use of the X-ray room cost-effectively. Also, it offers whole-body X-ray exams with 193 cm coverage. Hence, such initiatives to implement diagnostic services across Spain are expected to benefit cancer diagnosis as well, which is likely to contribute to the market growth over the forecast period.
