27th July 2021 – Written by Sanjay M Parekh, PhD, The world market for medical imaging AI applications is projected to reach almost $1.2 billion by 2025 with a CAGR of 26%, an increase of over $800 million from the market size in 2020.

Despite the COVID-19 pandemic, there have been several positive developments for the medical imaging AI market in 2020 and 2021 (to date). These include new product launches (a record number of AI solutions received US-FDA clearance in 2020), new reimbursement codes (such as the New Technology Add-on Payment reimbursement for stroke imaging AI in the US), and the first wave of Class III NMPA approvals in China (permitting the use of medical imaging AI solutions for diagnostic purposes).

Figure 1: Signify Research’s forecast for the medical imaging AI world market (2019 – 2025)
However, several barriers are still holding the market back and need to be addressed. These include the limited number of clinical validation studies that show the efficacy and efficiency of AI solutions and limited real-world studies to demonstrate the health economic benefits of AI, to name but a few. For the market to go on and reach its full potential, customers need to know the impact of using AI in the real world, have greater confidence in AI technology, and need to know the value and the return on investment for AI.

Stand-alone AI software applications account for most of the medical imaging AI market (Figure 2), but one-third of this market is accounted for by AI tools bundled on advanced visualisation (AV) platforms. However, the market for stand-alone AI applications (CAGR 31.9%) is forecast to grow faster than the market for AV-bundled AI tools (CAGR 3.9%) and will account for almost 90% of the total medical imaging AI market by the end of the forecast period (2025).

Most of these software applications and tools are targeted at four clinical applications (Figure 2), which account for most of the medical imaging AI market (85%). These clinical applications are (in order of market size): cardiology, neurology, breast, and pulmonology, and are projected to still dominate the market in 2025 (82% of total revenue). While the number of new product introductions of AI solutions for other clinical segments is on the rise, most notably for prostate and liver imaging, the lack of reimbursement will initially hold back market uptake of these newer solutions.

Figure 2: The medical imaging AI world market (2020) split by clinical applications (left) and product categories (right)
Despite some scepticism and suggestions of an AI winter, this remains an exciting market with medical imaging AI becoming an increasingly important technology within radiology. Most medical imaging AI vendors remain focused on automating image analysis and improving workflow efficiencies. However, in the mid-to-longer term, market growth will depend on vendors delivering value beyond the primary read, for example, identifying incidentals to avoid missed diagnoses, using quantitative imaging to reduce the need for biopsy, or reducing the turn-around time for critical cases such as stroke care.

Vendors may also look beyond radiology, for example by developing companion diagnostic tools in a bid to partner with pharmaceutical and medical device companies, or population health tools to aid healthcare providers diagnose chronic conditions earlier, enabling better treatment and management of these patients. Ultimately, the solutions that significantly improve patient care are most likely to be those that receive reimbursement and drive market growth.