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Cranfield, UK, 25th June 2024- The Global Market for Diagnostic Cardiology is forecast to grow from $3.8 billion in 2023 to $5.4 billion by 2028, representing a robust CAGR of 7%, according to the latest iteration of Signify Research’s Global Diagnostic Cardiology market report.
After recovering from the aftershocks of the COVID-19 Pandemic, the Diagnostic Cardiology market continues to be subject to demographic, economic, and technological dynamics. Provider demands vary by region but can be boiled down to a number of key pain points based on price, flexibility, connectivity, and workflows.
Changing traditions
In the traditional ECG market, demand for enterprise-level, high-end solutions from larger IDNs and ACOs, will ensure steady, if unspectacular growth in the US market. Opportunities for value-oriented solutions also existing within the market for independent cardiology practices, primary care, and smaller health systems. However, this opportunity will dwindle over time as these independent practices are consolidated by IDNs, ACOs, and private equity backed platforms.
In Western Europe, traditional Diagnostic Cardiology vendors are being squeezed between budgetary pressures and lower cost (though no longer lower-end) vendors from Asia, such as Edan Instruments and Mindray. To stay ahead of the pack, incumbent vendors will need to continually innovate, or seek partnerships and integrations with new ambulatory and AI-based solutions coming online. Some vendors are already ahead of the game, such as Philip’s which recently launched its latest product, the Cardiac Workstation.
Markets in the Gulf, particularly Saudi Arabia, will also stoke demand for high-end traditional ECG solutions, off the back of enormous public investment programmes. GE HealthCare’s partnership with one of Saudi Arabia’s largest hospital groups, Dr Sulaiman Al-Habib Medical Group, to supply its latest Patient Care Solutions portfolio, being an example of this.
In the mature APAC region, the traditional Diagnostic Cardiology solutions market reflects those of North America and Western Europe, with stable growth. However, there are growing pressures from providers for vendors to supply connected solutions with more clinical decision support and workflow support tools. The emerging APAC region, on the other hand, still has plenty of runway, though traditional vendors looking to operate here will have to navigate both localisation policies and intense competition from lower-cost vendors.
From products to platforms
The ECG Management System market, though intertwined with traditional Resting and Stress ECG markets, is poised for a period of stronger growth, driven by increasing demands to integrate ECG data from non-traditional sources while maintaining clinical workflows. In many markets, ECG Managements systems also fall under Hospital IT and Digital Health budgets, rather than traditional diagnostic equipment budgets. In emerging markets where such investments are being prioritised, new installations or upgrades of existing ECG Management Systems are seen as low-hanging-fruit within overall efforts to improve hospital IT systems.
The ECG Management Systems market will also benefit from an ever-increasing number of ambulatory cardiology solutions, AI-ECG algorithms, and other clinical decision and workflow tools coming onto the market. As the majority of these developments will come from non-traditional Diagnostic Cardiology and Digital Health vendors, ECG Management Systems will likely evolve to become vendor agnostic integration platforms.
Spreading its wings
The ambulatory cardiology market will see the strongest growth over the forecast period, with at least a double digit CAGR in all markets. Developing reimbursement, a thriving vendor ecosystem driving competition, and new models of care based on remote monitoring and value-based-care initiatives will underpin this growth.
The global ambulatory cardiology device market remains dominated by the Implantable Cardiac Monitor (ICM) market, itself maintained by 4 companies: Medtronic, Boston Scientific, Abbott, and Biotronik. The extremely high barriers to entry in the ICM market, coupled with much faster growth in the evolving Long-term ECG market, mean this market is unlikely to be disrupted by new device entrants (with the possible exception of the Chinese market in the long-term). That said, competition in the ICM market remains fierce, with all 4 vendors having released new ICM devices over the last 12-18 months.
Outside of the ICM market, ambulatory cardiology device vendors tend to bundle their devices with an accompanying support services package (that may include ECG read-over services). Hence, most revenues in these markets are derived from services. In terms of non-ICM ECG ambulatory devices, the clear trend is towards long-term ECG patches, as improvements in signalling and battery technology are resulting in smaller devices that can provide continuous monitoring for longer periods. Higher reimbursement rates mean Mobile Cardiac Telemetry (MCT) is also set for a period of strong growth, though this will be most prominent in the US market.
Another noticeable trend is the increasing number of vendors who are bringing so called 4-1 Ambulatory ECG devices to market – devices that can be remotely reconfigured between the major ambulatory ECG monitoring modes: including Short and Long-term Holter monitoring, Event Monitoring, or MCT.
North America continues to be the most significant market for ambulatory cardiology and will remain so over the forecast period. A solid reimbursement framework exists in the two faster growing segments of the market, Long-term ECG and Mobile Cardiac Telemetry (reimbursement for the latter being significantly higher).
The Western European market remains nascent, though recent developments across the region, including growth in Virtual wards in the UK, universal remote monitoring reimbursement in France, and the expansion into the region by iRhythm and Philips (BioTel) all point towards a growing market opportunity. Eastern Europe, while not significant in financial terms, is home to several AI-ECG vendors making initial gains in Western Europe and North America.
The APAC region will see the fastest overall growth rates through to 2028. In Japan, iRhythm and Philips (BioTel) have both entered the market, while India and South Korea are also host to numerous start-ups developing ambulatory cardiology devices and AI-ECG interpretation algorithms. These developments will be particularly important in the emerging APAC region, given the relative lack of healthcare professionals and physical infrastructure.
Final Thoughts
The global Diagnostic Cardiology market continues to bifurcate along traditional and ambulatory lines. The traditional market will be buoyed by demands for high-end, connected solutions in developed markets, though budgetary constraints will make this an inconsistent process. Although stronger growth for traditional diagnostic cardiology solutions is projected in developing markets, price sensitivity will act as a greater determinant of purchasing decisions. The Ambulatory Cardiology market continues to be the major engine of growth, as evolving models of care and continual improvements in technology expand the horizons of remote cardiac care beyond the US market
About The Author
Gareth joined Signify Research in 2021 as Senior Market Analyst in the Digital Health team, where he covered emerging markets including Remote Patient Monitoring (RPM) and Ambulatory Diagnostic Cardiology. In 2023, Gareth joined Signify’s Clinical Care team where, his coverage areas include Diagnostic Cardiology and Patient Monitors
About the Clinical Care Team
The clinical care team provides market intelligence and detailed insights on the clinical care equipment and IT markets. Our areas of coverage include patient monitoring, diagnostic cardiology, infusion pumps, ventilators, anaesthesia devices, and high-acuity IT. Our reports provide a data-centric and global outlook of each market with granular country-level insights. Our research process blends primary data collected from in-depth interviews with healthcare professionals and technology vendors, to provide a balanced and objective view of the market.
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