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Cranfield, UK, 8th July 2024, Written by Jake Bennett –
June has been an exciting month for the imaging IT sector, with government investments, new product launches and partnerships a-plenty. The end of the month also saw many imaging IT vendors and key opinion leaders gather in Maryland, US for this year’s SIIM conference, alongside our very own Amy Thompson. I hope everyone has recovered from a fruitful weekend of industry talks and networking.
Sectra’s Genomics Enterprise Foray
Enterprise imaging specialist Sectra announced its latest module available via its enterprise imaging platform, a diagnostic IT module for genomics within molecular pathology. The solution is now live with development partner, University of Pennsylvania Health System, almost two years after the genomics partnership with Sectra was announced. Sectra are not the first to develop a genomics IT solution but is the first to have it integrated into their enterprise imaging platform alongside the likes of radiology and pathology. The genomics play is linked into the wider healthcare trend of precision medicine, which relies heavily on genomic sequencing and analysis of the human genome to predict risk and response to therapeutics and guide a personalized treatment plan on a patient-by-patient basis. Sectra is definitely ahead of the curve on this one, maintaining their image as an innovative enterprise imaging IT provider, but is the development too early to make any real dent in a very nascent clinical genomics market?
Expanding Geographic Footprint Via Distribution Deals
As we highlighted in our latest Imaging IT World Report, we’re expecting a slowdown in growth over the mid-term; one of the mitigating strategies vendors might employ to counter this is to expand their geographic footprint, particularly into emerging markets. June saw a continuation of this strategy with several distribution deals announced. In particular I’d highlight Mach7 Technologies and Philips which have both inked distribution deals with partners in emerging markets, ASEAN and Latin America respectively, both of which are markets we’ve pointed to as high-growth opportunities outside of typically saturated and mature markets. KONICA MINOLTA, INC. also announced a distribution deal, but a little closer to home, linking up with Christie Innomed subsidiary, Comp-Ray, Inc. to bolster Konica’s sales activities in the US. While further geographic expansion and employing the expertise of a distributor is a sound choice, trying to push harder into the US may prove a path of more resistance with upcoming election uncertainty and the maturity of the market.
Radiology Reporting Partnerships
Since I began writing these monthly news roundups, radiology reporting has featured in every edition in one way, shape or form, and June is no different. However, this month it comes in the form of partnership announcements. German radiology reporting player Smart Reporting GmbH announced a partnership with Soliton IT at this year’s UKIO conference. Soliton IT provides RIS solutions to over 150 hospitals across the UK, particularly within the NHS, and all new or existing customers will now be able to access Smart Reporting’s AI-powered radiology reporting solutions within Soliton’s Radiology+ or Share+ products. Fellow reporting heavy hitter, Rad AI also announced a new collaboration at SIIM, partnering with pharma/medtech giant Bayer . RadAI’s operational AI radiology reporting solutions will now be available as part of Bayer’s Calantic Digital Solutions platform.
Cloud-based and AI powered radiology reporting solution company, RADPAIR also appeared in the news three times this month, with a handful of separate partnerships announced: one with Radiopaedia.org, integrating the latter’s vast reference library into RADPAIR’s PAIR Insights, to improve report quality and enhance the AI’s clinical understanding. Secondly, at SIIM last week, RADPAIR also announced it was integrating with RamSoft‘s Omega AI RIS/PACS software. Last but not least, RADPAIR also joined forces with operational workflow newcomer NewVue.ai, integrating the former’s reporting solution with the latter’s organisational workflow ‘command center’, combining to create an all-encompassing, cloud-based radiology reporting and workflow solution. The two companies appear to be leaning into the positioning of the solutions as a tool for ‘Radiologist Wellbeing and Workflow Efficiency’, seeking to ride the current wave of focus on staffing shortages and burnouts in imaging departments across the globe. We’ll continue to see imaging IT vendors partnering with best-of-breed reporting specialists, in response to increasing imaging procedure volumes and changing reimbursement patterns.
Private Equity Under Scrutiny
In the United States, private equity (PE) investments in radiology and cardiology are on the up, generating both interest and highlighting some concerns. While PE funding can bring much-needed capital and operational efficiencies to medical practices, there are rising concerns about the impact on patient care and the financial stability of these practices. Specifically, the trend of sale-leaseback agreements in PE-owned radiology groups is under scrutiny. These agreements, where the PE firm buys the property and leases it back to the practice, can provide immediate cash, but may burden the practices with high long-term lease payments. Critics argue that this could compromise the quality of care and lead to higher costs for patients.
In response to the growing influence of private equity in healthcare, Democratic Senators Ed Markey and Elizabeth Warren proposed a bill in the US Congress targeting corporate crimes against healthcare. This bill aims to hold corporations accountable for practices that harm patient care, such as excessive cost-cutting, asset stripping and prioritizing profits over patients. The senators referenced PE-owned Steward Health Care, which last month entered bankruptcy, as an example of these practices. If passed, this legislation could significantly alter the landscape of healthcare investment, imposing stricter regulations on PE firms and other corporate entities involved in the sector.
New Zealand Continues Its Radiology Push
New Zealand’s healthcare sector is undergoing pretty significant changes, most notably the setup of the unified Te Whatu Ora replacing the previously disparate 20 district health boards. More recently however, Health Minister Dr Shane Reti announced that the government was putting $30 million towards investing into radiology services across the country. The money will go toward removing co-payments on X-ray, CT scans and diagnostic ultrasound and will allow GPs to refer patients directly. The changes will hopefully begin to address the backlog of imaging procedures and deal with the increasing demand of a complex and aging population. Higher throughput of imaging requests will necessitate intelligent imaging IT solutions, including workflow organization and smart reporting tools. This news follows a previous announcement of a drive to standardize the fractured healthcare IT systems of Te Whatu Ora, and this renewed focus on radiology services specifically may open the door for enterprise imaging vendors to provide solutions.
If you have any questions about the announcements discussed here or have any research requirements for the wider Imaging IT market, I’d be more than happy to have a conversation. Please feel free to message me on LinkedIn, reach out via email at jake.bennett@signifyresearch.net, or booking a meeting with me here!
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Signify Research’s imaging IT service provides expert market intelligence and detailed insights across radiology IT, cardiology IT, and advanced visualisation IT, alongside operational workflow & business intelligence tools. Combining primary data collection and in-depth discussions with industry stakeholders, our thorough research approach yields credible quantitative and qualitative analysis, helping our customers make critical business decisions with confidence. Throughout the course of 2024, the imaging IT team will be further assessing developments in the market through its’ Imaging IT Market Intelligence Service.
About The Author
Jake is the Senior Market Analyst on the Imaging IT team and joined Signify Research in late 2023, after over half a decade in the medical devices and healthcare market research industries.
About Signify Research
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