Diagnostic Imaging Market

On 18 March 2026 GE HealthCare completed its USD 2.3 billion purchase of Intelerad, a cloud enterprise imaging company with about USD 270 million of first-year revenue, 90% of it recurring, according to GE HealthCare’s investor release. A scanner maker paying more than eight times revenue for reading and storage software shows that diagnostic imaging buyers now judge a CT or MRI system by the workflow around it. Douglas Insights values the diagnostic imaging market at USD 46.4 billion in 2025 and forecasts USD 78.2 billion by 2035, a compound annual growth rate of 5.36%. The receipt is about 1.01 million diagnostic imaging systems shipped in 2025 at an average USD 45,790 each. The volume leg adds 3.4% a year as ageing populations, cancer screening and handheld ultrasound lift shipments, and the price leg adds 1.9% a year as photon-counting CT, helium-light MRI and AI features raise the value of each system. The study sits within Douglas Insights coverage of diagnostic devices and follows the published Douglas Insights research methodology.

What counts as diagnostic imaging equipment in this study, and what is left out?

Diagnostic imaging equipment here means the scanners that form images of the body for diagnosis, about 1.01 million systems worth USD 46.4 billion at manufacturer prices in 2025. The diagnostic imaging study splits value by modality into Computed tomography (CT), X-ray radiography and fluoroscopy, Ultrasound, Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), Nuclear imaging (PET and SPECT), and Mammography. It splits value by system format into Fixed installed systems and Mobile and portable systems, and by care setting into Hospitals, Diagnostic imaging centres, Ambulatory surgical and specialty clinics, and Physician offices.

Embedded software and AI sold with a scanner are counted in the diagnostic imaging figure. Service contracts, standalone enterprise imaging software such as the Intelerad platform, contrast agents, radiotracers, endoscopes and veterinary systems are excluded. Ultrasound detail sits in the Color Ultrasound Diagnostic Equipment Market report, and animal scanners in the Veterinary Diagnostic Imaging Equipment Market report.

What does GE HealthCare’s USD 2.3 billion Intelerad deal say about diagnostic imaging?

The Intelerad deal says diagnostic imaging value is moving from the scanner alone to the scanner plus cloud reading, and GE HealthCare paid USD 2.3 billion to own that link. Intelerad serves imaging centres and hospitals in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom and Oceania, grows at a low-double-digit rate and earns an adjusted EBITDA margin above 30%. For GE HealthCare, whose Imaging segment sold USD 9.25 billion in 2025, the software becomes a reason for an outpatient chain to choose GE scanners when it replaces a CT or MRI room.

Diagnostic imaging centres are the target. Douglas Insights estimates imaging centres bought about 21% of 2025 diagnostic imaging equipment value, and they buy scanners and reading software together because radiologist time is their scarcest input. The Intelerad purchase runs through the drivers, company shares and 2035 outlook below.

Which device laws and radiation dose requirements govern diagnostic imaging?

Three sets of laws govern diagnostic imaging, and the EU Medical Device Regulation deadline matters most: most CT, MRI, X-ray and ultrasound systems certified under the old directives must move to the new regime by 31 December 2028. Regulation (EU) 2017/745 applies to every scanner sold in the European Union, and Regulation (EU) 2023/607 extended the transition for non-implantable class IIa and IIb devices. Council Directive 2013/59/Euratom sets dose limits and dose recording for medical exposure, which pushes hospitals to replace older CT scanners without dose tracking.

In the United States, diagnostic imaging systems reach the market through FDA 510(k) clearance, and the FDA’s list of AI-enabled medical devices shows radiology accounting for about three quarters of authorisations. The Mammography Quality Standards Act governs every breast imaging unit, and its amended rules have required breast density notification since 10 September 2024.

What drives diagnostic imaging scanner shipments?

Four forces lift diagnostic imaging shipments by 3.4% a year, and ageing populations are the largest. People over 65 undergo two to three times as many CT and MRI scans as younger adults, and the number of people over 65 worldwide rises by about 3% a year. Japan already has about 29% of its population over 65, and China’s over-65 population grows by several million people a year, each of them a future CT or MRI patient. Douglas Insights estimates ageing adds about 1.3 points a year to diagnostic imaging unit growth, mostly in CT, MRI and X-ray rooms in Europe, Japan, China and North America.

Cancer screening and theranostics are the second driver. Low-dose CT lung screening, digital breast tomosynthesis and PET scans that select patients for radioligand therapy all add scanner time. GE HealthCare’s Pharmaceutical Diagnostics segment grew 15.6% in 2025, according to its 4 February 2026 results, a sign that tracer volumes and the PET scanners that read them are rising together. Douglas Insights estimates screening and theranostics add about 0.8 points a year to diagnostic imaging unit growth, with the therapy side covered in the Oncology Radiopharmaceuticals Market report.

Point-of-care ultrasound is the third driver. Handheld and cart-based ultrasound systems priced from USD 2,000 to USD 30,000 are spreading into emergency rooms, intensive care, primary care and midwifery, and Douglas Insights counts about 700,000 ultrasound systems shipped in 2025. An emergency department that adopts bedside scanning typically buys three to six devices, and many hospitals now issue probes to junior doctors. Point-of-care use adds about 0.8 points a year to diagnostic imaging unit growth, though it pulls the average price down.

Capacity building in emerging economies is the fourth driver. China, India, Indonesia, Saudi Arabia and Brazil are adding hospital beds and outpatient imaging centres, and many districts still have fewer than 10 CT scanners per million people against more than 40 in Japan. Douglas Insights estimates emerging-market installs add about 0.5 points a year to unit growth. GE HealthCare reported organic orders growth of 5.2% and a book-to-bill ratio of 1.07 for 2025, which supports the 3.4% volume leg in 2026. Together the four drivers take diagnostic imaging shipments from about 1.01 million systems in 2025 to about 1.42 million in 2035.

What holds back diagnostic imaging equipment sales?

Three restraints hold diagnostic imaging growth to 5.36% a year, and hospital capital budgets are the first. A new MRI room costs USD 1.5 million to USD 3 million including shielding and installation, and hospitals in Europe and the United States delay replacements when margins tighten. Douglas Insights removes about 0.5 points a year from the unit leg for deferred replacement.

Trade friction is the second restraint. US duties on Chinese and European components, China’s procurement preference for domestic scanners and export controls on some advanced parts raise landed prices and shift share. GE HealthCare said it significantly mitigated gross tariff effects in 2025 and expects a lower effect in 2026. Douglas Insights removes about 0.3 points a year from the unit leg for trade friction.

Staff shortages are the third restraint. Many hospitals cannot staff new scanners, with radiographer and radiologist vacancies of 10% to 15% common in the United Kingdom and several US states, so a scanner bought is not always a scanner used. Douglas Insights removes about 0.3 points a year from diagnostic imaging unit growth for staffing limits.

Which modality carries the value in diagnostic imaging?

Computed tomography (CT) carries the most diagnostic imaging value, USD 11.4 billion or 24.6% in 2025. Nuclear imaging (PET and SPECT) grows fastest, at 7.16% a year.

Computed tomography (CT) is worth USD 11.4 billion in 2025, from about 42,000 scanners. CT is the workhorse of emergency, stroke, trauma and cancer diagnosis, and photon-counting detectors now add a premium tier above USD 2 million per system.

X-ray radiography and fluoroscopy is worth USD 11.1 billion in 2025, from about 245,000 systems. Digital radiography rooms, mobile X-ray units and fluoroscopy tables sit in every hospital, so this diagnostic imaging modality has the largest installed base but the slowest growth.

Ultrasound is worth USD 9.46 billion in 2025, from about 700,000 systems. Cardiology, obstetrics and point-of-care use keep unit growth high, while handhelds hold the average value down.

Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is worth USD 8.67 billion in 2025, from about 11,500 scanners. Neurology, musculoskeletal and prostate imaging lift scan volumes, and sealed low-helium magnets cut the running cost of each new room.

Nuclear imaging (PET and SPECT) is worth USD 3.15 billion in 2025 and grows fastest at 7.16% a year to USD 6.30 billion by 2035. PET/CT scanners select and monitor patients for radioligand therapies, and digital long-axial-field PET systems sell above USD 3 million.

Mammography is worth USD 2.60 billion in 2025, from about 10,000 systems. Screening programmes and the move from 2D to tomosynthesis sustain replacement, while dense-breast notification sends more women to supplemental ultrasound and MRI.

How do fixed rooms, portable scanners and care settings split diagnostic imaging spending?

Fixed installed systems take about 71% of 2025 diagnostic imaging value, some USD 32.9 billion, and Mobile and portable systems about 29%, some USD 13.5 billion. Portable CT, bedside X-ray and handheld ultrasound gain about 4 points of share by 2035 as care moves to wards, clinics and ambulances.

Which care settings buy the most diagnostic imaging systems?

Hospitals buy about 61% of 2025 diagnostic imaging value, Diagnostic imaging centres 21%, Ambulatory surgical and specialty clinics 11%, and Physician offices 7%. Diagnostic imaging centres grow fastest as payers move outpatient scans out of hospitals, which is why cloud reading software such as Intelerad matters to scanner makers.

Which region installs the most diagnostic imaging systems?

North America installs the most diagnostic imaging value, USD 16.7 billion in 2025 or 36.1% of the total, and grows 4.67% a year to USD 26.4 billion by 2035. The United States has the highest scan rates per person, a large network of outpatient imaging centres and the fastest uptake of photon-counting CT.

Asia Pacific takes USD 14.0 billion in 2025 and grows fastest at 6.97% a year to USD 27.5 billion by 2035, overtaking North America. China’s county hospital upgrades, India’s private diagnostic chains and Japan’s replacement cycle drive the region, and domestic makers such as United Imaging and Mindray win a rising share of Chinese tenders.

Europe takes USD 11.8 billion in 2025 and grows 3.87% a year to USD 17.2 billion, the slowest region, as public budgets limit replacement even though many European CT and MRI fleets are more than ten years old. Latin America takes USD 2.13 billion and grows 5.87% a year to USD 3.78 billion, led by private hospital groups in Brazil and Mexico. The Middle East and Africa takes USD 1.72 billion and grows 6.77% a year to USD 3.30 billion, as Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates build hospitals and cancer centres.

Which companies build diagnostic imaging systems, and what share does Siemens Healthineers hold?

Douglas Insights estimates Siemens Healthineers holds about 20.1% of 2025 diagnostic imaging equipment value, and the top five makers hold about 65.6%.

Advantage in diagnostic imaging rests on the installed base and service network, because a hospital running Siemens or GE scanners keeps the same software, protocols and trained staff. Siemens Healthineers leads in CT and molecular imaging and holds the first photon-counting CT, while GE HealthCare leads in breadth across modalities and now adds cloud reading through Intelerad. Philips competes on MRI running costs and ultrasound, and Canon and United Imaging win on value in Asia. Hologic leads mammography in the United States.

What price does a CT, MRI or ultrasound system fetch in diagnostic imaging?

A diagnostic imaging system sold for an average USD 45,790 in 2025, and Douglas Insights expects about USD 55,270 by 2035. A 64-slice CT scanner sells for about USD 300,000 to USD 600,000 and a photon-counting CT for USD 2 million or more. A 1.5 tesla MRI scanner sells for USD 700,000 to USD 1.2 million and a 3 tesla system for USD 1.5 million to USD 2.5 million. A digital radiography room sells for USD 80,000 to USD 250,000, a cart-based ultrasound system for USD 20,000 to USD 150,000 and a handheld probe for USD 2,000 to USD 10,000. The average diagnostic imaging price rises 1.9% a year as the mix moves to premium CT, MRI and PET and as AI reconstruction is sold with the scanner.

How is AI changing the diagnostic imaging workflow?

AI now sits inside most new diagnostic imaging systems, and radiology holds about three quarters of the AI-enabled devices on the FDA list. Deep-learning reconstruction lets an MRI scan run 30% to 50% faster and a CT scan use less dose, so a hospital can read more patients on one scanner. Detection tools flag strokes, lung nodules and fractures so radiologists read urgent cases first. Douglas Insights estimates AI features add about 0.4 points a year to the diagnostic imaging price leg, and the Intelerad deal shows makers bundling AI with cloud reading to lock in outpatient buyers.

How big could diagnostic imaging equipment revenue be by 2035?

Diagnostic imaging equipment revenue reaches USD 78.2 billion by 2035 in the base case, inside a range from USD 60.6 billion to USD 98.6 billion. The slower outlook assumes tight hospital budgets, lasting trade friction and weak European replacement, setting the legs at 1.8% for units and 0.9% for price for USD 60.6 billion. The faster outlook assumes photon-counting CT becomes standard, theranostics doubles PET installs and outpatient centres expand quickly after deals such as Intelerad, setting the legs at 4.9% and 2.8% for USD 98.6 billion. Each 1-point change in unit growth moves the 2035 diagnostic imaging figure by about USD 7.90 billion. Published growth estimates for diagnostic imaging range from about 4.6% to 6.9% a year, and the Douglas Insights figure of 5.36% sits in the middle because it counts equipment only and excludes service contracts.

Douglas Exclusive: the diagnostic imaging installed-base age ledger

The diagnostic imaging installed-base age ledger records about 196,000 CT, MRI, PET and fixed X-ray systems in 41 countries by year of installation, maker and model. The ledger shows that about 34% of European CT scanners and 31% of MRI scanners were more than ten years old in 2025, against 22% and 20% in the United States, which marks Europe as the largest deferred replacement pool at about USD 9.8 billion. It also shows that hospitals replace with the same maker 72% of the time, and that the share falls to 58% when an imaging centre buys reading software from a different vendor, the pattern behind the Intelerad deal. Related coverage sits in the Oncology Radiopharmaceuticals Market, X-Ray Protective Glasses Market and Biopsy Devices Market reports.

Methodology and receipts: how do 1.01 million systems add up to USD 46.4 billion?

The diagnostic imaging model multiplies about 1.01 million systems shipped in 2025 by an average USD 45,790, giving USD 46.4 billion. Units come from maker disclosures, customs data, national device registries and the 196,000-system age ledger, split across 6 modalities and 5 regions. Prices come from tender awards and list prices discounted to realised levels. The forecast compounds 3.4% unit growth and 1.9% price growth from the 2025 base to about 1.42 million systems and USD 78.2 billion in 2035.

Sources

1. GE HealthCare (investor release) GE HealthCare completes Intelerad acquisition (2026)
2. GE HealthCare (investor release) GE HealthCare reports fourth quarter and full year 2025 financial results (2026)
3. U.S. Food and Drug Administration Artificial Intelligence-Enabled Medical Devices (2026)
4. EUR-Lex, Publications Office of the European Union Regulation (EU) 2023/607 amending Regulations (EU) 2017/745 and (EU) 2017/746 as regards transitional provisions (2023)