Article preview from Medtech Insight - October, 2012
Clinical laboratories in the US and Europe are facing pressure from all sides as budget cuts and staffing shortages compete with a growing demand for ever-more-sophisticated lab tests to serve an aging population. As a result, lab directors are seeking innovative ways to improve efficiency and do more with less, and those goals are driving innovation in technology-based solutions such as laboratory automation and informatics. These solutions are increasingly becoming integrated into the total laboratory process – encompassing not only sample analysis, but also up- and downstream workflows – paving the way for the fully integrated, automated lab of the future.
Article preview from Medtech Insight - October, 2012
Clinical laboratories in the US and Europe today are facing enormous challenges, as funding and reimbursement constraints and shortages in skilled labor bump up against an increasing demand for lab testing to serve aging populations – a dichotomy that is forcing labs to find innovative ways to do more with less. To meet this need, device manufacturers serving this market have been developing automated systems and other technology solutions designed to streamline workflow and greatly improve lab efficiency and throughput, and labs of all sizes are embracing the concept. This trend toward technology-driven efficiency solutions has emerged as an opportunity for manufacturers to improve the market outlook for the immunochemistry, or core lab, segment of the in vitro diagnostics (IVD) market – where 80% to 90% of the testing takes place – at a time when overall IVD market growth in the US and Europe has been fairly lackluster.
The IVD market in the US and Europe is growing at a rate of only about 3% to 4% per year (and the Japanese market is growing even slower), according to a recent analysis by Boston Biomedical Consultants Inc., due to the current uncertainty regarding health care reform (in the US), budget constraints that have led to major delays in purchasing decisions, and an increase in payment times (days outstanding).
On a global basis, the IVD market is expected to grow from about $47 billion in revenues in 2011 to over $61 billion in 2016, a compound annual growth rate of about 5.5%. While the US and European segments will remain constrained, growth is expected to be much higher in emerging markets, which currently account for about a quarter of global IVD revenues.
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