As the population ages, growing health challenges are increasing the demand for diagnostic imaging technology. Here are the five top companies primed to meet this demand.
When healthcare professionals need to see inside a patient’s body, they can either use invasive probes or they can deploy less invasive diagnostic imaging techniques. In the latter scenario, the patient is beamed with radiation, ultrasound, or strong magnetic fields to produce high-resolution images of their tissues and cells.
In the case of cancer, capturing the complexity of tumors is a major challenge for precision medicine. The rise of medical imaging techniques such as radiomics and artificial intelligence (AI)-based tools is a promising development to help deal with this complexity more quickly than traditional methods, boosting patient care.
The global market for diagnostic imaging equipment is projected to grow from $47.65 billion in 2024 to $59.25 billion by 2029, with an annual growth rate of 4.45%. The growth is being driven by the increasing demand for medical imaging devices like magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), computed tomography (CT), and ultrasound scanners. There is also an increasing awareness of portable imaging devices that can be used at the point of care.
The main providers in diagnostic imaging consist of tech giants in the U.S., Europe, and Japan. Check below for a list of the top five market players based on their role in the market and market capitalization.
1. Canon
Founded: 1937
Headquarters: Tokyo, Japan
Market cap: $45 billion
Canon began with a focus on camera technology but has expanded its reach in the last few decades to encompass multiple sectors like commercial printing, network cameras, and medical and industrial equipment.
Canon’s Medical Group supplies diagnostic imaging equipment such as CT, MRI, X-ray, and ultrasound machines. It is developing a new type of CT scanning called photon counting CT, which is designed to scan patients with less exposure to radiation than with traditional CT. The company is also increasing its automation and in-house production muscle.
Canon’s medical business unit saw a record 7.9% growth in 2023 to 553.8 billion yen ($3.6 billion), driven by increasing overseas demand for CT and MRI scanners amid the disruption of the COVID-19 pandemic, high inflation, and geopolitical uncertainty.
In 2016, Canon bought Toshiba’s medical business Toshiba Medical for $5.9 billion, eventually renaming it Canon Medical Systems. The move, which was partially made before getting clearance from the European Commission, invoked a €28 million ($30 million) fine for Canon.
Canon is set on international expansion, particularly in the large U.S. market. In 2023, the company set up a marketing business called Canon Healthcare USA. It also acquired Resonac’s Minaris Medical, which offers in vitro diagnostic reagents and automated analytical instruments, for $29 million in 2023.
Canon is now in the process of establishing local bases in India, Saudi Arabia, and other emerging markets.
2. Fujifilm
Founded: 1934
Headquarters: Tokyo, Japan
Market cap: $30 billion
Like Canon, Fujifilm began with a focus on selling equipment for photography. The firm launched its first X-ray film product in 1936 and has since expanded into multiple branches of medical imaging.
Its diagnostic imaging offerings include equipment for X-ray imaging, endoscopy, ultrasound, and in vitro diagnostics. Fujifilm also works in medical IT such as image processing and is developing AI-based tools to support diagnostic imaging professionals.
Fujifilm acquired Hitachi’s diagnostic imaging business in 2019 for around $1.2 billion, with assets including R&D, manufacturing, sales, and maintenance of diagnostic imaging systems as well as electronic health records. The aim of the acquisition was to make its own offerings more comprehensive, enhance imaging with its own AI tools and obtain new sales channels.
The revenue from Fujifilm’s healthcare division increased to 975.1 billion yen ($6.4 billion) in 2023, 5% higher than in 2022. The revenue was driven by steady sales of devices like endoscopes, CT, and MRI, with endoscope sales especially rising in the U.S., Europe, Japan, and China.
In addition to diagnostics, the company is active in other parts of healthcare like cosmetics, supplements, and biopharmaceuticals.
3. GE HealthCare Technologies
Founded: 2023 (as a spinoff from GE)
Headquarters: Chicago, Illinois
Market cap: $42 billion
GE Healthcare originated as a business owned by parent company General Electric (GE), which was founded in 1982 with a focus on selling machinery across industries such as appliances, transport, and healthcare. After years of declining profits and stock prices, GE split into three companies, with GE Healthcare taking on its diagnostic imaging division.
GE Healthcare sells a wide range of diagnostic imaging equipment ranging across ultrasound, CT, MRI, and X-ray scanners. The company also boasts one of the highest counts of AI-enabled medical devices approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, with 58 in its roster as of October 2023.
GE Healthcare saw a revenue of $19.6 billion in 2023, with its imaging business taking the lion’s share of the winnings in the last quarter of 2023. This represents a 7% increase in total revenue year-over-year. This year, the company anticipates an additional 4% growth in its revenue year-over-year.
GE Healthcare acquired the AI and medical imaging player MIM Software earlier this year to boost the former’s digital solutions, particularly in precision care such as theranostics in oncology. The firm also recently teamed up with University Medicine Essen to establish a theranostics center of excellence in Germany outfitted with radiopharmaceutical production and imaging equipment.
4. Philips
Founded: 1891
Headquarters: Amsterdam, Netherlands
Market cap: $30 billion
Philips was established in Eindhoven, Netherlands, by Frederik Philips and his son, Gerard. The company initially specialized in the production of light bulbs before ballooning into other markets like appliances, data storage, and healthcare.
Philips sells imaging equipment such as CT scanners and MRI machines, including MRI scanners that require a fraction of the increasingly scarce element helium compared with traditional machines.
Philips’ Diagnosis and Treatment segment saw €8.8 billion ($9.6 billion) in sales last year, an 11% increase compared with 2022’s €8.3 billion ($9 billion). This was driven by high growth in the company’s image-guided therapy and precision diagnosis offerings.
Philips has been actively acquiring diagnostic imaging assets in the past few years, with examples including the takeover of the healthcare information systems business Carestream Health in 2019 and the purchase of French cardiac diagnostics firm Cardiologs. Philips delved further into the world of AI with the acquisition of DiA Imaging Analysis for almost $100 million in 2023. DiA specializes in harnessing AI to read and interpret ultrasound images more efficiently than traditional methods.
The company carved out its medical imaging equipment supplier AGITO Medical in a sale to the private equity firm Duke Street earlier this year.
5. Siemens Healthineers
Founded: 2017
Headquarters: Erlangen, Germany
Market cap: $64 billion
Siemens Healthineers started off as part of its parent company Siemens, which was established in Berlin in 1847. Siemens began as a provider of machinery like trains, factory equipment, and communications and soon expanded to healthcare. Siemens spun off its medical technology division to afford more flexibility and continues to keep a 75% stake in the spinoff.
Among Siemens Healthineers’ main products is equipment to handle CT scanning, angiography, X-ray, and ultrasound machines. The company also produces IT systems deploying AI to help small teams navigate complex healthcare and increase automation.
Siemens Healthineers launched an initial public offering in 2018 and merged with its long-term collaboration partner, the imaging and cancer care provider Varian Medical Systems, in 2021.
In 2023, Siemens Healthineers bagged almost €21.68 billion ($23.54 billion) in revenue, which was 0.2% less than the €21.71 billion ($23.57 billion) it earned in 2022. Its imaging segment was the biggest earner with €11.84 billion ($12.85 billion), representing 9% growth compared with the previous year.
Earlier this year, Siemens Healthineers bought Novartis’ radiopharmaceutical business for more than $223 million, including the diagnostic arm of radiopharmaceutical titan Advanced Accelerator Applications. The move also helped Siemens Healthineers expand its expertise in PET and radiopharmaceuticals in Europe.
Jonathan Smith is a freelance science journalist based in the U.K. and Spain. He previously worked in Berlin as reporter and news editor at Labiotech, a website covering the biotech industry. Prior to this, he completed a PhD in behavioral neurobiology at the University of Leicester and freelanced for the U.K. organizations Research Media and Society of Experimental Biology. He has also written for medwireNews, Biopharma Reporter, and Outsourcing Pharma.
