- Leica Biosystems announced to demonstrate its cutting-edge technology called the Aperio VERSA digital pathology system that investigates various cases ranging from tissue-based and proteomic markers to subcellular, molecular, and in-hybridization probes.
- Definiens AG, the Tissue Phenomics leader for diagnostics development in oncology, has expanded its alliance with NeoGenomics, the cancer-focused genetic services provider, to develop and automate the analysis of biomarker assays for clinical trials and routine testing.
Market Trends in the Global Digital Pathology Market
With the advancement in technology, many revolutionary changes have emerged in the medical industry. One such transformation is converting glass slides into digital slides that are viewed, shared, managed, analyzed, and interpreted on a computer monitor. With the progression in digital pathology, it is now considered one of the most promising fields for the diagnosis and prognosis of cancer along with other significant diseases. Therefore, the growing demand for digital pathology for better image analysis is predicted to supplement the growth of the global digital pathology market with a significant market valuation of USD 726.2 Million by the end of 2023 from USD 337.8 Million during 2016 by witnessing a compound annual growth rate of 11.6% over the forecast period.
Growth Highlights based upon Regional Platform during 2016-2023
Regions segment the digital pathology market into North America, Latin America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, the Middle East, and Africa. The North American region dominated the global digital pathology market by contributing a market share of 38.3% in 2016. Furthermore, with a bigger healthcare market, the U.S. is further estimated to maintain its dominance in the North American region by registering a CAGR of 10.8% over the forecast period.
After North America, Europe is the second biggest market for digital pathology, with Germany holding the highest market share in the region, trailed by the U.K. Further, the U.K. is anticipated to observe a growth of 2.1x between 2016 and 2023. Furthermore, the Asia-Pacific held 13.5% of the market share in 2016 and is undoubtedly poised to become a bigger market for healthcare services shortly.
Brazil accounted for a major share in revenue in Latin America’s overall digital pathology market during 2016 and is estimated to remain the biggest market by 2023. Additionally, GCC generated the maximum revenue of USD 9.9 Million in 2016 on the back of spiked demand for efficient and more accurate in-depth pathology analysis. In contrast, South Africa’s digital pathology market is expected to expand with the highest CAGR in the Middle East & Africa region by 2023.
Market Segmentation Synopsis
By Component Type
The global digital pathology market has been segmented by component into hardware, software, and service. Among these segments, the digital pathology hardware segment accounted for the highest share in 2016, followed by the digital pathology software segment. The hardware segment is further segmented into bright field scanner and fluorescence scanner, out of which the bright field scanner is anticipated to be the most attractive market and is estimated to attain the biggest market size in the future and would project the highest CAGR when compared to other hardware segments that are being used in implementing the digital pathology in hospitals, clinics and private laboratories across the globe.
By Application
The global digital pathology market is divided by application into teleconsultation, disease diagnosis, drug discovery, education & training, and pathology screening. The disease diagnosis segment dominated the market with the highest market share in 2016, which can be attributed to various factors such as spiked penetration of health insurance services, hospitals & small clinics equipped with better technology & instruments that will further allow the segment to maintain its dominance shortly. On the other hand, the disease diagnosis segment is closely trailed by teleconsultation and pathology screening services. As a result, the pathology screening services segment is predicted to grow with an absolute $ opportunity of USD 91.7 Million during 2016-2023.
By End-User
The global digital pathology market has been segmented by end-user into hospitals, small/private clinics, diagnostic & private laboratories, and research centers. The hospital segment garnered the largest market share of USD 129.5 Million in 2016, followed by the diagnostic and private laboratories segment with a market share of USD 110.9 Million. Further, the small/private clinics segment is estimated to grow with the highest CAGR over the forecast period. The hospital segment is also anticipated to rise by 100 BPS. It is expected to contribute a market share of 37% by the end of 2023 in the global digital pathology market owing to rising government initiatives to support medical hospitals to cater large pool of patients.
The study further incorporates Y-O-Y Growth, demand & supply. It forecasts future opportunities in North America (United States, Canada), Latin America (Brazil, Mexico, Argentina, Rest of LATAM), Europe (U.K., Germany, France, Italy, Spain, Hungary, BENELUX [Belgium, Netherlands, Luxembourg], NORDIC [Norway, Denmark, Sweden, Finland], Poland, Russia, Rest of Europe), Asia-Pacific (China, India, Japan, South Korea, Malaysia, Indonesia, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Australia, New Zealand, Rest of Asia-Pacific), Middle East and Africa (Israel, GCC [Saudi Arabia, UAE, Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar, Oman], North Africa, South Africa, Rest of Middle East and Africa).
Market Drivers & Challenges
Growth Indicators
The global digital pathology market thrives on the back of the growing need for better image analysis software and personalized medicine in telepathology and cross-departments in hospitals and small clinics. The demand for digital pathology is anticipated to increase as telepathology services, and online pathology diagnostic platforms are expected to witness higher penetration in developing and developed countries. Further, the burgeoned spending on healthcare IT infrastructure and the need for pathologists and cloud service providers for faster and better decision-making is predicted to trigger the digital pathology demand in upcoming years.
Barriers
The high maintenance cost, unavailability of a skilled workforce combined with the high cost associated with integrating and implementing hardware & software into new environments, especially for small clinics & private laboratories, are some of the barriers faced by the global digital pathology market.
Competitive Landscape
Some of the affluent industry leaders of the global digital pathology market are Leica Biosystems Nussloch GmbH, GE Healthcare, Ventana Medical Systems Inc., Hamamatsu Photonics K.K., Apollo Enterprise Imaging Corporation, Xifin Inc., and Definiens AG.
Apollo Enterprise Imaging Corporation, a software solution provider for the advancement of patient care and safety, systems development, data center, training programs, customer service, and support, has agreed with Quest Diagnostics to provide imaging and the content management solution with ChartMaxx to manage, retrieve and share a broad range of the clinical multimedia, images, and documents.
Moreover, other key and niche players are working towards the expansion of product portfolios along with investing in R&D to gain a competitive edge in the global digital pathology market.
