Market Challenges And Opportunities

Global Mobile Imaging Services Market– Impact of Coronavirus (COVID-19) Pandemic

Since the COVID-19 virus outbreak in December 2019, the disease has spread to over 100 countries across the globe, and the World Health Organization declared it a public health emergency on January 30, 2020.

COVID-19 has affected the economy in three main ways: by directly affecting the production and demand for biochemistry analyzers and medical devices, by creating disruptions in modality, and through its financial impact on firms and financial markets. Due to nationwide lockdowns, several countries such as China, India, Saudi Arabia, UAE, Egypt, and others faced problems regarding transportation of biochemistry analyzers from one place to another.

Quarantine, traveling constraints, and social distancing measures led to steep decline in business and consumer spending. Furthermore, healthcare providers faced hallenges such as lack of additional manpower, equipment, consumables, and other resources which were required to ensure safety in hospitals, and to provide treatment to patients with other diseases. Though the overall impact on the healthcare market was positive, the demand for mobile imaging services boomed during the COVID-19 pandemic. The pandemic necessitated social distancing measures and reduced in-person visits to healthcare facilities. This increased demand for remote healthcare solutions including mobile imaging services. Patients who required imaging procedures but were unable or unwilling to visit hospitals or imaging centers, sought alternative options and the mobile imaging services emerged as a viable solution. Mobile units equipped with imaging equipment could be dispatched to patients’ home or other healthcare facilities, and thus,minimizing the risk of exposure to the virus. According to a study published by Journal of Medical Radiation Sciences in February 2022, demand for mobile X-ray imaging during the pandemic increased approximately 1.7 folds in Australia.

Restraints & Challenges:

Limited availability of site requirements in rural areas for set up of mobile imaging systems

Global Mobile Imaging Services Market: Restraint

Site requirements for mobile imaging services

Mobile imaging services have site specific requirements to set up that might be difficult to fulfill, particularly in remote mobile environments and rural areas. Following are the examples of some mobile site requirements:

High-speed accesss to hospital networks that use electronic technology such as public communications and archiving systems. Poor internet access in remote regions may cause delays in the archiving images for radiologist assessment and prevent access to online results.
Favorable climate- especially in areas where there is violent weather such as huricanes
a consistent electrical supply
levelled ground surface for placement of mobile imaging units

Unavailability of these basic site requirements can hamper the global mobile imaging services market growth in several rural areas.

Counterbalance: The setting up of mobile imaging services can be done in rural areas by associating with larger healthcare system in the urban sectors. It can also be done by providing awareness programmes to the rural communities, and make them aware of the required healthcare services and the benefits of the mobile imaging services. In broader sense, implementation of a mobile vehicle with X-ray facilities and basic services can be made feasible in places where such resources are scarce.