imagePRO Market Pulse Series: MRI purchase in 2025
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The imagePro Market Pulse (iPMP) is a new series of insights on the US radiology market provided by The MarkeTech Group.
The iPMP is a custom research initiative with our imagePRO™ panel of over 350 USA hospital-based imaging directors and managers. In this second series, we asked the imagePRO panel to share their plans for their next MRI purchase, their available budget, the vendor they are most likely to select, and the important factors in selecting an MRI vendor. All questions were single-select.
Next MRI purchase timeline
40% of the imagePRO panel members expect to purchase an MRI in 2025. The majority of new MRI purchases will happen in the second half of 2025, with 16% of imagePRO members expecting to make their product selection in Q4 and 10% in Q3. Meanwhile, 14% of imagePRO members will finalize their MRI deals in early 2025 (7% in Q1 and 7% in Q2).
Budget available for next MRI purchase
While 36% have no budget defined yet, 17% have set a budget of $1.75m or higher for their next MRI purchase – which is likely to be a high-end system. 25% have a budget between $1.25m and $1.75m, and 21% between $750k and $1.25m. Only 1% have a budget of $750k or less, which is indicative of the small market for pre-owned and low-field systems in the US.
Expected MRI lifespan
In 2018, the average replacement cycle for an MRI scanner was close to 13 years. In 2025, the majority of the imagePRO panel still expects an MRI lifespan to be similar, with 66% anticipating their next MRI scanner to last between 10 and 15 years.
However, the trend is shifting toward extending the lifespan of MRI scanners. Only 8% expect their MRI system to last less than 10 years, while 23% foresee it lasting 16 to 20 years, and 3% predict a lifespan of over 20 years. Service, maintenance, and upgrade offerings will be crucial for MRI scanners to handle increased usage over extended periods.
Most Likely Vendor for next purchase
88% of imagePRO members identify GE Healthcare or Siemens Healthineers as their most likely choice for their next MRI purchase (44% each), making them the top vendors. Additionally, 12% of imagePRO members are considering other vendors, including Canon (6%), Philips (4%), FujiFilm (2%), and United Imaging (1%), while no members indicated they would select a vendor outside of this list of major OEMs.
Factors for selecting an MRI vendor
Aside from price, advanced technologies and features (29%), strong service and support (27%), and superior image quality (19%) are the most impactful factors when selecting an MRI vendor. One vendor must strongly address these elements to be selected for next MRI purchase.
Prior experience with vendor is most impactful for 13% of imagePRO members but also least impactful for 17%. This duality shows that while some customers select their current MRI vendor for their next purchase, others are open to considering new vendors.
The country of origin is considered the least impactful factor for MRI vendor selection by 72%.
Do not hesitate to contact us for deeper analysis on this iPMP series – the imagePRO panel can be segmented by 49 different variables including hospital type, current install base, and many other demographic factors!
