Grassroots **DR demand is expected to increase explosively

The business club reported on May 3 that the Chinese Medical Equipment Association announced at the 67th China International Medical Equipment Spring Fair held in Shenzhen that "the market situation and future development trend of direct digital X-ray imaging system (DR)" will be announced The latest data show that from 2007 to 2011, the number of DR equipment in China increased from 1,780 to 8,968 units, with an average annual compound growth rate of 50.4%. The annual sales of DR equipment in China increased from 720 units to 3,294 units, with an average annual compound growth rate of 42.8%. According to Cai Kui, the equipment division of the Beijing Hospital of the Ministry of Health, in the next few years, the growth rate of China's DR market may far exceed this level, especially the primary medical market has great potential and deserves attention of enterprises.

Sales: Volume increase minus

Since the concept of digital medical was introduced into China in the 1990s, digital medical imaging equipment has risen for over a decade. Among them, computerized X-ray imaging systems (CR) and DR as the main digital flat-panel X-ray imaging devices have been popularized and applied in some domestic medical institutions. In order to help production and management companies understand the DR equipment configuration and market demand in China's medical institutions, the China Medical Equipment Association has conducted an investigation on the DR equipment market in China and formed the "2011 Direct Digital X-ray Photography System Market Development Analysis Report."

China Medical Equipment Association Fei Hao told reporters that from 2007 to 2011, China's DR system annual sales increased from 720 to 3,294 units, with an average annual compound growth rate of 42.8%. Among them, sales volume in 2011 increased by 36.6% over the previous year, and sales volume showed a rapid increase.

From 2006 to 2011, China's DR equipment market sales increased from 1.151 billion yuan to 2.923 billion yuan, with an average compound annual growth rate of 19.6%. Among them, the growth rate in 2007 was 24.76%, 18.66% in 2008, 12.44% in 2009, and 23.07% in 2010, maintaining a relatively rapid growth.

Compared with the rapid growth in the sales amount of DR equipment, the selling price of DR has shown a downward trend. The survey shows that since 2007, the average price of DR equipment for flat digital matrix detectors in China has dropped from 2.54 million yuan to 1.13 million yuan in 2011; the average price of electrically coupled image sensors DR equipment has dropped by 1.5 million yuan each. Within 600,000 yuan. The main reason is that the DR market is fiercely competitive. Domestic brands rely on their ever-increasing product quality and competitive prices, forcing producers of higher-priced DR equipment to cut prices to ensure their market share.

Configuration: 0.61 units per county hospital

“In 2011, the average price of DR equipment in China was less than half of that in 2007, and the decline in prices made it possible for more medical institutions to configure the DR system conditionally.” Fei Fei told reporters that in 2011, the average national county hospital With 0.61 DR equipment. Among them, the average level of county hospitals in East China ranks the highest in the country, with an average of 0.92 per county hospital; followed by North China, with an average of 0.78 per county hospital; average allocations in south and southwestern China are 0.36 and less, respectively. 0.38 units.

Brand: import monopoly break

Since 2007, stimulated by the steady and rapid growth of China's DR market and the continuous expansion of market capacity, domestic and foreign DR system manufacturers have responded positively - the adjustment strategy of foreign brands, expanding the product line, localization of production areas, reducing costs, etc. At the same time, efforts were made in the areas of acquisitions, formations, joint ventures, and cooperation in the field; domestic DR equipment companies also successively launched products with certain competitiveness.

Industry experts analyze that China DR market

After nearly a decade of development, it has gradually evolved from the initial monopoly of imported brands to the current domestic and foreign brands' fierce competition.

According to statistics, in 2011, the top sales of the DR system were still imported brands, of which Philips and Siemens each accounted for 12% of the total, and General Medical and Acupuncture respectively reached over 10%. The products of these manufacturers account for the vast majority of the DR system market of more than 1.5 million yuan nationwide, and their products are mainly deployed in tertiary hospitals. Domestic equipment dominates the primary medical institutions, mainly including Wandong, Zhongke Meilun, Mindray, Neusoft, Lanyun, and Shanghai Medical Device Factory. Among them, Wandong Medical has exceeded 8% of its market share with imports. Brand.

It is reported that in 2011, some township health centers in the eastern part of China were equipped with a DR system. Limited by the purchase amount, some hospitals have chosen domestic brands.

Cai Kui said that at present, the country's most extensive patient cluster is in the primary medical institutions. Since most township hospitals have not yet deployed DR equipment, this market segment will become the main battlefield for all manufacturers to compete. The demand for mid-range DR systems with stable performance and low price is huge.

According to the analysis of relevant experts from the Chinese Medical Equipment Association, there are a large number of hospitals at and below the county level in China, and the DR installed capacity of these hospitals is still at a relatively low level; at the same time, the state allocates huge amounts of money to build primary health care service systems, DR as Commonly used radiological imaging inspection methods will have an explosive growth in the primary medical market. It is estimated that from 2012 to 2015, the annual sales volume of China's DR market will increase by about 15%, that is, from 3,795 units in 2012 to more than 5,770 units in 2015. As the price of DR will continue to decline, the growth rate of its sales revenue will not increase as fast as sales volume. It is estimated that the sales revenue of DR equipment will increase from 3.42 billion yuan to 5.19 billion yuan in 2012-2015, with an average annual compound growth rate of 15%. The market share of DR equipment increases with the increase in sales volume, and some equipment will be updated and eliminated. It is estimated that the average annual compound growth rate of DR equipment inventory in China will be around 21% from 2012 to 2015, that is, from 2011. 8,968 units will increase to 27,918 in 2015.

About DR

Direct Digital Radiography (DR) uses a flat thin film transistor (TFT) or charge-coupled device (CCD) board and X-ray absorber to perform image capture from a built-in phosphor plate or photoconductor plate After the analog video signal is sampled and A/D converted, it is converted into digital form.

DR brings higher quantum inspection efficiency and image quality. It can observe objects with a contrast of less than 1% and a diameter of more than two millimeters, and the surface X-ray dose measured on the patient is only 1/10th that of conventional radiography. The most prominent technical advantage of the DR system is its high efficiency, faster imaging and easier operation. It is the leading direction of digital X-ray imaging technology and has been recognized by clinical institutions and imaging experts around the world.

However, at present, the price of the DR system is much higher than that of the CR system, and the production process of the DR detector is very complicated, and replacement of a detector requires high costs. Due to the fact that there are only a handful of detector manufacturers, this monopoly of technology will not drastically change the price of DR systems in recent years. Therefore, some experts believe that in the past ten years, CR and DR will coexist, and as the system matures and the price gradually decreases, DR will gradually replace CR.