The global digital pathology market will reach USD 1,052 million by 2022, driven by the growing popularity of virtual slides over physical slides, technological advancements, and cost-effective products, with North America accounting for the major share.
According to a new Allied Market Research (Portland OR, USA) report, other factors such as workflow efficiency, analysis efficiency, improved productivity and patient care, and accuracy are also contributing to the market growth. However, lack of reimbursement policies, inadequate infrastructure, and pending product approvals are restraining the growth of the global digital pathology market.
Digitalization of pathology, where glass slides are converted into digital images for easy viewing, analysis, storage, and management of collected data, has resulted in automation of tests during diagnosis, thus saving cost and efforts. For instance, pathologists can now perform tests using a single digital instrument instead of five instruments required earlier.
Based on product, the market is segmented into whole slide imaging (WSI), image analysis informatics, information management system storage & communication, and others. WSI is the major segment and is expected to grow at a CAGR of 14.8% from 2014 to 2022, due to its diversified use in surgical pathology, clinical diagnosis, consultation, and education, as well as in proficiency testing, which is a part of cytopathology.
Within the WSI segment, the scanners/digitizers segment accounted for the largest share in 2015, while reagents is projected to be the fastest growing segment at a CAGR of 15.3% from 2014 to 2022. The image analysis-informatics segment is the fastest growing segment, growing at a CAGR of 25.2%, and along with the WSI segment, it comprises about three-fourths of the total market.
Based on end user, the market is segmented into educational institutes, hospitals and diagnostic centers; and pharmaceutical & biotechnology companies. In 2015, hospitals and diagnostic centers and pharmaceutical & biotechnology end user segments together accounted for a share of more than 70% of the market. Pharmaceutical & biotechnology companies are projected to be the fastest growing end use segment, growing at a CAGR of 19.9% from 2014 to 2022.
In terms of geography, the market is segmented into North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, and LAMEA. In 2015, Asia Pacific and LAMEA together accounted for about 20% of the market. The German digital pathology market is expected to reach about USD50 million by 2022, growing at a CAGR of 14.5% over the period 2014 to 2022.
In 2015, North America accounted for the major share of the overall digital pathology market and is expected to grow at a CAGR of 14.7% from 2014 to 2022, driven mainly by a large number of hospitals and clinics adopting digital pathology procedures for accurate results and improved efficiency. In North America, WSI is expected to dominate the market followed by image analysis-informatics. However, Asia-Pacific is expected to grow rapidly at a CAGR of 26.6%, with the major contribution to come from China due to its cost-effective products and image analysis-informatics to be the fastest growing segment in the region with a CAGR of 34.9%.
Currently, companies are adopting collaborations, product launches, and agreements as their key development strategies in the market. An increase in the number of initiatives for commercializing cost-efficient digital pathology systems is expected to offer profitable growth opportunities for service providers in the future.
The key companies in the global digital pathology market are Definiens AG (Munich, Germany), Visiopharm (Hørsholm, Denmark), Indica Labs (Corrales, NM, USA), Digipath, Wichita, KS, USA), Danaher Corporation (Leica Microsystem) (Washington, D.C., USA), Koninklinje Philips N.V. (Amsterdam, Netherlands), Hamamatsu Photonics K. K. (Hamamatsu, Japan), PerkinElmer, Inc. (Waltham, MA; USA), Nikon Corporation (Tokyo, Japan), Pixcelldata Ltd. (Dublin 2, Ireland), and Glencoe Software Inc. (Seattle, WA, USA).
