What You Should Know:

GE HealthCare announced a $44M contract with the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA) —part of the Administration for Strategic Preparedness and Response (ASPR) within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS)—to develop and obtain regulatory clearance for next-generation ultrasound technology with AI applications.

– The goal of the technology will support clinicians of all skill levels in efficiently diagnosing and providing treatment for patients with lung pathologies and traumatic injuries to the abdomen, chest, and head.

AI-Driven, Point-of-Care Ultrasound to Aid Emergency Situations

Trauma is a leading cause of death in the United States posing an enormous burden to healthcare systems and society. Trauma patients’ survival is dependent on receiving timely and appropriate care. Injury detection and triage of trauma patients play key roles in successful patient care and resource management, both in everyday situations and in mass casualty events. Technologies that expedite care, including detection, evaluation, and decision-assist capabilities, potentially increase patients’ chances of survival.

Through this collaboration with BARDA, GE Healthcare will build upon its existing point-of-care ultrasound technology portfolio to develop an advanced probe and ultrasound system together with novel AI technology to ease acquisition and interpretation of ultrasound exams for users of all skill levels. The proposed devices will cover indications for multiple injury types: blunt and penetrating trauma, head trauma, lung injuries, as well as multiple lung pathologies encountered outside trauma care such as those seen in infectious diseases.

“Point-of-care ultrasound is an essential tool in emergency situations to help clinicians quickly get the answers they need when treating patients,” said Roland Rott, President and CEO, Ultrasound, GE HealthCare. “We are grateful and excited for the opportunity to partner with BARDA to contribute our expertise in ultrasound and AI applications to develop innovative solutions for identifying a range of traumatic injuries and lung pathologies. Our collaboration has the potential to enhance the ability of clinicians to provide timely care for trauma patients even in the most dire scenarios.”

The project has been supported in whole or in part with federal funds from the Department of Health and Human Services; Administration for Strategic Preparedness and Response; Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA), under contract number 75A50123C00035.

What You Should Know:

– Children’s Mercy Kansas City launches its Patient Progression Hub – a hospital operations center that uses artificial intelligence (AI), predictive analytics and real-time information to optimize care progression and coordination from the time a patient’s admission is requested until discharged.

– The Patient Progression Hub is part of a strategic collaboration with GE Healthcare to improve access, streamline the flow of patients, enhance discharge planning, improve staffing needs, and forecast patient demand.

Patient Progression Hub Overview

The 6,000-square foot hub, inspired by NASA’s mission control center, houses a video wall with customized analytic apps, or “tiles” to monitor and manage the flow of patients. The system uses AI algorithms to identify potential issues, enabling care teams to proactively solve problems before they arise. Hub team members are co-located in the space to facilitate greater communication and collaboration, break down bottlenecks and barriers, and increase satisfaction for both patients and employees.

Other key benefits of the Patient Progression Hub include:

Managing right bed, right place, on time – Centralizing bed placement allows staff to manage bed assignment workflow, prioritize bed placement, and place external/intra-system transfers in a timely manner.

Avoiding unnecessary delays – Real-time data allows staff to address potential delays, such as reducing time patients wait in the Emergency Department or the Post-Anesthesia Care Unit (PACU) for an inpatient bed to be available.

Improving staffing – AI predicts patient census levels 24 and 48 hours in advance with a high degree of accuracy. By predicting future demand, staffing needs can be filled, assuring patients are cared for by the appropriate care teams.

Streamlining discharge process – Real-time data and predictive analytics track each patient’s journey, enabling staff to prioritize tests, procedures and medicines to get the patient discharged in a timely manner and open a bed for another patient who needs it.

Key Trends in the handheld ultrasound market 1 – AI

The steep learning curve and subsequent ultrasound skills shortage are two of the biggest barriers to the wider use of ultrasound. These challenges are exacerbated in handheld ultrasound, where there is a higher proportion of new and less experienced users compared to cart and compact ultrasound. As the expansion of the handheld ultrasound market in the coming years is expected to be strongly driven by new user groups, this barrier will be greater than ever before. These barriers can be partially addressed by AI solutions that guide users with positioning and moving the ultrasound probe.

To date, most image guidance AI solutions, such as those from Caption Health, UltraSight, and DESKi, are for cardiac scans. AI image guidance solutions will have a bigger impact when they can also be used for other clinical applications, making it easier for users such as nurses to use ultrasound during their rounds. Whilst this is starting to happen, with image guidance AI solutions for the thyroid (developed by Medo.AI), women’s health (developed by Pulsenmore) and vascular (developed by ThinkSono), it will take time, capital and data to develop image capture support for other body areas. In the interim, we expect to see more anatomy labeling solutions to assist with image capture.

In addition to AI solutions for image capture support, solutions for image analysis will make ultrasound more efficient for users. These solutions need to be embraced by physicians, some of whom may be wary about the performance and limitations of AI.

For AI solutions to be more widely used in handheld ultrasound, one of the main challenges that will need to be overcome is how the AI solutions are paid for. The solutions need to be affordable to the customer, in line with the price paid for the scanner, yet still, enable AI vendors, and potential OEM partners, to make a profit. Another challenge is validating AI solutions, which can be costly. This is one of the main reasons for the lack of ultrasound AI adoption in China.

Key Trends in the handheld ultrasound market 2 – Teleultrasound

With education being the most significant barrier preventing the adoption of handheld ultrasound, teleultrasound can have a positive influence by connecting novice users with experienced experts. With ultrasound increasingly being taught as part of the curriculum at medical schools, a teleultrasound platform enables newly trained physicians to connect with ultrasound experts to help them become more comfortable in using ultrasound in real-life cases and get a second opinion on a diagnosis.

With the current backlog of patients requiring imaging and changes in reimbursement, there is a drive to move imaging to out-of-hospital settings, and teleultrasound platforms, along with other digital solutions, can play a role in facilitating this shift.

Table 1 –Teleultrasound solutions available in the handheld ultrasound market

Key Trends in the handheld ultrasound market 3 – Diverging Business Models

During the early years of handheld ultrasound, most devices were purchased with a one-time payment (capital expenditure). This payment model is familiar and accepted by healthcare providers and enables vendors with a broad range of ultrasound systems to sell handheld scanners to their existing customer base as an “add-on” with bundled deals. More recently, a new breed of dedicated handheld ultrasound vendors, like Butterfly Network, Vave and Clarius, have introduced subscription payment models. Due to the low cost of handheld ultrasound devices, with the global average selling price now down to around $4,000, vendors need large sales volumes to make a profit. This is a challenge as handheld ultrasound has not yet achieved mainstream adoption. As such, most dedicated handheld ultrasound vendors are not yet profitable.

Vendors are now seeking subscription revenue streams, either to replace the upfront payment for the device or to supplement the initial device purchase, to generate additional and recurring revenue. Vendors are now launching digital solutions that are chargeable add-on services, such as teleultrasound and AI applications. Moreover, the subscription model enables vendors to lower the initial cost of the device, opening the market to cost-sensitive customers, such as new users of ultrasound.

Competitive Analysis

The leading vendors of handheld ultrasound are Philips, Butterfly Network, GE HealthCare, and Clarius. The largest Chinese handheld ultrasound vendors are SonoStar, Youkey, and Stork Healthcare. These vendors are mostly focused on their domestic market, except for SonoStar which has had some limited success in Western Europe and the USA.

Whilst the market was initially dominated by vendors such as GE HealthCare and Philips, with a full ultrasound product portfolio, dedicated handheld vendors are becoming increasingly prominent. Whilst initially competing with other ultrasound system types, notably low-end compact systems, handheld ultrasound vendors are increasingly developing customer bases distinct from users of compact systems. This trend will increase as handheld ultrasound becomes more mainstream and is adopted by increasingly newer users of ultrasound in new use cases such as in plastic surgery and medical aesthetics.

Whilst the majority of handheld ultrasound sales are wired devices, accounting for around 75% of handheld ultrasound sales revenue in 2021, wireless handheld ultrasound devices are expected will dominate the market in the future. The current product mix of wired versus wireless devices in the market is due more to the supplier mix than customer need, as most vendors currently offer wired devices. Amongst the larger handheld ultrasound vendors, Butterfly Network and Philips only offer wired devices and GE Healthcare launched its first wireless device in 2021.

The Signify View

The outlook for the handheld ultrasound market is promising, with a projected 2021-2026 CAGR of 24.7%. Growth will be driven by existing ultrasound users, either to replace compact systems or as an adjunct to existing systems, as well as new users of ultrasound such as nurses, primary care physicians and midwives. Some vendors are also promoting the use of handheld ultrasound to enable patients to self-scan in the home setting.

Primary care is forecast to be the fastest growing clinical application for handheld ultrasound, with growth propelled by increased adoption of handheld ultrasound by primary care physicians. It is estimated that the percentage of primary care physicians that use ultrasound is in the single digits in most countries. The lower cost and ultra-portability of handheld scanners is expected to notably increase the use of ultrasound in primary care.

The use of ultrasound in plastic surgery and medical aesthetics, to improve procedure safety, is expected to be one of the fastest-emerging applications of handheld ultrasound, especially in Western Europe and the USA. Ultrasound will increasingly be used by plastic surgeons to differentiate their practice and reassure customers of the safety of cosmetic procedures.

About Mustafa Hassan

Mustafa joined Signify Research in 2020 as part of the Medical Imaging team which covers areas such as ultrasound, general radiography and machine learning in medical imaging. Prior to that he obtained a PhD in Pharmacy and Physiology from the University of Kent and has three years of post-doctoral experience working on optimising healthcare for genetic Cardiac diseases. 

What You Should Know:

– GE HealthCare and Advantus Health Partners announced it has expanded its partnership, an agreement of up to $760M over 10 years to provide GE HealthCare’s Healthcare Technology Management (HTM) services to Advantus Health Partners’ clients. 

– Through this expanded relationship between Advantus Health Partners and GE HealthCare, healthcare providers will have access to a scalable, end-to-end solution for managing medical equipment performance and risk.

Healthcare Technology Management Services

The comprehensive HTM program can provide complete management of medical equipment in a health care facility – including ongoing maintenance, monitoring for and addressing recalls, disinfection and distribution, and more for Advantus Health Partners’ clients. The program also can help reduce costs and improve productivity for their clients through standardization of processes to manage equipment across healthcare systems and proactive monitoring of data safety. Further, their clients will have access to Encompass, GE HealthCare’s real-time location system technology that tracks and locates a provider’s equipment so caregivers can spend less time searching for equipment and more time with patients. Other services include advanced asset management and an advanced scopes program with proactive service strategy for endoscopes.

Expanding old horizons through M&A

As health systems around the world seek to relocate more healthcare provision from acute to ambulatory settings, traditional health technology vendors risk being left behind in the old paradigms of care. In response, many have sought to reposition themselves via strategic Mergers & Acquisitions (M&A).

Philips has gone further than most in this regard. Its acquisitions of BioTelemetry and Cardiologs, in 2020 and 2021 respectively, have given it the broadest footprint across the Ambulatory Diagnostic Cardiology landscape, complementing its existing strength in the hospital-oriented Resting and Stress ECG, and ECG management services markets. BioTelemetry also gives Philips exposure to the complementary Remote Patient Monitoring (RPM) market, while Cardiologs AI platform presents an opportunity for future integrations with ICMs (the one market Philips is not in), and the rapidly expanding consumer wearables space.

Other high-profile cases of portfolio expansion via M&A include Boston Scientific’s $925 million acquisition of Long-Term ECG and MCT vendor, Preventive Solutions, and Baxter’s $10.5 billion deal for Hill-rom, both in 2021. The Preventive transaction was part of a rapid ascent for Boston Scientific in the Ambulatory Diagnostic Cardiology market, having quickly grown its share of the ICM market since it received regulatory clearance for its first ICM device in 2020. Baxter also entered new territory with its acquisition of Hill-Rom. Previously being a large player in the short-term ECG market, Hill-rom expanded its own solutions portfolio into Long-Term ECG by acquiring BardyDx in early 2021.

Blurring the boundaries – partnerships and emerging technologies in cardiac care

A flurry of recently announced partnerships, some in combination with funding, also hold the potential to dramatically alter Ambulatory Diagnostic Cardiology. Perhaps reflecting an earlier stage of market development, and recent tightening in financial markets, partnerships appear more common than M&A in the emerging fields of hand-held and consumer wearable-based ECG devices.

Handheld ECG vendor AliveCor has been particularly active in this regard. Its partnerships with GE Healthcare, the leading player in the traditional diagnostic cardiology markets of Resting and Stress ECG, enables the integration of patient data from AliveCor’s handheld KardiaMobile 6L ECG data directly into GE Healthcare’s MUSE Cardiac Management Systems. In a similar vein, its partnerships with Biotronik facilitate the integration of KardiaMobile and Biotronik’s ICM devices. This could prove to be a canny move for both parties, given that Biotronik currently competes in the oligopolistic ICM market in which its three competitors, Abbott, Boston Scientific, and Medtronic, have a combined market capitalization of $368 billion.

AliveCor has also established agreements with medical device company (and recent RPM market entrant) Omron, Norwegian RPM vendor Dignio and consumer wearable company Zepp, (though an early integration with the Apple Watch has descended into acrimonious and costly litigation).

Another partnership looking to exploit the potential of ECG sensors in wearable devices is that between iRhythm, the second largest player in the market (when excluding ICM revenues) and Alphabet subsidiary Verily. In July 2022, iRhythm and Verily obtained FDA approval for their jointly developed Zio Watch and Zeus System, for identifying and monitoring Afib, incorporating iRhythm’s continuous PPG, AI-based algorithm. How this partnership will be affected by the recent announcement of layoffs at Verily remains to be seen.

Other companies to enter the fray include multinational tech firms Huawei and Samsung, specialist GPS technology company Garmin, and French-connected health company Withings. Interestingly, one of the conditions of Withings’ FDA approval for its ECG-capable ScanWatch stipulated that the ECG feature can only be unlocked by a prescription from a healthcare provider.

Future Outlook

Despite this flurry of activity, the Ambulatory Diagnostic Cardiology market refuses to sit still. Upcoming developments that could disrupt the market over the short-to-medium term include a hand-held, 12-lead capability ECG device from Heartbeam, and a multi-modality cardiac monitor (Holter, Event and MCT) with built-in 4G connectivity from Rhythmedix, both US-based vendors. A domestic vendor in India, Dozee, recently released an ECG patch, while South Korea is also host to a number of Long-term ECG patch vendors in the process of international expansion. A new cohort of vendors in Europe and the US are also looking to exploit the potential of AI for quicker and more accurate diagnosis.

Ongoing advances in adjacent technologies and markets, such as Remote Patient Monitoring (RPM), and consumer devices, will also continue to influence the Ambulatory Diagnostic Cardiology market. The Long-Term ECG market in particular, where technological advances have lowered barriers to entry, will likely see a proliferation in vendors over the short-to-medium term. However, as is the case in all healthcare technology and software markets, providers continue to favor dealing with a small number of large vendors who can offer enterprise-level solutions (including ongoing technical and administrative support). Without this protective umbrella, vendors supplying specialist, single-point solutions may struggle to achieve critical mass. This suggests that more M&A and partnerships involving large traditional vendors are to come.

Of the current crop, Philips, despite recent travails in its wider business, has the most comprehensive ambulatory diagnostic cardiology solutions offering, though newly independent GE Healthcare has already signaled its intentions to expand into ambulatory and remote care. Baxter, post its Hill-rom acquisition, has also established a presence, though it is yet to achieve substantial market share.

Of the major ICM vendors, only Boston Scientific and Biotronik have made significant recent moves, while the contribution of Abbott’s ICM business to overall revenue is minimal. Medtronic, the proverbial 800-pound gorilla in the ICM room, is in the midst of a major restructuring, including the spin-off of its patient monitoring and respiratory interventions businesses, but has surely been watching recent developments with more than a passing interest.

All of this points to more partnerships, more M&A, and more disruption to come, meaning the Ambulatory Diagnostic Cardiology market will remain one to watch in 2023 and beyond.

About Kelly Patrick

Kelly joined Signify Research in 2020 as a Principal Analyst. She brings with her 12 years of experience covering a range of healthcare technology research at IHS Markit/Omdia. Kelly’s core focus has been on the clinical care space, including patient monitoring, respiratory care and infusion.

What You Should Know:

– GE HealthCare acquires Caption Health, Inc., a privately owned artificial intelligence (AI) healthcare leader that creates clinical applications to aid in early disease detection, using AI to assist in conducting ultrasound scans.

– The acquisition supports GE HealthCare’s $3B Ultrasound business by adding AI-enabled image guidance to ultrasound device portfolios. In addition, it aligns with strategy to deliver precision care and expands access to new ultrasound users and clinical uses.

FDA-Cleared AI-Guided Ultrasound Technology

Founded in 2013, Caption Health delivers AI systems that empower healthcare providers with new capabilities to acquire and interpret ultrasound exams. With Caption AI applications, ultrasound examinations can be easier and faster, enabling a broader set of healthcare professionals to conduct basic echocardiogram exams. This technology can help detect signs of diseases like heart failure in at-risk patients across doctors’ offices, the home, and alternate sites of care, potentially preventing hospitalizations and supporting improved clinical outcomes.

As part of this acquisition, Caption Health will continue to provide management and administrative services to affiliated medical services providers (collectively referred to as “Caption Care”). By providing trained technicians across the country equipped with the Caption Health AI technology to perform cardiac ultrasounds in alternate sites of care and, in the future, in the comfort of patient’s homes, Caption Care service is intended to support early diagnosis and detection before diseases like heart failure become more difficult to treat.

Karley Yoder, Chief Digital Officer, Ultrasound at GE HealthCare, who will integrate Caption Health into the broader digital ecosystem of GE HealthCare, said, “We couldn’t be more excited to partner with the Caption Health team to increase access and accelerate growth of ultrasound. Caption Health will first be integrated in the Point of Care and Handheld business portfolio to advance ultrasound adoption, with expanded future use cases as well.”

Financial terms of the acquisition are not being disclosed and GE HealthCare intends to fund this acquisition with cash on hand.

Whilst our in-depth analysis of the implications of Fujifilm’s specific deal will be released soon as a part of our Premium Insights service, below we outline the wider investment landscape and our own views on what the future holds below.  

Whilst VC Investment has Dwindled, the Market Opportunity Remains Ripe 

Our initial analysis of the digital pathology VC investment landscape, released in 2021, noted that although investment had spiked in 2021, see Figure 1, it was likely that this would not continue into 2022.  

Figure 1: Summary of Digital Pathology VC Investment from 2017-2022.

Certainly, investment in the market has slowed since, as there has been no funding recently raised that’s comparable to PathAI or Paige.ai’s 2021 rounds, which both received over $100M respectively. Vendors at the time profited due to post-COVID hype and sky-high valuations; since VC firms have taken a more sober approach. The lack of VC investment, however, does not mean that the market is not progressing.

Investment is Evident in Other Ways

Over the last year, vendors have reported encouraging market growth and we have seen an increase in deal sizes for digital pathology. This growth in demand has also been supported by institutions and regulatory authorities, with the most prominent example coming in September 2022 when the FDA announced it would be creating 13 new add-on digital pathology codes, though admittedly only a first foray via the Category III CPT coding mechanism.

Another seal of approval was also awarded by leading healthcare technology vendors, when Siemens Healthineers, and GE Healthcare, both multi-billion-dollar companies, partnered with digital pathology software providers Proscia and Tribun Health respectively.

These positive movements, combined with the three significant investments over the course of a single year, left many wondering if a flurry of acquisitions would follow.

Prospective Purchasers

Our analysis of the market has shown that some vendors are clearly more likely to invest than others.  The table below analyses some of the more likely beneficiaries of such acquisitions, as well as discusses the rationale.

Table 1: Showing Prospective Vendors Able to Benefit from Digital Pathology Investment.

In recent years, investment from vendors has come most prominently from enterprise imaging providers. This demand is driven by the specification of digital pathology provision in Western European and US enterprise imaging tenders. Increasingly, those without a plan for digital pathology are being outcompeted.

However, the push is not so great for other types of vendors. This isn’t to say there isn’t potential for great gains for these companies, but instead, it reveals that a wait-and-see approach is preferred. Many have been eyeing the market for some time and have likely noted historical growth has lagged projections. Recent regulatory movements, however, should offer the strongest indication yet that digital pathology is about to ‘tip’ clinically. This may be the signal vendors need to make a move.

Prospective Partners

It’s not easy to choose a potential partner, however. Each type of vendor comes with its own risks and benefits, possessing strengths that may complement unique companies. Table 2 below, provides a top-level overview of some of the types of vendors in the market today, as well as their prospective strengths and weaknesses.

*BoB = “Best of Breed”

Table 2: Evaluating the benefits and risks associated with purchase/investment in different digital pathology vendor types.

As is detailed, scanner acquisition offers the least risk and most short-term benefits for growth in the market today, but the software is drawing increasing attention from several parties as interest from labs begins to steer towards more sophisticated technologies. And whilst AI digital pathology companies are less likely to be acquired in the near term, smaller vendors are likely targets for larger software/AI vendors with better funding.

Into the Looking Glass

Fujifilm’s acquisition of Inspirata is not the last acquisition we’ll see, and further activity is expected in the next year. Additionally, Signify Research projects multiple new entrants to the market from both start-ups and larger healthcare IT vendors, with a few big names circling but yet to announce anything substantial.

To summarise; the digital pathology market today is rife with potential. Potential for investment and returns, the potential for major shifts in competitive dynamics, and as is the ultimate goal: the potential for vendors to have a real impact on the way pathologists work.

About Imogen Fitt

Imogen Fitt joined Signify Research in 2018 as a Market Analyst where she works with Healthcare IT team. She holds a 1st class Biomedical Sciences degree from the University of Warwick and has gained experience in international networking and communications through her extensive involvement in extracurricular activities.

What You Should Know:

GE HealthCare announced today that Taha Kass-Hout MD, MS has been named Chief Technology Officer (CTO) to lead the company’s new science and technology organization.

– Reporting to GE HealthCare President & CEO Peter Arduini, Dr. Kass-Hout will help drive GE HealthCare’s D3 precision care strategy, a framework and digital products that emphasize the company’s smart devices, aligned to disease states and enabled by digital. D3 brings data and insights together to optimize the clinical and patient journey and enhances the company’s ability to enable precision care.

– In his new role, Dr. Kass-Hout will work in partnership with GE HealthCare’s four business segments (Imaging, Ultrasound, Patient Care Solutions, and Pharmaceutical Diagnostics), regions, and global engineering and machine learning (ML) teams to drive growth through clinical research, patient-centric innovation and advancements to GE HealthCare’s platforms, and digital and ML capabilities.

Dr. Kass-Hout Bio/Background

Dr. Kass-Hout is a health tech and machine learning (ML) leader with a depth of experience, most recently serving as Vice President, Machine Learning and Chief Medical Officer Amazon and Amazon Web Services. He also served two terms in the Obama Administration as the FDA’s first Chief Health Informatics Officer, and Director, Information Science and Informatics for the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

What You Should Know:

– Many healthcare organizations are working to expand and mature their enterprise imaging (EI) strategies to bring together more facilities and service lines. At the same time, both vendors and healthcare organizations are experiencing staffing and budget constraints, leading to a host of financial and operational difficulties. In this environment, some vendors are surmounting challenges and providing the partnership and innovation customers need, while others are struggling to deliver consistently.

– A new report from KLAS provides an update on vendor performance, based on perspectives from 178 organizations live with EI.

Which Vendors Are Delivering in a Challenging Environment

Each year, KLAS interviews thousands of healthcare professionals about the IT products and services their organizations use. These interviews are conducted using a standard quantitative evaluation, and the scores and commentary collected are shared online in real-time so that other providers and IT professionals can benefit from their peers’ experiences. To enable readers to more quickly understand high-level differences in vendor performance and give better context as to how each product compares to other offerings in the market, KLAS has organized the questions from the standard evaluation into six customer experience pillars—culture, loyalty, operations, product, relationship, and value.

Key insights are listed and explained as follows:

Agfa HealthCare & Merative (IBM) Have Improved Relationships; Ongoing Challenges Remain

Customer satisfaction with most EI vendors has dropped over the last year. Agfa HealthCare and Merative (IBM)—who have some of the largest and most complex customers—are no exception, yet customers report the vendors have made efforts to smooth relationships amid a difficult year. Agfa customers appreciate the vendor’s increased executive involvement and engagement and their strong technology offerings. Some ongoing challenges with support expertise and timeliness have led to an overall score decrease.

Merative customers (acquired from IBM) report a largely consistent support experience, and they speak highly of the vendor’s smoothly integrated product suite. Perception of slow development and some UV performance issues have driven score drops. Customer satisfaction with GE Healthcare, particularly regarding relationships, is highly variable and much higher among smaller organizations (<500 beds). Across organization sizes, satisfaction is higher with the vendor’s VNA than UV. Mach7 Technologies’ UV customers (whose use is primarily referential) remain largely satisfied; for VNA customers, support and upgrade challenges have led to a sharp decline in satisfaction.

Fujifilm Maintains Strong Satisfaction while Performance Drops for Most VNA Solutions

Fujifilm, Hyland, and Philips have widely adopted VNAs; their KLAS-validated UV adoption is more limited. In a year where most VNAs saw performance decreases, Fujifilm is providing a largely consistent customer experience. Fujifilm VNA customers of all sizes report that VNA is truly neutral in handling image types and appreciates Fujifilm’s engagement and strong support. Some feel the vendor’s road map is unclear. The limited number of interviewed UV customers are likewise largely satisfied.

Hyland VNA customers—are among the largest. in this study—struggle with mixed support experiences and an unclear development road map. UV customers are notably smaller than VNA customers and are more satisfied. Philips’ EI customers (acquired from Carestream) tend to be fairly small, and all interviewed also use the acquired Carestream PACS. Customers appreciate the ability to store and view multiple image types. They note that Philips has strong resources but that support and implementation quality is inconsistent.

Fujifilm Continues to Lead in Satisfaction; Change Healthcare & Sectra (Limited Data) Deliver Strong Relationships to Smaller Customer Bases

Fujifilm continues to deliver strong relationships and technology to their VNA customers, who appreciate the solution’s stability, flexibility, and ease of administration. Fujifilm offers strong support when issues arise. While the vendor provides some strategic engagement, a number of customers feel Fujifilm has an unclear road map and doesn’t actively try to understand customer goals. Philips ’ VNA (Carestream) continues to be stable for smaller customers and meets their needs.

However, inconsistent support, a number of poor implementations and upgrades, and slow development have resulted in an almost 9-point satisfaction drop. Satisfaction among Merative (IBM) customers has remained mostly steady. Customers find the solution easy to use and able to run in the background as needed. Support has been consistent, though with some reports of after-hours struggles.

Some respondents feel development has been stagnant and are looking to Merative to turn things around. Agfa HealthCare customers say the vendor understands EI and offers a reliable, flexible, easy-to-use VNA. Respondents note Agfa has worked to stabilize relationships by improving processes and getting new hires up to speed. Support can be hit or miss since some on-the-ground resources still lack needed technical expertise. Sectra and Change Healthcare deliver well to their smaller customer bases. Sectra’s VNA is sold only to Sectra PACS customers.

The limited number of KLAS-validated EI customers report high satisfaction, noting the VNA’s reliability and Sectra’s close partnerships. All seven Change Healthcare VNA customers interviewed also use Change Healthcare’s PACS. They report high satisfaction with the VNA, which they describe as functional, easy to use, and well-integrated; some feel the technology is still early. Respondents appreciate the vendor’s customer-focused resources and are hopeful the vendor will deliver on their roadmap for the cloud.

GE Healthcare’s Delivery Varies Widely by Customer Size; Support and Delivery Challenges Drive Score Drops for Hyland & Mach7

Most interviewed GE Healthcare customers agree the VNA is easy to use and maintain. Overall, satisfaction is polarized—smaller organizations (<500 beds) are generally satisfied with the VNA’s stability and the vendor’s level of service. Larger organizations more frequently report dissatisfaction— particularly when it comes to resource expertise. The Hyland VNA supports many service lines and image types, though customers note it can be complex and difficult to administer.

Respondents feel less connected to Hyland due to support difficulties, lagging development, and inadequate training. Mach7 Technologies’ VNA does what is needed but is sometimes harder to use than others in the market. In contrast to the vendor’s support for the UV, support for the VNA has declined.

Customers cite issues with communication, timeliness, and access to individuals who can solve problems. A handful of customers have also experienced poor upgrades and feel development is lacking. InsiteOne offers a cloud-based VNA (reacquired from NTT DATA in 2021). Satisfaction is split—all three interviewed small customers are satisfied and say the VNA works as needed. The three interviewed large customers are planning to leave, pointing to instability, lack of innovation, and poor proactivity from the vendor.

Visage Imaging Gains Energy with Strong Diagnostic Viewer; Mach7 Technologies Delivers for Referential Viewing

Over the past year, customer satisfaction with Visage Imaging, Mach7 Technologies, and Philips remained steady, while satisfaction with other vendors (see next section) notably declined. Visage Imaging’s diagnostic viewer has seen quick growth in recent years and has been validated to span the enterprise and work with other archiving systems. Adoption remains primarily within radiology. Customers appreciate the UV’s speed, ease of use, and advanced functionality, as well as Visage Imaging’s partnership. Half of the interviewed customers mention the vendor is experiencing growing pains while newly hired resources get up to speed.

Mach7 Technologies’ acquired UV is used primarily for referential viewing, and customers are much more satisfied with it than the VNA. Respondents appreciate receiving consistent support since the acquisition and highlight the solution’s stability, ease of use, and light footprint. Their core complaint is that the viewer’s diagnostic capabilities are notably weaker than its referential ones. The Philips UV (Carestream) provides a positive experience for smaller customers, who find it easy to use. Most validated integrations are with other Philips products (namely the VNA). A number of customers leverage the UV for diagnostic viewing, though the lack of more advanced functionality means it is still mostly used for referential viewing. Respondents note Philips’ support personnel are able to solve problems but can be slow.

Unkept Promises Lead to Dissatisfaction with GE Healthcare; Merative & Agfa HealthCare Provide Functional UVs with Inconsistent Delivery

Customer satisfaction for GE Healthcare’s UV has sharply decreased in the last year. Inconsistent ongoing support and persistent nickel-and-diming are common across customers of all sizes. Respondents—especially larger organizations—report unkept promises regarding functionality and upgrades. Compared to most other UVs, GE Healthcare is more frequently used for diagnostic reading, which some organizations have successfully leveraged across multiple service lines. Merative’s UV (IBM) facilitates integration and is seen as easy to use, and it is leveraged for both referential and diagnostic viewing.

Support experiences are less consistent for UV customers than VNA customers— while some UV customers have seen improvements in the last year, others report decreased engagement. Slow perceived innovation, frequent nickel-and-diming, and performance issues have decreased satisfaction for a handful of customers. Agfa HealthCare UV customers note the vendor has improved in listening to and working with customers. The UV is seen as lightweight, easy to deploy, and flexible.

Respondents use it primarily for referential viewing; KLAS has also validated some large organizations using it diagnostically in multiple service lines. Nickel-and-diming and difficulty connecting with support have detracted from the overall customer experience. Hyland customers generally find the UV to be easy to integrate and able to meet their needs for referential and diagnostic viewing; a number of respondents want more advanced functionality. Customers have difficulty connecting to helpful resources, experience bumpy implementations, and lack a clear road map for innovation—leading to a decrease in satisfaction over the last year.

For information about this report, visit https://klasresearch.com/report/enterprise-imaging-2022-which-vendors-are-delivering-in-a-challenging-environment/1933

Care providers continue to face mounting pressures – from increasing staffing shortages to balancing patient needs across in-person and virtual settings and managing pent-up patient demand. Rather than navigating through fragmented digital solutions that feed care providers disparate data, more and more clinicians now rely on connected technology to access the care context, i.e. the right patient data translated into reliable actionable insights at the right point in their workflow. 

To truly alleviate the mounting resource, capacity and data burdens faced by care providers today, it’s important to closely evaluate what these digital tools and solutions can offer to providers, as today’s technology is only as useful as it is designed with the end-user in mind. 

What is clinician-centric technology?

As evidenced by the early days of digital health innovation, we cannot ignore that technology can become a source of frustration and administrative burden if not implemented strategically – technology for technology’s sake can do more harm than good. Truly clinician-centric technology is designed to take the friction out of workflows and care delivery and allow care providers to focus on what they do best.

A McKinsey & Company 2021 survey reported a 15.8% nursing turnover in a period of 12 months, in addition to an average increase of 4 to 5 percentage points in vacancy rates during the same period. With more statistics coming out of the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC) indicating we could see an estimated shortage of between 37,800 and 124,000 physicians by 2034, informatics leaders’ focus is shifting toward staff experience and retention.

This prioritization shows that digital transformation in healthcare is really about the people, not the technology. Rather than overwhelming care providers with technology and leaving them with the responsibility to make sense of all the tools and the data they offer, solutions need to be thoughtfully integrated into workflows so that clinicians can access the right data at the right time to make informed, confident care decisions. 

Solutions that help clinicians make sense of data, support seamless transitions of care, and manage increasing patient loads will help ease some of the biggest pain points that many clinicians face today. 

Making data actionable

Clinicians interact with a wide variety of tools and platforms on a daily basis – from EMRs to virtual care platforms, to clinical communication and scheduling platforms. Keeping pace with this influx of data sources is a growing challenge. Over half (51%) of healthcare leaders agree that data silos hinder their ability to utilize data effectively. Breaking down these siloes and turning an abundance of data into actionable insights starts with a robust, cloud-based platform. 

The power of the cloud goes well beyond data storage. It opens the door to greater visibility into the patient journey and smart data analytics to enable the right care at the right place at the right time. When it comes to choosing a cloud solution, healthcare providers will benefit most from technology that helps them visualize data in a user-friendly way, generate new operational and clinical insights from that data, and ensure those insights can be used to power confident clinical decision-making. By moving from point solutions to a platform approach, health systems can liberate data and connect it in a manner that allows care teams to provide proactive care and collaborate in a more impactful way. 

Supporting seamless transitions of care 

In the age of value-based care, clinicians are responsible for the end-to-end well-being of their patients. They require access to insights not only about a patient’s hospital stay but also through discharge and post-acute care. Effective transitions can be highly influential to patient outcomes, but information often gets lost in these transitional periods. Rather than being penalized when these shifts lead to blind spots and missed data, clinicians need to feel empowered with the right solutions that offer visibility into their patient’s well-being as they transition care settings both inside and outside the hospital.

It is critical for providers to not only understand how their patients’ health is progressing but also how those patients manage their own health beyond the hospital walls. With virtual care and remote patient monitoring solutions becoming an everyday part of care delivery, we can now extend the reach of clinicians, leverage the power of robust data integration, and empower them with meaningful patient insights and trends right when and where they’re needed. This allows clinicians to proactively manage patients’ conditions at home, helping alleviate strained hospital capacities while also driving more timely patient interventions to avoid preventable readmissions. 

Effectively managing patient loads

41% of all U.S. adults deferred medical care during the height of the pandemic, leading to an increasingly acute patient population today. This, along with staffing shortages, means providers need to do much more with much less. Predictive, AI-powered tools can help to triage patients more efficiently according to priority, guide them to the right setting based on their condition and who has the capacity to receive them, and direct clinicians to those in need of immediate attention. Used as a “care traffic control” model, providers can understand where a patient needs to be across a health system – whether it is the general ward, the ICU, or a transitional care unit – and be routed where they are most needed to ensure efficient use of resources and bed availability while providing a better view on staffing. Especially as nursing coverage can vary greatly across hospitals within a health system, the birds’ eye view and AI-driven decision-making are critical to both the quality of patient care and care providers’ ability to confidently manage their caseload.

Empowering clinicians with technology built for them

The anticipated staffing shortages and the explosion of disparate technology will keep any healthcare CIO up at night. To effectively recruit and retain the best talent, it’s become increasingly important to offer technology that supports, rather than overwhelms the care provider. Collaborative sessions may help to uncover their needs and pain points and offer guidance on how to practically implement digital technology in the most beneficial way. 

Ensuring clinicians get the most out of the solutions they use requires proper training and an adequate IT infrastructure. The right technology infrastructure can pave the way for clinicians to fully utilize data, overcoming the lack of training. With a keen focus on improving the clinician experience and adequate training on technology that integrates seamlessly into their workflows, healthcare leaders can help clinicians get the most out of technology and continue to advance their digital transformation. 

Investing in clinician-centric technology that is truly integrated into workflows can empower providers with visibility into patient care journeys across settings and help to boost clinician satisfaction while improving patient outcomes.

About Shiv Gopalkrishnan

Shiv Gopalkrishnan is a seasoned executive who currently serves as the General Manager of EMR and Care Management within Philips’ Connected Care business. With an enduring passion to transform healthcare through technology, Mr. Gopalkrishnan has spent his 20+ year career at the intersection of care quality, cost and access, delivering innovation and scaling businesses. Prior to joining Philips, Mr. Gopalkrishnan held the role of Vice President and General Manager of the Intelligent Network business at Change Healthcare, delivering real-time claim settlement and payment transaction experience to payers, providers and patients. Mr. Gopalkrishnan started his career at GE Healthcare’s Diagnostic Imaging business followed by GE Healthcare’s IT business as the Vice President & General Manager of their Enterprise EMR and Revenue Cycle businesses. He helped spinout GE’s RCM business in 2018 and consequently founded Healthstack, a startup focused on delivering AI-based care management solutions, where he served as CEO.

What You Should Know:

– Optellum, an Oxford-based digital health company that provides a breakthrough AI platform to diagnose and treat early-stage lung cancer raises $14M in Series A funding led by Mercia, with additional investors Intuitive Ventures and Black Opal Ventures. Existing investors, including St John’s College in the University of Oxford, IQ Capital, and the family office of Sir Martin & Lady Audrey Wood, also participated in this round.

– The investment will enable Optellum to scale its base, operations, and commercial launches in the UK and USA; accelerate research and development; and expand its platform into personalized therapy decisions by integrating imaging data with molecular data, robotics, and liquid biopsies.

AI-Enabled Lung Cancer Diagnosis

Lung cancer is the most common type of cancer and the leading cause of cancer deaths in the world. Approximately 150,000 people in the United States and 1.8 million people worldwide die from lung cancer each year. The current worldwide five-year survival rate is 20 percent, primarily because most patients are diagnosed after symptoms have appeared and the disease has progressed to an advanced stage (Stage III or IV). In contrast, the survival rate for small tumors treated at Stage 1A is up to 90 percent. This disparity highlights a critical need for diagnosis and treatment at the earliest stage possible.

Founded in 2016, Optellum is the first and only medtech company to attain FDA clearance, CE-MDR in the EU, and UKCA in the UK for its software platform Virtual Nodule Clinic. This first-of-a-kind platform can help physicians identify and track at-risk patients, and optimally diagnose the signs of lung cancer early, so treatment can be started sooner for patients with tumors, and invasive procedures such as biopsies on benign lesions can be minimized.

Optellum’s platform was developed and clinically validated in partnership with leading universities and healthcare systems around the world. Optellum also has strategic collaborations with GE Healthcare and the Lung Cancer Initiative at Johnson & Johnson to accelerate clinical deployments and continue the advancement of the platform. In the UK, Optellum’s solution is being used to predict at-risk lung nodules in a multi-center study with NHS Trusts as part of a major investment in AI for healthcare.

What You Should Know:

– A new report from KLAS provides not only a much-needed update on the breadth of structured reporting adoption but also a first look at the depth of adoption since actual physician use is the only way to drive outcomes.

– While the market hasn’t reached the structured reporting tipping point yet, physician adoption is driving progress and generating value. This study also shares details on the hemodynamics experience (both overall satisfaction and important trends).

Structured Reporting Adoption and Healthcare

Each year, KLAS interviews thousands of healthcare professionals about the IT products and services their organizations use. These interviews are conducted using a standard quantitative evaluation, and the scores and commentary collected are shared in reports like this one and online in real time so that other providers and IT professionals can benefit from their peers’ experiences. To supplement the data gathered with this standard evaluation, KLAS also creates various supplemental evaluations that target a subset of KLAS’ overall sampling and delve deeper into the most pressing questions facing healthcare technology today.

The data in this report comes from both evaluation types and was collected over the last 12 months- the key findings and trends are listed as follows:

1. Change Healthcare and IBM Pave the Way For Adoption: Change Healthcare continues to lead in adoption of structured reporting. Users appreciate the reports’ organization and simple display, and strong usability has driven many clinicians to expand their use. Customization is a common need—clients note Change Healthcare has been making progress in this area, especially for echo (adult and pediatric) and vascular. Higher adoption and satisfaction are hampered by the continued need for manual input as well as nickel-and-diming for training, licenses, and hardware maintenance. IBM Watson Health continues to generate strong adoption and satisfaction. Across modules, IBM receives consistently positive ratings, with almost no customers reporting dissatisfaction. The technology meets customer needs and effectively drives outcomes; further development has been slow and has lessened clients’ enthusiasm.

2. Epic’s Adoption Grows as Deep Adopters Leave LUMDEX: Between 2016 and 2020, Epic saw the biggest adoption increase compared to other vendors, most notably in nuclear and vascular imaging, where manual extraction has been reduced. Customers who dedicate time and money to build out Cupid post-deployment increasingly feel that the product is starting to live up to their expectations due to organizations’ own internal efforts to drive progress. Customers commonly use Cupid for scheduling and registry reporting and then fill gaps with other vendors’ structured reporting tools—Epic respondents are about three times more likely to fill gaps than other customer bases. Epic lacks robust structured reporting for pediatric imaging (cath and echo), and EP adoption has been slow. These are the areas most commonly supplemented with non-Epic solutions because of Epic’s slower development progress and the expense required to build out structured reporting modules in Cupid. Customers don’t feel LUMEDX has improved their structured reporting in recent years, and many customers say they are more frustrated than ever. Poor training, declining phone and web support, and a perceived lack of development result in LUMEDX seeing higher-than-average customer turnover and few new sales. Just over one-third of respondents say LUMEDX is not part of their long-term plans, including several of the vendor’s deepest adopters. Many of LUMEDX’s past customers with deeper adoption left for other solutions they felt were more functional and on a better development trajectory.

3. Fujifilm, INFINITT, Siemens Customers Increase Adoption: Fujifilm has seen notable growth in EP structured reporting adoption and maintains high adoption in echo and cath. This is driven by a reliable product and strong integration(the latter a significant improvement in the last year). Fujifilm is held back from broader adoption by development, generally perceived as slow. Clients are not always kept in the loop about the development strategy. This creates a split between customers—a significant portion say Fuji has not proactively shared future plans; others who have insight into planned development are excited about expanded functionality and improvements. Training is another adoption barrier. Multiple customers say they didn’t get enough training or it wasn’t helpful to end users; this hurts energy to deploy new modules and physician willingness to use already-deployed modules. INFINITT, a newer market player with a smaller cardiology customer base, performs well and has improved their offering year over year, leading to deeper adoption. In past years, adoption was low outside echo, but INFINITT has made significant progress in pediatric (echo and cath), EP, and vascular imaging. This is driven by strong clinical usability (e.g., few clicks) and INFINITT’s track record for keeping promises of new functionality. Customers rarely run into downtime or bugs and report that data capture is accurate and efficient. Siemens’ small, loyal customer base is doing more with their vendor after a period of middle-of-the- road performance, making progress with a product they describe as reliable and steady.

4. GE Healthcare and Philips Experience More Migration to Newer Platforms: GE Healthcare’s new platform, Centricity Cardiology Enterprise Solution, is less broadly or deeply deployed than most other solutions. However, it receives high early ratings from customers—currently, it has the highest overall score of measured solutions. This represents significant improvement from the older DMS platform. Client implementation and training experiences have been mostly positive, supported by expert staff who are highly knowledgeable in cardiology. Ease of use has improved, bolstering depth of adoption for some respondents. Customers are optimistic about the potential of improved usability and functionality to drive significant adoption growth. Philips, once a leader in structured reporting adoption, has seen adoption rates drop since 2016 amid the transition from Xcelera to IntelliSpace. While IntelliSpace took a while to gain cardiology momentum, the tide has begun turning. IntelliSpace clients struggle to get back to their prior state with Xcelera and adopt additional modules. Respondents feel Philips’ resources and execution are insufficient to help drive successful implementation; this sentiment is particularly common among larger organizations. Above-average adoption rates for vascular and pediatric echo are a bright spot.

What You Should Know:

– AliveCor, the global leader in FDA-cleared personal electrocardiogram (ECG) technology, recently announced its Series F Financing led by GE Healthcare.

– The round also included participation from Pegasus Tech Ventures) and existing investors including Khosla Ventures, Bold Capital Partners, Qualcomm Ventures, and WP Global Partners.

Providing End-to-End Cardiological Care Using Subscription Services

AliveCor, Inc. is transforming cardiological care using deep learning. The FDA-cleared KardiaMobile device is the most clinically validated personal ECG solution in the world. KardiaMobile 6L provides instant detection of some of the major abnormalities in an ECG. Kardia is the first AI-enabled platform to aid patients and clinicians in the efficient detection of atrial fibrillation, the most common arrhythmia and one associated with a highly elevated risk of stroke.

AliveCor will use this financing to advance its mission of becoming a premier provider of end-to-end cardiological care for patients when they are not in front of their cardiologists by introducing subscription services, KardiaCare and KardiaComplete for patients, payers and employers, and KardiaPro for physicians. These subscription services are supported by the company’s personal ECG devices, including KardiaMobile, KardiaMobile 6L, and KardiaMobile Card. This financing will also allow for continued advancements in AliveCor’s AI roadmap and pipeline of innovations.

“GE Healthcare is committed to providing advanced technologies that better connect data and create actionable insights for clinicians to serve patients in and out of the hospital,” said Tom Westrick, President and CEO of GE Healthcare’s Patient Care Solutions business, who will join the Board of Directors of AliveCor. “This strategic partnership with AliveCor deepens our ability to deliver connected care enabling clinicians to make faster, more informed decisions, and help improve patient outcomes.” GE Healthcare and AliveCor previously announced a partnership to integrate AliveCor’s KardiaMobile 6L ECG data directly into GE Healthcare’s MUSE Cardiac Management System to effectively manage patients proactively across the care continuum.

What You Should Know: 

– GE Healthcare, a leading global medical technology, diagnostics, and digital solutions innovator, inaugurated its 5G Innovation Lab in Bengaluru, India, the first for GE Healthcare across the globe.

– With the advantage of massive bandwidth, high data speeds, low latency, and highly reliable connectivity, 5G has the potential to disrupt the patient care continuum, transforming diagnosis, therapy, and prognosis.

5G Enabled Precision Healthcare

 Situated at the John F. Welch Technology Centre (JFWTC), GE Healthcare’s largest R&D Centre outside of the USA, the lab will serve as a testbed to develop future-ready products and solutions, turning a new corner in innovation. It houses state-of-the-art infrastructure, including a private 5G network for testing and development. It provides expertise as well as a platform for a collaborative ecosystem for academia, the healthcare industry, and startups, facilitating exploration and enabling validation and qualification of 5G-enabled Precision Healthcare use cases.

This high-speed connectivity has the potential to advance Point-of-Care services by pushing the boundaries of telehealth, remote health monitoring/diagnosis, real-time remote image processing, and Artificial Intelligence (AI). 5G could act as a key catalyst for transforming the patient experience by enabling rapid collection and transmission of large data files and real-time, high-definition video, which can support quicker analytical insights and streamline clinical decision-making. In the broadest sense, 5G could significantly accelerate improvements in the quality of medical care and reduce the burden of healthcare costs. The GE healthcare 5G Innovation Lab will also serve as a conduit for the interplay of exponential technologies like AI/ML, IoT, Big Data, Edge Computing and Cybersecurity.

“At GE Healthcare, we are using our clinical expertise and know-how to deliver integrated, efficient, and highly personalized care and advance precision health. At our 5G Innovation Lab, our lead scientists and technologists will research and develop solutions for the most pressing healthcare issues, for India and the world. This lab will play a pivotal role in helping us build an ecosystem to explore 5G-enabled use cases and leapfrog into the next generation of MedTech,” added Girish Raghavan, Vice President, Engineering, GE Healthcare.

Like most healthcare markets, the diagnostic cardiology market has had a bumpy ride in recent years. The COVID-19 pandemic saw global revenues for Resting ECG devices increase in 2020, whilst ECG Management Systems, Stress ECG and Traditional Holter ECG solutions saw a market decline. Country lockdowns resulted in reduced cardiology services during the peak of the pandemic, as non-urgent appointments were delayed. 2021 showed relief for cardiac facilities as providers started to deal with the patient backlog and demand returned for all solutions to above the levels seen in 2019.

The future of diagnostic cardiology

Healthcare facilities are now having to rethink the way in which care is provided, with many providers increasing their pace in the transition to digital solutions. The market landscape for diagnostic cardiology is projected to change as providers refocus efforts to improve patient diagnosis and the subsequent care provided. Interest in data is at an all-time high, to help not only improve patient management but to reduce unnecessary repetition of diagnostic tests, improve diagnosis and improve the subsequent patient experience. The impetus to increase efficiency in patient care is further driven by the movement toward value-based care in many regions. As reimbursement trends toward providing payments based on the patient’s overall needs, demand for solutions that help improve data sharing and subsequent care provision are being prioritized.

Signify Research recently assessed the development of both traditional ECG solutions in addition to ambulatory diagnostic cardiology solutions. In its Diagnostic Cardiology – 2022 report, Signify Research has projected the development of the core markets within each major segment, highlighting the dynamics expected to impact development in coming years.

Traditional Diagnostic Cardiology

Resting ECG devices account for most of the traditional cardiology market; the development of cardiac services in all regions will maintain demand. In mature regions, there has been a movement toward high-end solutions with increased functionality and data connectivity to assist in improving patient diagnosis. On a global level, there is a movement toward mid-range and low-end solutions, as provisions in cardiology clinics and physician offices start to increase. This is also driven by the use of home wearable solutions and increased awareness of heart health resulting in more patients presenting for additional diagnosis.

The Stress ECG market saw a decline in market revenues in 2020, partly owing to the Stress ECG examination being deferred during the COVID-19 pandemic due to hospital and clinic closures. The market saw a recovery in 2021 and is projected to further increase through to 2026 as cardiac patient management further develops. The Stress ECG market is expected to see movement toward software-based solutions with hospitals sourcing their own hardware.

With data management becoming a top priority in many countries, ECG Management solutions is projected to be the fastest-growing traditional cardiology segment. Clinicians are demanding additional insights and analytics to help aid diagnosis and improve patient care. Diagnostic cardiology device vendors are continuing to push the clinical value their solutions have when compared to wider enterprise health records. Additional funding is also being targeted toward enhancing associated IT solutions in many care settings to improve the access to patient data, further driving adoption globally.

Ambulatory Diagnostic Cardiology

The US accounts for the largest proportion of ambulatory diagnostic cardiology revenues; reimbursement is well established for the provision of remote cardiac diagnosis here and has been developing for several years. There is a well-developed provision of solutions covering varying stages of the cardiac patients’ pathway. Vendors in the US offer a comprehensive platform of solutions to ensure patients can be managed appropriately.

The ambulatory cardiology services market has two models with vendors providing at least one of these options:

– Services only

– Services and device supply

Outside of the US, the ambulatory diagnostic cardiology market is led by the traditional Holter ECG market, where hospitals and clinics manage the devices and subsequent analyses themselves. Reimbursement for services is limited or non-existent in several countries and as such has hampered development. The movement toward remote solutions is projected to accelerate the growth of the ambulatory market in the coming years; however, this will depend on the development of the necessary infrastructure to support such movement.

Home Health

The home health solution market has been generating a lot of discussion around the impact solutions will have on the diagnostic cardiology market. Existing and new players are evaluating the real value, position and potential use of home health solutions in diagnostic cardiology. Wearables and home solutions are still seen primarily as screening tools, and providers are still trying to understand what they can really do with data from wearables and how reimbursement will develop in each region. The use of wearables during the COVID-19 pandemic increased dramatically, helping cardiologists to extend the use of the patient’s own wearable solutions during telemedicine consultations to help whilst inpatient visits were limited.

Some core developments from home health solution providers include:

AliveCor – AliveCor claims to be the most clinically validated portable ECG solution available and was one of the first vendors to gain FDA approval.  In March 2022 GE Healthcare officially entered a partnership with AliveCor that sees the integration of AliveCor’s KardiaMobile 6L device with GE Healthcare’s MUSE ECG Management solution. This partnership will enable GE Healthcare to gain a foothold within the developing wearable market. This highlights the high interest and the potential of wearables if their usage is facilitated by the integration with existing management systems and workflows.

Apple – Apple first gained FDA approval in September 2018 for its app for the detection of atrial fibrillation (AF) or sinus rhythm using the Apple Watch Series 4 onward. Apple subsequently gained approval for its 2.0 app in September 2020 for atrial fibrillation (AFib), sinus rhythm, and high heart rate (no detected AF with heart rate 100-150 bpm).

Samsung – Samsung gained FDA approval in September 2020 for its ECG app for use with its Galaxy Watch Acive2 and Galaxy Watch3 and above

Fitbit  – Fitbit gained FDA approval in November 2020 for its ECG app to assess heart rhythm for atrial fibrillation (AFib) for use on its Fitbit Sense and Fitbit Charge 5 watches.

Signify’s Thoughts

The COVID-19 pandemic has further accelerated the development of the diagnostic cardiology market, with growing acceptance for remote solutions. The patient care pathway is expected to be disrupted, as patients become more involved in their own health management. The evolution of home health solutions is expected to drive earlier screening of heart conditions, with a subsequent uptick in patients presenting sooner for cardiac diagnosis and care. There is a clear need for data to support patient diagnosis, patient scheduling and subsequent care plans, which has driven the movement toward digital solutions that can integrate with wider platforms. However, there is still an unknown as to how quickly the uptake of remote diagnostic cardiology services for the management of long-term cardiac patients will develop outside of the US.

About Kelly Patrick

Kelly joined Signify Research in 2020 as a Principal Analyst. She brings with her 12 years of experience covering a range of healthcare technology research at IHS Markit/Omdia. Kelly’s core focus has been on the clinical care space, including patient monitoring, respiratory care and infusion.