MOUNTAIN VIEW, California, March 29, 2012 /PRNewswire/ --

After witnessing a downtrend for several years, revenues in the U.S. nuclear medicine and positron emission tomography (PET) imaging systems market finally pivoted in 2010. New radiotracers and technologies are expanding the clinical scope and customer base of nuclear medicine and PET imaging. As a result, declines in retrenching areas of the market are poised to be offset by strong growth in emerging end-user market segments.

Nuclear medicine and PET are molecular imaging modalities, providing data pertaining to molecular alterations, which are the origin of disease. In contrast, classical imaging modalities, such as X-ray, reveal only the changes in anatomy, which are essentially the end effects of disease and its associated molecular alterations.

New analysis from Frost & Sullivans (http://www.medicalimaging.frost.com [http://www.frost.com/prod/servlet/svcg.pag/HCIM ]) U.S. Nuclear Medicine and PET Imaging Systems Market research finds that the market earned revenues of $552.4 million in 2010 and estimates this figure to reach $841.8 million in 2017.

If you are interested in more information on this research, please send an email to Britni Myers, Corporate Communications, at britni.myers@frost.com, with your full name, company name, job title, telephone number, company email address, company website, city, state and country.

"The unique ability of nuclear medicine and PET to enable characterization of biological processes at the cellular and molecular levels is bringing increasing attention to these imaging modalities as medicine evolves toward more personalized forms of treatment, " said Frost & Sullivan Industry Analyst Roberto G. Aranibar. "This powerful capability of nuclear medicine and PET will become increasingly relevant as personalized healthcare becomes mainstream practice in modern medicine."

Recognizing this advantage, industry participants are gravitating toward this area of imaging. As a result, nuclear medicine and PET imaging systems market revenues experienced a growth upsurge in 2010, and they are expected to continue growing for the next several years.

Molecular imaging has been a key enabling factor for treatment that is selected according to a patients unique disease state. For example, in cancer treatments, numerous chemotherapy options are available, and a patients response to a particular treatment can vary considerably based on the specific molecular characteristics of the cancer. With molecular imaging, however, clinicians can determine which characteristics are present in a cancer and use this information to make the most appropriate treatment decision on a patient-by-patient basis.

Ongoing challenges surrounding the state of the economy as well as changes in healthcare policy and reimbursement are forcing more private practice physicians and independent imaging centers to opt for affiliation with larger provider organizations. This shift in the healthcare provider landscape has led to rapidly diminishing revenues within the private practice cardiology market, which formerly accounted for a significant proportion of revenues in the more mature and established nuclear medicine segment of the market.

Naturally, the evolving healthcare provider landscape has led to changes in the types of imaging systems that are being demanded in the marketplace. For example, the need for dedicated cardiac scanners appears to be diminishing, as more cardiologists become affiliated with larger institutions that often benefit more from general-purpose scanners with a broader scope of clinical application.

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Frost & Sullivan: U.S. Nuclear Medicine and PET Imaging Systems Market Witnessed a Rebound in 2010, With PET Blazing ...

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