Age is progress, and age is decline. While in the first half of life, age enables organisms to function better, in the latter half, it takes away from them, in terms of physical strength and immunity. This is why the elderly fall sick more often than younger people, which is why the former age group witnesses a higher hospitalization and surgery rate.
Additionally, with the healthcare industry witnessing technological advancements, medical imaging equipment is now being used during surgical procedures. Owing to the combined effect of these factors, the image-guided surgery devices market is also rapidly progressing around the world. Imaging devices assist surgeons by showing them the inside of the human body, clearly, on a computer screen, so they know exactly where to operate. These devices can be used during or before the procedure to obtain the images.
Surgeons utilize computed tomography (CT), X-ray fluoroscopy, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), endoscopes, positron emission tomography (PET), ultrasound, and single-positron emission computed tomography (SPECT), to obtain pre- or intra-operative visuals of the interior human anatomy. Among these, the most significant usage has been of CT, which displays thin 3D slices of tissues, bones, and organs. This is why this modality finds widespread application in surgeries for vascular diseases, skeletal abnormalities, and cancer.
The major uses of medical imaging, with regards to surgery, are in the fields of neurology, orthopedics, ear, nose, and throat (ENT), and oncology. Among these, neurology accounts for the highest use of such imaging devices, as a result of the growing number of surgeries in this field. The nervous system, comprising the brain, spinal cord, and cranial and peripheral nerves, is one of the most complicated of all systems in the body, and the slightest slip of the scalpel can have serious repercussions, including full body paralysis.
This is why it becomes even more important for the neurosurgeon to know exactly where to operate. This creates a dire need to have medical imaging handy during procedures, especially those that do not involve full-scale incisions. In the coming years, the usage of such equipment will rise the fastest in orthopedic surgery, owing to the increasing prevalence of bone diseases. The elderly are at the highest risk of bone disorders, including osteopetrosis, osteoporosis, osteopenia, and arthritis, which is why they require surgery.
Around the world, such systems are used the most in North America, as a rising number of people here are suffering from neurological diseases, the population of the elderly is increasing, and advanced technologies are making their way into the healthcare domain. In the continent, the image-guided surgery devices market in the U.S. has been more productive. In the coming years, healthcare centers in Asia-Pacific (APAC) would adopt medical imaging for surgeries at the most rapid pace around the world.
Hence, with the growing volume of surgeries and the need to make them more effective, doctors will increasingly use imaging modalities during the procedures.