Positron Emission Tomography (PET) Market Size, Share, Growth, Trends, and Global Industry Analysis: By Type (Partial ring PET scanners, Full ring PET scanners), By Application (Cardiology, Oncology, Neurology, Urology, Orthopedics, Gastroenterology, Others), By End User (Ambulatory Surgical Centers, Diagnostic Centers, Hospitals), and Region

Positron Emission Tomography Market size was valued at US$ 2.1 billion in 2023 and is poised to grow at a CAGR of 6.2% from 2024-2030. PET (positron emission tomography) is a type of preclinical imaging that is used to diagnose disorders including cancer and Alzheimer's disease. The identification of a pair of gamma rays emitted inadvertently by a radiotracer is the underlying basis of PET imaging. PET can also tell the difference between malignant and benign cancers. Increased demand for PET analysis in radiopharmaceuticals and the incorporation of X-ray tomography (CT) into PET are two factors driving market expansion.

According to the World Nuclear Association, over 10,000 hospitals worldwide employ radioisotopes in medicine, with about 90% of procedures being for diagnosis, as of April 2021. Diagnostic and interventional medicine is used 1.9 percent of the time in industrialized countries (about one-quarter of the world's population), and radioisotope therapy is used around one-tenth of the time. Nuclear medicine operations are performed in excess of 20 million times per year in the United States and about 10 million times in Europe. In Australia, roughly 560,000 people are born each year, with 470,000 of them using reactor isotopes. Radiopharmaceuticals are being used in diagnostics at a rate of above 10% per year.

Furthermore, the presence of Medicare coverage for positron emission tomography (pet) scanning is projected to boost market expansion. PET/computed tomography scanners (PET-CT)  that use the radioisotope 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) for cancer diagnosis have a high success rate. Increased coverage for PET imaging in cancers such as lung cancer, melanoma, breast cancer, lymphoma, head and neck cancer, oesophageal cancer, colorectal cancer, cervical cancer, myeloma, thyroid cancer, and ovarian cancer also supports the usage of these scanners. Ongoing reimbursement cuts are anticipated to hinder market expansion. Worldwide, decreased payer reimbursement for PET and SPECT procedures has resulted in a drop in outpatient volumes, limiting patient access to high-quality, low-cost imaging and diagnostic services. Furthermore, the market's expansion is projected to be limited by radiopharmaceuticals' short half-life. The most commonly used radiotracer in PET imaging is fluoro-deoxy glucose which uses fluorine-18 as a tracer. The half-life of the radiotracer is just under two hours. This restricts its diagnostic imaging utility.