Glut of PET scans

In the column "Scan Man" in Diagnostic Imaging, Greg Freiherr talks about the glut in the PET and PET-CT market today, in the US. There is tremendous overcapacity and most centres on an average scan between 2-3 patients per day, when they could easily scan upto 10 patients per day. Even with increased reimbursement and increased referrals, it does not look like the overcapacity will go away at least for another 2-3 years.

Now that the companies are no longer selling enough scanners in the US, guess where they will turn to sell and flood the market. Chances are prices will crash for the Indian market and we may see quite a few PETs or PET-CTs installed in India. The only roadblock here is the BARC, which because of its stringent standards has stymied the growth of nuclear medicine in our country.