NUCLEAR IMAGING MARKET SIZE & SHARE ANALYSIS - GROWTH TRENDS AND FORECAST (2025 - 2030)

Global Nuclear Imaging Market Trends and Insights

Rising Cancer and Cardiovascular Disease Incidence

Global oncology and cardiology case loads continue to climb, creating durable demand for both diagnostic imaging and therapeutic radiopharmaceuticals. FDA approval of Lu-177 PSMA-617 generated USD 1.04 billion in nine-month 2024 sales, validating precision oncology’s commercial scale. Cardiology meanwhile benefits from flurpiridaz F-18, which delivers superior sensitivity over legacy SPECT perfusion scans and enables exercise-stress protocols. Procedure growth spreads beyond mature markets as emerging economies integrate nuclear medicine units into tertiary hospitals. Because the same radioisotope infrastructure serves both disease areas, volume expansion produces operating-leverage benefits that reinforce supplier profitability. Ongoing increases in life expectancy and lifestyle-driven risk factors point to sustained high procedure counts through the forecast horizon.

Rapid Adoption of Hybrid PET/CT and SPECT/CT Systems

Hybrid imaging unites functional tracer data with high-resolution anatomical detail in a single exam, improving lesion localization while lowering false-negative rates. PET procedure volumes jumped 12.2% year-on-year in 2024 and average scans per PET/CT system rose 8.2%, signaling both installed-base expansion and higher utilization. Next-generation total-body PET platforms shorten acquisition times to under one minute, cutting tracer dose and boosting patient throughput. SPECT/CT gains detector efficiency from cadmium–zinc–telluride crystals, supporting low-activity protocols that lower pharmacy costs. AI engines embedded in reconstruction software automate organ segmentation and attenuation correction, freeing technologists for higher-value tasks. Hospitals thus view platform upgrades as a route to superior diagnostic accuracy and faster return on capital, accelerating the replacement cycle.

Regulatory Approvals of Novel PSMA- and FAPI-Based Tracers

A wave of 2024–2025 approvals broadens nuclear medicine’s clinical canvas. The FDA cleared TLX007-CDx for prostate-cancer imaging, offering longer circulation times and higher target-to-background ratios versus legacy gallium-68 formulations. The U.K. MHRA authorized trofolastat, the first technetium-99m PSMA agent suitable for SPECT scanners, democratizing access where PET capacity is limited. Fibroblast-activation-protein inhibitors (FAPI) outperform FDG in low-glucose-metabolism tumors, opening new indications across pancreatic, breast, and colorectal cancers. Each approval adds billable procedure codes and stimulates generator, cyclotron, and cold-kit demand, enabling suppliers to monetize both equipment and consumables.

Government Investments in Isotope-Production Reactors

Aging research reactors risk unplanned outages that disrupt global technetium supplies. Policymakers now fund replacement capacity to safeguard clinical access. The European Union approved EUR 2.2 billion for the Dutch Pallas reactor, scheduled to assume Mo-99 production leadership when the High Flux Reactor retires. The U.S. Department of Energy awarded USD 88.8 million toward the Stable Isotope Production and Research Center at Oak Ridge, targeting domestic supply resilience^{[2]Source: U.S. Department of Energy, “DOE Awards Stable Isotope Facility Contract,” isotopes.gov} . France’s EUR 250 million investment in thorium-228 extraction underpins European ambitions in alpha-emitting therapies. These programs anchor long-term production security, reduce price volatility, and encourage downstream private investment in radiopharma manufacturing.

Fragile Mo-99 and Other Isotope Supply Chains

October 2024 maintenance delays at Europe’s Petten and Maria reactors cut Mo-99 deliveries by up to 100%, forcing clinics to postpone scans and ration generator activity. U.S. congressional hearings warned the nation remains vulnerable to similar disruptions, given its continuing reliance on imported technetium. While accelerator-based production pilots show promise, they cannot yet replace multi-curie reactor output. Such supply fragility raises procurement costs and complicates scan scheduling, constraining near-term nuclear medicine market growth.

High Capital Cost and Patchy Reimbursement

PET/CT systems exceed USD 2 million and shielded radiopharmacies add further structural outlays, making project economics highly sensitive to payor policy. CMS’s 2025 rule grants separate payment for diagnostic tracers above USD 630 per dose, easing some pressure, yet simultaneous 2.8% physician-fee cuts offset gains [acr.org]. Emerging-market payors frequently exclude advanced imaging, limiting addressable patient cohorts. As a result, providers adopt gradual, multi-year investment plans that slow installed-base growth despite favorable clinical evidence.

Segment Analysis

By Product: Radioisotopes Extend Clinical Reach

Radioisotopes held 76.23% of the nuclear medicine market share in 2024, reflecting their role as indispensable consumables across every imaging and therapeutic workflow . The segment is forecast to post an 8.17% CAGR, outpacing equipment sales as tracer approvals multiply and theranostics gain traction. SPECT isotopes such as technetium-99m maintain procedure leadership, accounting for roughly 80% of global nuclear scans, yet remain exposed to reactor-outage risk. PET isotopes grow faster as F-18 FDG expands beyond oncology into cardiology and infection imaging, while novel F-18 FAPI agents penetrate difficult-to-image malignancies. Alpha-emitting isotopes enter early commercial roles in neuroendocrine and prostate cancer, though low production volumes constrain revenue scale.

Equipment sales benefit from hybrid upgrade cycles and AI-driven workflow features. Total-body PET platforms, priced at the system premium, enable eyes-to-thigh coverage within minutes, significantly raising department capacity. SPECT/CT gains detector sensitivity improvements that permit pediatric and renal protocols with reduced radiation burden. PET/MRI remains a niche for neuro-oncology research owing to high acquisition costs and integration complexity. Hospitals increasingly co-purchase cyclotrons to secure tracer supply, bundling financing packages that spread capital repayment across equipment, isotope contracts, and software maintenance. Together, these dynamics keep the nuclear medicine market size anchored by radioisotope volume growth even as hardware values advance steadily.

By Application: PET Accelerates as SPECT Holds Volume Base

SPECT maintained 73.34% share of the nuclear medicine market size in 2024, anchored by cardiology perfusion, thyroid imaging, and bone scans where technetium-based kits remain cost-effective. Cardiology alone accounts for more than half of SPECT activity, supported by widespread generator access and established reimbursement codes. Thyroid applications leverage iodine-123’s long clinical pedigree for hyperthyroidism and differentiated cancer follow-up. Neurology SPECT continues in dementia work-ups, though emerging amyloid-PET agents erode this niche. Despite these headwinds SPECT volumes exhibit resilience, and technetium agents remain inexpensive compared with PET tracers.

PET volumes rise at an 8.51% CAGR through 2030, narrowing the gap as oncologists transition from planar bone scans to whole-body FDG or PSMA imaging for metastatic survey. The September 2024 flurpiridaz F-18 approval opens exercise-stress cardiac PET, increasing patient throughput and diagnostic accuracy in coronary artery disease [cardiovascularbusiness.com]. FAPI-PET demonstrates superior lesion detection in desmoplastic tumors, accelerating inclusion in clinical guidelines. Multiorgan inflammatory and infection imaging emerges as a new PET frontier, leveraging tracers such as 68Ga-Citrate. As clinical scenarios diversify, PET’s share of the nuclear medicine market rises steadily, though SPECT retains a workhorse role in cost-sensitive settings.

By End User: Diagnostic Imaging Centers Gain Momentum

Hospitals accounted for 53.82% of the nuclear medicine market size in 2024, reflecting integrated oncology, cardiology, and neurology care pathways. Academic centers drive early adoption of alpha-emitter trials and AI-powered reconstruction algorithms, while community hospitals maintain high generator volumes for bread-and-butter technetium studies. Capital-budget committees increasingly prioritize cyclotron acquisition to secure tracer deliveries and capture outpatient revenue streams. At the same time, rising staff shortages and competing MRI or CT upgrades sometimes delay nuclear medicine expansion projects.

Diagnostic imaging centers register the fastest growth at an 8.86% CAGR, aided by freestanding PET/CT suites that streamline outpatient oncology staging. These centers negotiate bulk F-18 contracts with regional radiopharmacies and leverage AI-guided scheduling to maximize scanner uptime. Their nimble cost structures and shorter patient wait times appeal to oncologists seeking rapid diagnostic turnaround. Academic and research institutes remain a modest volume share yet play an outsized role in early-phase tracer trials, supporting the evidence base that feeds future commercial indications. Altogether, procedure decentralization diffuses market opportunity beyond hospital walls, supporting broader adoption and reinforcing the nuclear medicine market’s structural expansion.

Note: Segment shares of all individual segments available upon report purchase

Geography Analysis

North America led the nuclear medicine market with 42.23% share in 2024, supported by the world’s largest fleet of PET/CT scanners, robust payor coverage, and a deep pipeline of FDA-cleared tracers. CMS’s 2025 radiopharmaceutical payment carve-out above USD 630 removes a key deterrent to high-cost agents, encouraging hospitals to adopt F-18, Ga-68, and Cu-64 tracers for oncology, cardiology, and infection imaging. The U.S. also houses multiple cyclotron clusters and emerging accelerator production trials for Mo-99, aiming to reduce import dependence. Canada contributes specialized isotope production through the McMaster and TRIUMF facilities yet continues to rely on cross-border generator flows after the Chalk River reactor retirement.

Europe ranks second, balancing coordinated health systems with sustained public investment in isotope infrastructure. The EUR 2.2 billion Pallas reactor project secures long-term technetium supply and supports therapeutic isotope diversification. France positions itself at the forefront of alpha-therapy manufacturing via Orano Med’s thorium-228 plant, projected to supply 100,000 lead-212 doses annually post-2034. Regulatory agility is on display with U.K. MHRA approval of the first technetium-PSMA product, illustrating a willingness to extend tracer innovation beyond PET-dominant pathways. However, periodic reactor outages and varying national reimbursement tariffs produce patchwork market conditions across the bloc.

Asia-Pacific delivers the fastest regional growth at a 9.23% CAGR through 2030, spurred by large unmet diagnostic needs, rising oncology prevalence, and aggressive government backing for isotope self-sufficiency. China operates nearly 1,200 nuclear medicine departments and aims to double service capacity by 2035 under its medical-isotope development blueprint. Japan blends advanced device engineering with a growing radiopharmaceutical export platform, bolstered by GE HealthCare’s takeover of Nihon Medi-Physics. India and South Korea prioritize cyclotron deployments to support burgeoning PET activity and medical-tourism demand. Australia builds redundancy into Mo-99 supply through the ANSTO OPAL reactor. Across the region, regulatory harmonization efforts and workforce-training initiatives seek to keep pace with rapid equipment installation, shaping Asia-Pacific into the next demand engine for the nuclear medicine market.