Healthcare providers used to be in an arms race of sorts, dashing to nab the latest MRI or CT scanning technology before their competitors. Although expensive, top-of-the-line scanners can cost about $2 million, medical imaging is a high-margin business and the providers believed those with the best tools and hottest technology would bring in more patients.
For a while, the medical imaging industry was resistant to economic downturns. As recently as last July, Cleveland research firm The Freedonia Group predicted 6 percent annual increases in U.S. demand for imaging products through 2010.
For now, though, it looks like the party might be over.