In Rapidly-Growing MRI Field, Where's the Opportunity for Start-Ups?

Among imaging modalities used to guide surgery, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is growing at the fastest rate. According to “"US Markets for Imaged-Guided Surgery Products,"” published in November 2007 by Medtech Insight, MRI systems used in surgery or interventional procedures accounted for 12.5% of the $1.24 billion in surgical interventional imaging sales in the US in 2006, and procedure volumes are expected to grow at a compound annual rate of 9.2% through the year 2011. While it's obvious that the diagnostic imaging giants are positioned to enjoy the growth in emerging applications of MRI, start-ups can profit too.