Capital budgets in angiography labs are increasing, as the labs are gearing up to purchase flat panel digital detectors to replace their image intensifier capability, according to a recent study on interventional angiography labs in the U.S. published by IMV Medical Information Division. More than one quarter of the sites surveyed had budgets of more than $1 million for 2005, compared to 19 percent of the angiography sites in 2001. At the same time, film budgets are declining, with only 38 percent of the sites budgeting for film in 2005, compared to 79 percent of the sites three years before.

“The use of digital technology to increase department efficiency is continuing to evolve,” said Lorna Young, senior director, market research. “Meanwhile, angio lab procedure volume has grown steadily as the procedure mix has broadened to include a variety of peripheral vascular and other non-coronary angiographic procedures.”

The 2004/05 edition of the Interventional Angiography Lab Census Database profiles more than 1,200 sites in the United States, of the 1,630 identified hospitals with 150 or more beds performing interventional angiography procedures, where at least 50 percent of the total lab volume are non-coronary angiography procedures.