Austria Artificial Intelligence (AI) in Diagnostics Market Analysis

Austria Artificial Intelligence (AI) in Diagnostics Market Executive Summary

Austria's Artificial Intelligence (AI) in the diagnostics market is projected to grow from $4.0 Mn in 2022 to $xx Mn by 2030, registering a CAGR of xx% during the forecast period of 2022 - 2030. Austria's healthcare system is essentially universal, and service accessibility is typically strong, with full financial protection for deprived areas provided through several exemptions from expense regulations. The Austrian healthcare system is intricately regulated. Austria's healthcare system consists of 271 hospitals and clinics with around 64,800 accessible beds. General hospitals provide for around 64% of hospital beds, specialty clinics and rehabilitation facilities account for 26.6%, and sanatoriums or long-term care institutions account for 7%.

Artificial intelligence (AI) has the potential to transform the area of medical diagnostics in Austria by enhancing diagnosis accuracy, effectiveness, and speed. AI systems can scan massive volumes of medical data, such as patient histories, laboratory results, and medical imaging, to detect trends and make predictions. AI examines medical pictures like X-rays, CT scans, and MRIs to discover and diagnose diseases including cancer, heart disease, and neurological problems. Many hospitals and research organizations in Austria, including the Medical University of Vienna, the Vienna General Hospital, and the Center for Medical Statistics, Informatics, and Intelligent Systems at the Medical University of Vienna are investigating the application of AI in medical imaging.

Market Dynamics

Market Growth Drivers

The aging population and associated growing ailment burden, universal health insurance, the strong pace of technical advancement, and bad lifestyle choices, especially high smoking, and alcohol use rates, are the four key drivers in Austria's medical device industry. Moreover, The Institute of Bioinformatics at Johannes Kepler University Linz is working on AI algorithms to forecast the risk of different diseases like cancer, cardiovascular disease, and diabetes. AI is being utilized by the Institute of Pathology at the Medical University of Graz to examine tissue samples of breast cancer patients in order to uncover biomarkers that may be used to predict therapy response. Some hospitals and healthcare institutions in Austria, notably the Vienna General Hospital and the Austrian Health Institute, are employing AI to evaluate electronic health information. Such advances in Austria are expected to drive market expansion in the future.

Market Restraints

The European Union (EU) Medical Device Regulation (2017), which set new, considerably tighter registration, licensing, and auditing standards for all medical devices, is the most major market limitation. Obtaining reimbursement may be a big hurdle for firms developing novel medicines. There is a lack of centralized, standardized data-sharing infrastructure in Austria, which might make accessing and analyzing medical data challenging. There are other technological constraints that might make developing and deploying AI diagnostic tools challenging, such as the requirement for strong computer infrastructure and specific knowledge in machine learning and data processing. There may be doubts about how AI diagnostic tools access and use patient data, which can make gaining regulatory clearance and public confidence challenging.

Competitive Landscape

Key Players

• GE Healthcare
• IBM Watson Health
• Siemens Healthineers
• Philips Healthcare
• Google Health
• AliveCor, Inc.
• Riverain Technologies
• Contextflow (AUT)
• Medicus AI (AUT)
• ImageBiopsy Lab (AUT)

Notable Deals

February 2023, GE HealthCare to Acquire Caption Health The acquisition adds AI-enabled image guiding to the ultrasound device portfolios of GE HealthCare's $3 billion Ultrasound division.

Healthcare Policies and Regulatory Landscape

The Federal Ministry of Health is in charge of developing and implementing healthcare legislation in Austria, including those governing the use of AI in medical diagnosis. The ministry collaborates with other government agencies and professional groups to ensure that AI diagnostic tools fulfill high safety and effectiveness criteria. The Austrian Agency for Health and Food Safety (AGES) is a government body in Austria that is in charge of ensuring the safety and quality of medical equipment and diagnostic instruments.

Reimbursement Scenario

The statutory national health insurance policy in Austria covers 99% of the population and is based on 21 separate statutory insurance carriers, each with some rather varying price and coverage structures. In general, insurance carriers cover treatment considered essential and effective, with a moderate to considerable co-payment for dental and eye care, as well as health aids. Diagnostic equipment developed for use in a hospital environment must be formally recognized as a reimbursable treatment under the Austrian LKF (Austria's disease-related group points system). The reimbursement decision is based on the findings of a panel convened by the Ministry of Health, which includes physicians, insurance companies, and public officials.