Ultrasound Probe Disinfection Market: Analysis By Product, By Process, By End User, By Region Size and Trends with Impact of COVID-19 and Forecast up to 2028

Ultrasound probe disinfection refers to the method of thoroughly cleaning and removing all the microorganisms, such as viruses, bacteria, and fungi, from the surface of an ultrasonic probe. Ultrasound probes are medical devices used to capture images and gather diagnostic information from within the body. The global ultrasound probe disinfection market value stood at US$486.32 million in 2022, and is expected to reach US$1037.48 million by 2028.

It is estimated that majority of the global ultrasound market is manually disinfected using low or mid-level disinfectants, which involve the use of mild soap solutions, LCD disinfectant solutions, purified water, isopropyl alcohol and wipes. The latest guidelines from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) categorise endocavity, transabdominal and transvaginal ultrasound probes as semicritical items. The CDC recommends semi-critical items undergo HLD. Rapid expansion in ultrasound procedures has led to globally documented infection risks, which supported the market growth of ultrasound probe disinfection. The European Society of Radiology Ultrasound Working Group recommended that best practice includes a minimum of HLD for ultrasound use. Moreover, growing population, increasing incidences of HAIs, increasing awareness about the importance of disinfection of ultrasound probes, growing demand for obstetric ultrasound examinations, increasing healthcare expenditure by developing economies, ongoing implementation of high level automated disinfection systems, and high degree of compliance with high level disinfection guidelines in developed nations, etc., have been positively contributing towards increased demand for ultrasound probe disinfection products. The market is anticipated to grow at a CAGR of approx. 13.5% during the forecasted period of 2023-2028.

Market Segmentation Analysis:

• By Product: The report provides the bifurcation of the ultrasound probe disinfection market into three segments based on product: instruments, consumables, and services. Instruments is the largest segment of global ultrasound probe disinfection market, owing to the relatively high cost of these instruments enhancing the revenue of this segment, ongoing technological advancements with increasing integration of AI and robotics, and added benefits provided by these instruments in terms of higher efficiency, reduced time & effort required by healthcare professionals to manually clean and disinfect probes. Consumables is the fastest growing segment of global ultrasound probe disinfection market as a result of their increased convenience & minimal setup preparation requirement, increasing emphasis on infection control in healthcare settings, minimal medical staff training requirement for using consumables, cost-effective solution for preventing contamination with no high upfront cost, and high compatibility of these products with a wide range of ultrasound probe models and sizes.
• By Process: The report provides the bifurcation of the ultrasound probe disinfection market into two segments on the basis of process: high-level disinfectants, and intermediate/ low-level disinfectants. High-level disinfectants is the fastest growing segment of global ultrasound probe disinfection market owing to increased sanitation awareness, rising demand for more advanced disinfection processes with emergence of potentially lethal diseases in recent years, and increasing cases of healthcare-associated infections (HAIs). Intermediate/ low level disinfectants is the largest segment of global ultrasound probe disinfection market as a result of rising demand for point-of-care ultrasound, increasing number of pregnancies, growing incidence of bacterial infections, increasing government initiatives to promote the use of disinfection solutions and rising number of research & development activities and product launches by companies in the market.
• By End User: The report provides the bifurcation of the ultrasound probe disinfection market into three segments on the basis of end user: hospitals and clinics, diagnostic imaging centers, and others. Hospitals and clinics is both the largest and the fastest growing segment of global ultrasound probe disinfection market, driven by higher patient volume & frequency of ultrasound examinations, growing requirement for the high level disinfection of semi critical and critical ultrasound probes, rising number of diagnostic imaging and in-vitro fertilization procedures performed, and growing awareness among healthcare providers and patients about the importance of infection prevention and control.
• By Region: The report provides insight into ultrasound probe disinfection market based on the regions namely, Asia Pacific, North America, Europe, and rest of the world. North America ultrasound probe disinfection market is the largest region of global ultrasound probe disinfection market, owing to strict government reforms to reduce the hospital acquired infection, rising use of high-level disinfectants, large volume of ultrasound imaging treatments conducted in the region, presence of significant number of market players in the area including CIVCO Medical Solutions, Advanced Sterilization Products, Inc., GE HealthCare Technologies Inc., etc., and rise in transvaginal, transrectal, abdominal, and intraoperative ultrasound procedures, as well as transoesophageal echocardiography, and ultrasound-guided interventional procedures (biopsies, venous access). The report also provides insights into the US ultrasound probe disinfection market based on the product, namely, instruments, consumables, and services.
• Asia Pacific ultrasound probe disinfection market is the fastest growing region in the global ultrasound probe disinfection market, owing to increasing number of pregnancies, rising incidences of breast cancer in the region, increasing investments on healthcare facilities by the developing countries, growing awareness regarding in-vitro fertilization procedures, and the presence of a large number of local manufacturers that provide high-quality products at lower prices.

Market Dynamics:

• Growth Drivers: The global ultrasound probe disinfection market has been rapidly growing over the past few years, due to factors such as rising number of ultrasound imaging procedures, aging population, rising birth rates and number of pregnancies, increasing incidence of healthcare-associated infections, rising FDA Approvals, etc. The increasing incidence of healthcare-associated infections (HAIs) have been positively contributing towards rising demand for ultrasound probe disinfectants as healthcare professionals have become more focused on implementing proper disinfection practices for medical equipment, including ultrasound probes, to reduce the transmission of pathogens and improve patient safety. Also, there has been an increasing demand for ultrasound imaging procedures needed for monitoring chronic conditions, delivering cardiovascular imaging, and performing minimally or non-invasive procedures in the medical facilities. Therefore, ongoing advancements in ultrasound imaging procedures and increasing adoption of preventive healthcare screenings, will continue to create a rise in demand for ultrasound probe disinfection products.
• Challenges: However, the market growth would be negatively impacted by various challenges such as high cost of automated probe reprocessors, strict regulatory approval requirements, changing international regulations and guidelines, etc. Many hospitals and healthcare facilities in developing countries find it difficult to afford automated probe re-processors and consumables such as wipes and liquids for high-level disinfection (HLD), as radiologists often perceive the use of these consumables as adding to the overall cost burden of imaging centers, making them hesitant towards adopting newer advanced technology and instead opting for lower-cost alternatives such as probe covers, impending the adoption of proper disinfection processes by medical facilities in developing countries like China, Brazil, Mexico, and India, and as a result, decelerating the growth of global ultrasound probe disinfection market in the forecasted years.
• Trends: The market is projected to grow at a fast pace during the forecasted period, due to increasing use of automation and robotics, growing popularity of ultraviolet light high level disinfection devices, integration of artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML), rising number of in-vitro fertilization procedures, etc. IVF procedures require frequent monitoring of the development of embryos and the health of the reproductive organs, making ultrasound imaging a crucial diagnostic tool during IVF cycles, resulting in an increasing demand for ultrasound probes and higher utilization of ultrasound probes disinfection products and solutions needed to maintain proper hygiene standards in healthcare facilities. Also, rising awareness of the importance of infection control in healthcare settings, increased focus of medical facilities to improve efficiency and patient safety, and growing demand of automated systems for consistent disinfection and shorter turnaround times, is expected to boost the growth of global ultrasound probe disinfection market over the forecasted years of 2023-2028.

Impact Analysis of COVID-19 and Way Forward:

COVID-19 brought in many changes in the world in terms of reduced productivity, loss of life, business closures, closing down of factories and organizations, and shift to an online mode of work. The sudden outbreak of COVID-19 was associated with increased demand for medical supplies such as personal protective equipment and growing need of disinfection solutions and equipment needed to control and prevent any further spread of virus. Healthcare providers were increasingly deploying the potential of ultrasound diagnosis, primarily for point-of-care (POC) applications, for the triage, monitoring, and diagnosis of COVID-19 patients. Therefore, increased use of ultrasound imaging equipment boosted the demand for ultrasound probe disinfection solutions needed to prevent any further spread of such hospital-acquired infections in 2020.

Furthermore, healthcare professionals and regular workers received proper training on infection control practices during the pandemic, increasingly contributing to a more consistent and widespread use of effective and advanced ultrasound probe disinfectants by hospitals staff and clinic professionals, even after pandemic.

Competitive Landscape:

The global ultrasound probe disinfection market is relatively fragmented. Major players in the automated ultrasound probe disinfection market include: Nanosonics, Germitec, CIVCO Medical Solutions, Lumicare. Major players in the manual ultrasound probe disinfection market include: Tristel, Metrex Research. Nanosonics Limited is the global market leader in ultrasound probe disinfection market but more than half of the broader ultrasound disinfection market is still using low or mid-level disinfectants. Nanosonics Limited’s main competitors in ultrasound probe high level disinfection (HLD) market is Tristel plc with company offering HLD wipes, and CIVCO Medical Solutions with company offering automated HLD device for endovaginal and endorectal probes (Astra VR), and another HLD device for transesophageal probes (Astra TEE) that can use Ortho-Phthalaldehyde and Hydrogen Peroxide disinfectants.

The key players of the ultrasound probe disinfection market are:

• Nanosonics Limited
• Roper Technologies, Inc. (CIVCO Medical Solutions)
• STERIS plc
• Ecolab Inc.
• Fortive Corporation (Advanced Sterilization Products, Inc.)
• GE HealthCare Technologies Inc.
• Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. (Samsung Medison Co., Ltd.)
• Tristel Plc
• Schülke & Mayr GmbH
• CS Medical LLC
• Germitec S.A.
• Parker Laboratories, Inc.

The key players in the market are increasingly engaged in various research & development activities and initiatives to deploy new and more efficient products in the market and gain larger market share. For instance, On June 23, 2023, CS Medical announced the successful clearance of a new Class II medical device by the US FDA, Ethos Automated Ultrasound Probe Cleaner Disinfector, where Ethos is the first medical device cleared in North America which provides both cleaning and high-level disinfection of endocavity and surface ultrasound probes.