Siemens sees liver ultrasound driving India business

Siemens Ltd is banking on a new medical technology which can detect liver diseases in early stages.

Called liver elastography, the technology is connected to the ultrasound imaging machine and can detect liver diseases like liver tumours, those causing cirrhosis, and also in knowing the stage at which hepatitis is prevalent.

J Sunder Rajan, head, strategy & business development, Siemens, said this technology has huge potential in India where liver diseases are highly prevalent.

“It was introduced in April in India, and by November this year, we aim at having about ten installations of the ultrasound machine with this technology from the current four.”
The Rs11,800 crore Siemens is aiming at doubling the number of installations in the next two years.

The ultrasound market in India is valued at approximately $100 million, of which 25% constitutes the high-end market which consists of advanced techniques used for detecting vascular diseases and musculoskeletal disorders, and liver elastography falls in the high-end category.

The machine cost and installation charges ranges from Rs75lakh to Rs1.5crore, depending on the machine configuration.

Rajan said that the technology would work well in the Indian market as it would help in reducing patient’s costs. “It does not require hospital stay. Also, unlike MRI, CT that cost several thousands, liver elastography can cost between Rs1,000 and Rs1,500. Going forward the price can fall further.”

Moreover, the ultrasound machine can be used by hospitals in conducting routine ultrasound imaging including obstetrics and gynaecology, as well as vascular and cardiac imaging.

Healthcare industry analysts say that as doctors are always looking out for differentiating technologies, hospitals would be keen on installing them.

Muralidharan Nair, partner, health sciences practice, Ernst &Young, said, “Three key factors which determine how a medical technology would work in India are price, patient base for that technology, and whether the technology has some differentiating factor which can significantly improve medical outcomes.”

Rajan said that the technology can also help in knowing the extent to which a disease has affected the liver, as also the exact segment of the liver, which is affected.

Liver elastography works using the acoustic radiation forced impulse imaging, which functions through softwares called eSieTouch and VirtualTouch, which are installed in the ultrasound machine.

According to MA Mateen, consultant, GI Radiologist, Asian Institute of Gastroenterology, Hyderabad, in any ultrasound, though the size and location of a lesion is detected, the consistency is not  known.

“Consistency is key in finding out whether the lesion is malignant or benign. All malignant tumours are hard lesions and the liver elastography technology helps in knowing this. The technology can also be used for detecting breast cancers.”