Exploring the Growth of Ultrasonic Testing in Healthcare: Non-Invasive Diagnostics on the Rise

The ultrasonic testing industry is expected to reach USD 4.60 billion by 2029 from USD 2.92 billion in 2024, at a CAGR of 9.5% during the 2024 - 2029 period.

The major factor driving the ultrasonic testing industry growth includes the rising adoption of portable array ultrasonic testing equipment. The rising adoption of PAUT equipment has replaced conventional film radiography in multiple industries. Traditionally, radiography testing uses short-wavelength electromagnetic radiation to penetrate materials, with the transmitted radiation captured either on radiation-sensitive film or sensor arrays. Despite radiography's effectiveness, significant health risks arise due to radiation exposure. Additionally, the traditional radiography testing process is time-consuming, incurs high operational costs, and necessitates expensive equipment.

Bond testers are projected to have the highest CAGR during the forecast period from 2024 to 2029.

Ultrasonic bond testers are an important equipment used in the oil & gas and aerospace industries. The ultrasonic bond tester can verify the integrity of adhesively bonded joints. The demand for reliable testing has increased due to performance and safety requirements in metal-to-metal joints, composite structures, and sandwich constructions. These portable, microprocessor-based instruments operate at low frequencies i.e. 4-400 kHz, facilitating them to penetrate various adhesive layers and identify flaws in complex geometrics.

The time-of-flight diffraction has the 2nd largest market share of the ultrasonic testing industry in 2023.

Time-of-flight diffraction (ToFD) ultrasonic testing is a sophisticated multiple mode inspection technique, that relies on the determination of the traveling time of sonic energy over material from one or more probes to another and offers a highly accurate mode of crack detection, including slag and fusion deficiencies which have improved beyond the commonly used ultrasonic methods whereby the entire system of scanning, memory storage, and evaluation in defect height, length, and location are all done by computerised system. This technique assures precise measuring of crack sizes with minimized failure or shutdown possibilities. Major applications involved are weld checking, crack inspection, and pulse-echo inspections.

Asia Pacific region is projected to have the highest CAGR during the forecast period from 2024 to 2029.

The demand for ultrasonic testing has significantly grown in the Asia Pacific region due to rapid infrastructure growth and rising automotive production. The countries within the Asia Pacific region, i.e., China, Japan, and India, are highly involved in producing defense aircraft that will further expand ultrasonic testing across Asia Pacific defense and aerospace industries. India and China's automotive industries will likely grow extensively during the forecast period. The ultrasonic testing market will grow significantly with the increase in vehicle manufacturing in these countries. Large-scale manufacturing automation through the "Make in India" program holds considerable opportunities for ultrasonic testing in the automotive and higher-scale industries.

Key Players

The key players in ultrasonic testing are Baker Hughes Company (US), EVIDENT (Japan), Eddyfi (Canada), Sonatest (US), NDT Systems Inc (US), SGS SOCIETE GENERALE DE SURVEILLANCE SA. (Switzerland), Intertek Group plc (UK), MISTRAS Group (US), DEKRA (Germany), Applus+ (Spain), TÜV Rheinland (Germany), Element Materials Technology (UK), Acoustic Control Systems (Germany), Amerapex Corporation (US), Ashtead Technology (Scotland), Acuren (US), Modsonic Instruments Mfg. Co. (P) Ltd. (India), SONOTEC GmbH (Germany), Applied Technical Services (US), Nexxis (Australia), Vertech Group (Australia), Guided Ultrasonics Ltd. (US), IRISNDT (Canada), Nanjing BKN Automation System Co., Ltd. (China), and OKOndt GROUP (US).