What's next for the medical imaging and health IT sectors? Which factors will shape and drive the development of AI and IT products in 2026? What changes lie ahead for industry?
Analysts from Signify Research, the U.K.-based market intelligence firm, have addressed these questions. Here are the prevailing trends they have identified:
- Ergonomics will be a priority: With radiology’s increased workloads, Signify believes that vendors will be placing more emphasis on comfort in use for their systems, designing more maneuverable, user-friendly devices and intuitive interfaces, with increased automation for routine and repetitive tasks.
- Technology acceleration will contribute to more personalized imaging: Along with more user-friendly and customizable devices and interfaces, advances in technology in robotics and augmented reality (AR) will aid in developing better interfaces, AR-based clinical applications, and improved automation. Collaborations such as GE HealthCare with MediView and Siemens Healthineers and Stryker “signal a broader industry shift toward imaging-driven robotics and AR as engines of growth for 2026,” Signify Research said.
- The AI market consolidates, and funding grows: Pricing pressure, slow reimbursement, and rising operational expenses look set to come to a head in the coming year. The most robust AI vendors will acquire former competitors with the aim of expanding their portfolios to cover more modalities and applications.
- Increased interest in both outpatient and teleradiology IT markets: As competition increases in 2026, imaging IT vendors will strategically target both traditional outpatient imaging and teleradiology markets. The market segment will not be easy to dominate, Signify Research added, especially as more providers invest in in-house IT offerings. However, competition will accelerate product evolution: the firm predicts that AI-enabled workflow software that can be customized will be a critical factor, and “cloud-hosting and integrated reporting capabilities become baseline requirements.”
- Generative AI and foundation models will take the spotlight: For both imaging IT and AI platforms, versatile generative AI and foundation model-based offerings will be a priority, especially tools with a focus on efficiency and workflow. However, with wider availability, vendors will need to be clear on how their generative AI products are different from others, “with an emphasis on deep workflow integration, customizability, and measurable productivity gains,” Signify Research explained.
- A shift from cost- to value-based procurement and management: Providers will be prioritizing clinical outcomes, cost-effectiveness, and long-term impact on patients when purchasing. Moreover, they will be applying these factors past the purchase, also focusing on service and maintenance, with an emphasis on reliability and reduced downtime.
- Redefined platform strategies: In response to that shift, vendors will develop strategies that emphasize value, Signify Research said, noting that AI software vendors have invested in infrastructure to host and manage their own AI as platforms or operating systems in which applications are consolidated, often with integration of apps from third-party vendors.
- IT vendors will highlight customer service offerings: There will be more focus on customer service offerings in imaging IT, such as professional services spanning training, deployment, and optimization designed to improve productivity and efficiency. Vendors who meet these needs, as well as those offering strategic partnerships with providers, will benefit the most.
- Increased availability of mid- and low-priced imaging systems: Even with the emphasis on value, hospitals and imaging centers will still prioritize cost as a way to maximize their budgets. The firm adds that Asian vendors in particular have responded to these constraints with aggressive pricing that allows them to compete against multinational suppliers, a trend they see growing in 2026.
- Competition will change as vendors respond to the market: More smaller vendors will be diversifying from their traditional lower-priced offerings into higher-priced segments in 2026, Signify Research predicts, causing “significant competitive shifts.”
These predictions were co-authored by Kelly Patrick, Amy Thompson, Phil Grainger, Mustafa Hassan, PhD, Aiyana Amess, Poornima Anil, Max Street, Sarah-Jane James, Alfie Edwards, George Booth, and Umar Ahmed.
For further information, go to the Signify Research website.
