Double-Digit Growth Expected for India’s MRI Systems Market

The ingredients are all there: solid demand, a large population base, increasing complex disease prevalence, and limited access to high-end imaging infrastructure. Such factors are expected to contribute to solid growth for India’s magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) market in the next decade, according to GlobalData, an intelligence and productivity platform.

GlobalData’s report, “Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) Systems Market Size by Segments, Share, Regulatory, Reimbursement, Installed Base and Forecast to 2036,” reveals that India accounted for 22% of the Asia–Pacific (APAC) MRI systems market last year. The sector is projected to grow 12% annually through 2036, GlobalData predicts.

Hyperfine, a U.S.-based medical technology company, recently obtained regulatory approval from India’s Central Drugs Standard Control Organization (CDSCO) for its Swoop portable MRI system. Swoop is the first U.S. Food and Drug Administration-cleared, artificial intelligence (AI)-powered portable MRI designed for brain imaging, and the approval is expected to improve access to advanced neuroimaging across India. The system will be introduced in the Indian market through a partnership with Radiosurgery Global (RSG), a medical device distributor with a strong nationwide healthcare network.

“The next phase of MRI adoption in India is less about adding capacity in major hospitals and more about changing where and when imaging can take place. Earlier MRI systems concentrated diagnostic services in a limited number of high-end centers, often delaying scans for acute or high-risk patients,” GlobalData Medical Devices Analyst Nidhi Bharti said. “Newer MRI systems enable imaging to be performed closer to the point of care, supporting faster clinical decisions in emergency, critical care, and step-down settings, which is expected to reduce reliance on patient transfers, improve coordination between clinicians and radiology teams, and allow healthcare providers to manage neurological conditions with greater speed and consistency than was previously possible.”

The partnership between Hyperfine and RSG combines advanced MRI technology with local market expertise, regulatory understanding, and distribution strength. This partnership is expected to facilitate the introduction of mobile, lower-infrastructure MRI systems with AI-supported image quality across a wider range of hospitals and care centers, including locations where conventional MRI installations are not feasible. 

“As portable MRI systems gain wider adoption in India, they are expected to reduce missed diagnoses and deliver results faster, helping patients move through treatment more smoothly,” Bharti stated. “As they are easier to install and can be deployed more widely, these innovations can also bolster government efforts to strengthen healthcare delivery and expand access to high-quality diagnostic services across the country.”