A global shortage of contrast dye used in diagnostic imaging procedures such as CT scans, gastrointestinal imaging, angiograms, and cardiac catheterizations is already impacting the healthcare industry and delaying certain procedures, impacting patient care, says GlobalData, a leading data and analytics company.

The dye is an iodine-based contrast dye used in diagnostic CT scans and is usually injected into a patient’s bloodstream to highlight structures of interest. While it is not clear exactly how widespread the issue is or how many people will be affected, some hospitals have begun to cancel certain procedures.

Alexandra Murdoch, Medical Analyst at GlobalData, comments: “Some diagnostic CT scans and procedures have been impacted by the dye shortage, with many hospitals and medical facilities now trying to use alternate procedures to save iodine-based dye for emergency use, while also preventing delays and cancellations of priority medical appointments and operations. However, this could cause problems further down the line with delayed diagnosis or misdiagnoses. CT scans are often used to diagnose cancer, and a delayed diagnosis could have serious repercussions for patient outcomes.”

The shortage began to impact the global supply chain with the temporary closure of GE Healthcare’s Shanghai plant. GE Healthcare is one of only four companies who supply iodine-based contrast agents and the other manufacturers have not been able bridge the supply gap. The plant was forced to close because of COVID-19 lockdowns in China, however, another GE Healthcare plant in Cork, Ireland increased production with the aim of covering the shortfall. GE Healthcare has recently confirmed that its Shanghai plant is now operating at 100% capacity, enabling the company to restabilize its global supply of iodinated contrast media.

The dye shortage may further impact the contrast agent market. Despite the average selling price of iodine-based agents increasing in recent years, the market value has been decreasing. In 2015, the global market value for iodine-based contrast agents was $111.16 million, and by 2021 that number was $54.19 million, according to GlobalData. The COVID-19 pandemic is largely responsible for this drop, and the market is expected to decrease even further over the next couple of years.

Murdoch adds: “The pandemic has been a major factor in global supply shortages across the medical device industry over the last couple of years. Experts are working on ways of preventing this situation in the future by exploring initiatives such as bringing new suppliers into the market, helping suppliers establish production facilities in other geographies and making various improvements to the overall medical device manufacturing and distribution supply chain.”