> Because that industry has "low" volumes and very high R&D costs (especially for machines intended for diagnostic use), the difference between production cost and market price is very high.
This is true, but this is only half of the story : the market price is also high because the elasticity of the demand for medical devices is really low. The hospitals charge a lot of money to their customers and their willingness to pay is also high.
I've developed software for customers working in the legal industry and it's the same kind of market: these people pay a lot for really simple stuff because they have money and want to get things done.
Hm, on the buyer side, it depends on the country but in some it is actually very competitive. So smaller players have a hard time to survive simply because of their lower volumes but similar R&D costs...
Plus an ultrasound exam is not too expensive in some (most?) countries.
This is true, but this is only half of the story : the market price is also high because the elasticity of the demand for medical devices is really low. The hospitals charge a lot of money to their customers and their willingness to pay is also high.
I've developed software for customers working in the legal industry and it's the same kind of market: these people pay a lot for really simple stuff because they have money and want to get things done.