The global market for breast cancer imaging and biopsy technologies is expected to reach $5.8bn by 2022, a CAGR of 5.9%, driven by innovation technologies and machine-learning tools that serve as "second readers" to help radiologists triage images and find cancers. Many radiologists believe that mammography will remain the most widely used screening tool, but that digital breast tomosynthesis will ultimately become the gold standard. Here's a close look at the overall breast imaging and biopsy market, highlighting different modalities and key players, and offering the real-world use perspective from three radiologists at Kaiser Permanente, San Diego.

Medtech companies brought in $1.5 billion in Q2 2016, 15% less than Q1, with debt offerings accounting for more than half the total; acquisitions more than doubled due to Abbott's $25 billion takeover of St. Jude Medical. Diagnostics financings were down 34% from Q1 and acquisition volume, also lower, was mainly Thermo Fisher Scientific's $4.2 billion buy of FEI.

After a lackluster first quarter, the medtech IPO scene is gradually livening up with several companies their shares successfully floated on the public markets for the first time in the second quarter. But activity levels are still a far cry from the bonanza of 2015.

Derived from Strategic Transactions, Informa’s premium source for tracking life sciences deal activity, the Medical Device Deals Update column is a survey of recent medtech M&A, alliance, and financing activity. This month’s column covers deals announced April-May 2016.