AI Medical Imaging Diagnosis Patent Landscape 2026
AI Medical Imaging Diagnosis Patent Landscape in 2026
The AI medical imaging diagnosis patent field is concentrated among established imaging hardware incumbents, with Fujifilm, Canon, and Philips holding the top three positions among 971 patent families in scope. Annual filing volume peaked in 2020 and has since eased, though the multi-year window still reflects a field with substantial accumulated activity.
Fujifilm leads a hardware-incumbent-dominated field
Fujifilm holds the top position with 284 patent records, nearly double the 130 patent records of second-ranked Canon, establishing a clear leader with a meaningful gap to all challengers.
The top five filers — Fujifilm, Canon, Koninklijke Philips, Canon Medical Systems, and Toshiba Medical Systems — together account for 37% of the combined total of the hundred largest filers, indicating moderate-to-high concentration at the apex with a long tail of smaller contributors including academic institutions.
| # | Applicant | Patent records | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Fujifilm Corporation | 284 | |
| 2 | Canon Inc. | 130 | |
| 3 | Koninklijke Philips NV | 84 | |
| 4 | Canon Medical Systems Corporation | 81 | |
| 5 | Canon Medical Systems Corporation | 63 | |
| 6 | Siemens Medical Solutions USA Inc. | 56 | |
| 7 | Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. | 54 | |
| 8 | University of Chicago | 42 | |
| 9 | KONICA MINOLTA MEDICAL & GRAPHICS INC | 36 | |
| 10 | GE Precision Healthcare LLC | 33 |
| # | Applicant | Patent records | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| 11 | Arch Development Corporation | 33 | |
| 12 | Toshiba Corporation | 32 | |
| 13 | Konica Minolta Inc. | 28 | |
| 14 | GE Medical Systems Global Technology Co. LLC | 27 | |
| 15 | AGENCY FOR SCI TECH & RES | 24 | |
| 16 | Ohio State Innovation Foundation | 23 | |
| 17 | Spectral MD Inc. | 21 | |
| 18 | Case Western Reserve University | 20 | |
| 19 | AMRA Medical AB | 19 | |
| 20 | University of Maryland | 18 |
The dominance of traditional medical imaging hardware companies (Fujifilm, Canon, Philips, Toshiba, Siemens) signals that incumbents with deep sensor and modality expertise have converted that foundation into AI diagnostics intellectual property, raising the barrier for pure-software entrants without comparable imaging datasets or hardware integration.
Filing counts for 2024–2026 are under-counted due to standard patent publication lag of 18–24 months and should not be interpreted as a structural decline in the most recent periods. Longer-window growth, applicant concentration, and technology-route coverage are therefore more reliable signals than the latest-year bar alone.
Filing activity peaked in 2020; diagnosis and image processing dominate the technology mix
The annual filing trend and technology composition charts together show a field that built critical mass rapidly between 2017 and 2020, with its patent activity anchored in clinical diagnosis and image-processing methods rather than upstream AI infrastructure.
Annual filing trend
Filings grew from 78 records in 2017 to a peak of 138 in 2020, then eased progressively through 2022 and further into 2023. Counts for 2024 onward reflect publication lag and should be treated as partial; the apparent drop in those years does not indicate real-world activity levels.
↗ Hover for values · click a bar to ask EurekaTechnology composition
Class A61B (Diagnosis & Surgery) is the dominant branch by a wide margin, reflecting that most inventions are anchored in clinical measurement and imaging modalities. G06T (Image Data Processing) and G16H (Healthcare Informatics) form the next tier, confirming that algorithmic image analysis and clinical workflow integration are the primary technical routes. Classes G06N (AI Models) and G06V (Image/Video Recognition) are comparatively smaller, suggesting that core AI model architectures are filed less frequently as standalone claims in this corpus.
↗ Hover for values · click a bar to ask EurekaHighly cited patent families surfaced by the query
Citation-heavy patent families returned by the query. Use this section as citation context, not as a curated list of the most topic-specific patents.
Automated method and system for the evaluation of …
An apparatus, method and computer program product for performing computer aided diagnosis on temporal subtraction images of objects. A mode of a gray-level histogram is identified, and a gray-level threshold is established at a predefined fraction of this modal value. All pixels with gray levels below this threshold that lie within the lung regions of the… (excerpt from the patent abstract)
| # | Patent | Citations |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Computer-aided diagnosis system for medical use | 726 |
| 2 | Methods for improving the accuracy in differential… | 447 |
| 3 | X-ray mammography with tomosynthesis | 431 |
| 4 | Medical data processing system and method | 419 |
| 5 | Apparatus and method for processing and/or for pro… | 388 |
| 6 | Method of pacing a heart using implantable device | 369 |
| 7 | Computer aided diagnosis of an image set | 361 |
| 8 | Method and system for displaying medical images | 356 |
Ranked by total forward citations. Citation counts favour older and broadly cited patent families, and broad or adjacent patents may appear when they match the search scope. Treat this section as citation context, not as a curated list of the most topic-specific patents. Some patent titles may be shown in their original, non-English language where an accurate translation could not be guaranteed.
What the patent structure means for R&D investment decisions
The combination of a post-peak filing curve, high incumbent concentration, and a strong US-Japan-Europe geographic axis shapes both the risk profile and the entry options for new R&D programs in AI medical imaging diagnosis.
Post-peak field still carrying substantial accumulated IP
The lifecycle stage is characterized as declining, with annual filings easing back from the 2020 peak. The multi-year growth window is negative at –34%. This means the foundational patent positions have largely been established by incumbents, and new entrants face a dense prior-art landscape in core diagnostic imaging methods. R&D investment should focus on differentiated sub-domains rather than broad computer-aided diagnosis claims.
Post-peak · 2020 apexTop tier is hardware-incumbent heavy with an academic second tier
Fujifilm’s 284 patent records represent more than twice Canon’s 130, and the top five together hold 37% of the top-100 filers’ combined total. Below the top five, academic institutions — University of Chicago, Ohio State Innovation Foundation, Case Western Reserve University — appear, indicating that university-originated IP could be a licensing or partnership pathway for companies without internal imaging expertise. The gap between rank one and rank five is steep, suggesting Fujifilm’s position is durable in the near term.
Top-5: 37% of top-100Toshiba-Toshiba Medical is the dominant co-filing pair; Philips and Samsung show academic links
The most active co-filing relationship is between Toshiba (KK Toshiba) and Toshiba Medical Systems, with 90 joint records — primarily an internal corporate alignment. Koninklijke Philips and the University of Chicago co-filed 11 records, the strongest industry-academia pair. Samsung Electronics and the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology co-filed 7 records, and Siemens Medical Solutions USA co-filed 6 records with Siemens corporate research. These patterns suggest that industry-academia collaboration is a validated but underutilized pathway in this field.
90 Toshiba internal; 11 Philips-UChicagoUS leads by a wide margin; Japan and Europe form the secondary axis
The United States is the leading filing jurisdiction, followed by Japan and Europe (EPO). PCT (WIPO) filings indicate that leading applicants are pursuing broad international protection. India ranks fifth by record count, reflecting both local filing activity and the presence of Indian applicants and technology institutions in the corpus. China’s count is comparatively low given its general AI patent volume, which may indicate a scope difference in this corpus or strategic under-filing by the dominant players in China.
US leads · JP-EP secondaryGo beyond the landscape: Eureka’s TRIZ Solution agent breaks down an R&D problem and returns patented concept solutions, each with a technical approach and cited patent & literature evidence.
| Applicant | Collaborator | Co-filings |
|---|---|---|
| Toshiba Corporation | Canon Medical Systems Corporation | 90 |
| Koninklijke Philips NV | University of Chicago | 11 |
| Koninklijke Philips NV | Philips Intellectual Property & Standards GmbH | 7 |
| Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. | Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology | 7 |
| Siemens Medical Solutions USA Inc. | Siemens Corporate Research Inc. | 6 |
| Canon Medical Systems Corporation | Kyushu University Industry-Academia Cooperation Organization | 4 |
| Siemens Medical Solutions USA Inc. | Siemens Corporation | 4 |
| Konica Minolta Medical & Graphics Inc. | Gifu University | 4 |
| Canon Medical Systems Corporation | Kobe University | 2 |
| Koninklijke Philips NV | Philips Electronics North America Corporation | 2 |
Co-filing pairs, ranked by the number of jointly-filed patent families.
Fujifilm anchors the field; Canon and Philips are established challengers with diverging trajectories
The top players are all established imaging hardware companies, but their recent filing momentum diverges sharply, creating strategic differentiation within the incumbent tier.
Fujifilm Corporation
Fujifilm leads with 284 patent records, concentrated in clinical diagnosis (A61B5 and A61B6) and healthcare informatics (G16H30). This breadth across imaging modalities and diagnostic workflows reflects a strategy of owning the full clinical pipeline. However, recent momentum shows a –51% decline versus the prior three-year period, indicating the company’s filing pace has slowed significantly from its peak build-out phase.
284 patent recordsKoninklijke Philips NV
Koninklijke Philips ranks third with 84 patent records, focused on A61B5, A61B6, and G06T7 (image analysis algorithms). Its technology mix is more algorithm-oriented than Fujifilm’s, and it holds the strongest industry-academia co-filing record in the corpus through its 11-record collaboration with the University of Chicago. Recent trend shows a steep –94% decline vs. the prior period, suggesting a dramatic pullback in new filings — a factor that may open adjacencies for challengers willing to invest in Philips’ historically active sub-domains.
84 patent records| Applicant | Recent (3 yrs) | Trend |
|---|---|---|
| Fujifilm Corporation | 47 | ▼ -51% |
| Koninklijke Philips NV | 1 | ▼ -94% |
| University of Chicago | 1 | ▲ new entrant |
Under-served branches adjacent to the dominant diagnostic core
Several IPC branches appear at lower relative share within this corpus despite clear technical relevance to AI-driven medical imaging, suggesting they are adjacent areas where activity is sparse relative to their plausible role in the field.
G06N · AI Model Architectures
G06N (Computing Based on AI Models) accounts for a comparatively small share of records in this corpus despite being the foundational layer for deep-learning-based image diagnosis. This relative sparsity may reflect that incumbents claim AI methods under clinical classification codes (A61B) rather than as standalone algorithmic inventions. An entrant focusing on novel model architectures specifically adapted for medical imaging — such as uncertainty-quantifying or federated learning approaches — could find less crowded prior art in this branch. Entry would require framing claims around the AI model itself rather than the diagnostic output.
Search this in Eureka →G06V · Image and Video Recognition
G06V (Image/Video Recognition) holds a smaller record count relative to the broader image-processing class G06T, even though real-time video-based diagnostic tools (e.g., endoscopy AI, surgical guidance, ophthalmology screening) are commercially active areas. This sparsity is an observation of relative filing density in the current corpus; it is plausible that real-time recognition applied to dynamic medical video streams represents a less-filed sub-domain with genuine technical value. Teams with video recognition expertise could assess whether existing G06T and A61B coverage leaves gaps in dynamic-imaging claims.
Search this in Eureka →How leading applicants differ by technology route emphasis
Strength of each leader across the main technology routes.
| Player | A61B 5 · Diagnosis & surgery | A61B 6 · Diagnosis & surgery | G06T 7 · Image data processing & generation | G16H 30 · Healthcare informatics | G16H 50 · Healthcare informatics |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fujifilm Corporation | Strong · 257 | Strong · 164 | Moderate · 56 | Moderate · 98 | Emerging · 22 |
| Canon Inc. | Strong · 130 | Moderate · 50 | Emerging · 19 | Moderate · 51 | Moderate · 43 |
| Toshiba Corporation | Strong · 103 | Strong · 67 | Absent | Emerging · 10 | Emerging · 8 |
| Canon Medical Systems Corporation | Strong · 101 | Strong · 57 | Absent | Absent | Absent |
| Koninklijke Philips NV | Strong · 81 | Moderate · 28 | Moderate · 26 | Emerging · 8 | Emerging · 12 |
| Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. | Strong · 50 | Moderate · 22 | Moderate · 24 | Absent | Absent |
| University of Chicago | Strong · 36 | Moderate · 18 | Strong · 30 | Absent | Absent |
Frequently asked questions
Fujifilm Corporation leads with 284 patent records, well ahead of second-ranked Canon with 130 patent records. The top five applicants — Fujifilm, Canon, Koninklijke Philips, Canon Medical Systems, and Toshiba Medical Systems — together hold 37% of the combined total of the hundred largest filers.
Annual filing activity peaked in 2020 at 138 records and has eased since. The field is classified at a declining lifecycle stage with a -34% growth figure over the measured recent window. Filing counts from 2024 onward are under-counted due to patent publication lag and do not represent actual recent-year activity.
The United States leads by record count, followed by Japan and Europe (EPO). PCT (WIPO) filings indicate that top applicants pursue broad international protection. India ranks fifth, while China’s record count is comparatively lower in this corpus.
Class A61B (Diagnosis and Surgery) is the dominant branch by a large margin. G06T (Image Data Processing and Generation) and G16H (Healthcare Informatics) form the next tier. G06N (AI Models) and G06V (Image/Video Recognition) are present but smaller, suggesting that AI model claims are frequently filed under clinical classification codes rather than standalone algorithmic classes.
The most active co-filing relationship is between Toshiba (KK Toshiba) and Toshiba Medical Systems with 90 joint records, primarily an internal corporate alignment. The strongest industry-academia pair is Koninklijke Philips and the University of Chicago with 11 co-filed records. Samsung Electronics and the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology co-filed 7 records.
Within this corpus, G06N (AI Model Architectures) and G06V (Image/Video Recognition) show lower relative filing share compared to their technical relevance to the field. G06Q (clinical workflow) and G01R (magnetic and electrical measurement) are also comparatively sparse. These are observations of relative density rather than validated commercial opportunities, and any entry assessment should include a thorough prior-art search in those branches.
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Disclaimer. This page is generated from PatSnap Eureka data drawn from a limited snapshot of global patent and scientific-literature records, and is provided for general information and reference only.
Patent data carries inherent limitations: recent filings (typically the most recent 18–24 months) are under-counted due to standard publication lag; counts may be reported at either a patent-family or a patent-record basis and are not always directly comparable; classification, applicant-name, and citation data may contain errors, duplicates, or omissions; and the underlying search query defines and constrains the scope shown. As a result, the analysis may be incomplete or inaccurate and may not reflect the full technology landscape.
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