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Run your analysis now →https://www.patsnap.com/resources/blog/rd-blog/bioprocess-sensors-and-soft-sensing-patent-landscape/ · Patsnap · data cut-off 2026-07-31 · downloaded from the live page
Patent Landscape · Bioprocess Sensors & Soft SensingBioprocess Sensors and Soft Sensing Patents: Mapping the Filing Landscape
- Filing peaked in 2020 at 88 records, then eased to 55 by 2024, a -23% move over 2021-2024 rather than a collapse.
- The top 5 assignees hold just 25.1% of all 1,098 records, and the top 10 only 36.9% — concentration is moderate, not dominant.
- G01N material analysis claims sit in 44.9% of records, while AI-based soft sensor classes (G06N, G06F) each stay under 5%, marking a thin but growing layer.
1,098
Published Records
25%
Top-5 Share of All Records
-23%
Filing Growth 2021→2024
US
Leading Jurisdiction
Filing growth compares 2021 (71 records) with 2024 (55) — a three-year span. 2024 is the most recent year we treat as complete: publication lags filing by roughly 18 months, so 2025 onwards are still filling in and any growth rate that ends there would understate the field. Top-5 share is the combined record count of the five largest assignees divided by all 1,098 records in scope (CR5), not by the ranked leaders only.
Published byPatsnap Research··7 min readSourced from Patsnap Eureka
Field Overview
What this landscape covers
Bioprocess sensors and soft sensing sit at the intersection of optical measurement, single-use hardware and data modelling. The corpus tracked here spans 1,098 records filed between 2015 and mid-2026, drawn from claim language covering Raman spectroscopy, soft sensor models, probe fouling, calibration transfer and measurement inside single-use bags. Many records originate in glucose monitoring and non-invasive diagnostics rather than bioreactor process control alone, which shapes the IPC mix toward A61B and away from pure bioreactor apparatus classes.
Publication lags filing by roughly 18 months, so the 2025 and 2026 counts in the trend chart are still filling in and should not be read as a slowdown. The 2021-2024 window, which is complete, is the fairer basis for judging direction.
Filing activity and technology composition, 2015-2026
Source: Patsnap Eureka. Assignee ranking and totals. Derived from a Patsnap search on Bioprocess Sensors and Soft Sensing covering 2015–2026, data cut-off 2026-07-31. Counts reflect published records only and shift as new filings publish.Run this in Eureka MCP
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The Numbers
Filing trend and technology composition
Two views of the same 1,098 records: how filing activity has moved year over year, and which IPC subclasses carry the claim density.
Filing trend, 2017-2026
Annual filings rose to a peak of 88 in 2020, then declined to 55 by 2024 (-23% over 2021-2024). 2025 and 2026 figures are undercounted due to publication lag and should not be compared directly against complete years.
IPC subclass composition
G01N (material analysis & testing) appears in 44.9% of records and A61B (diagnosis & surgery) in 28.8%, together framing this as a measurement-and-diagnostics-heavy field. Software-oriented classes G06N and G06F each sit near 4.5%, well behind the physical sensing classes — a record can carry several classes, so shares sum above 100%.
Shares are the percentage of the 1,098 records in scope. A patent can carry several IPC classes, so the shares add up to more than 100%.
Source: Patsnap Eureka. Filing trend and technology composition. Derived from a Patsnap search on Bioprocess Sensors and Soft Sensing covering 2015–2026, data cut-off 2026-07-31. Counts reflect published records only and shift as new filings publish.
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Representative and most-cited records
Representative Filing
Methods and Apparatuses for Noninvasive Determination of in vivo Alcohol Concentration using Raman Spectroscopy
TRUTOUCH TECHNOLOGIES, INC.
Methods and apparatuses for the determination of an attribute of the tissue of an individual use non-invasive Raman spectroscopy. For example, the alcohol concentration in the blood or tissue of an individual can be determined. A portion of the tissue is illuminated with light, which propagates into the tissue where it is Raman scattered. The Raman scattered light is detected and combined with a model relating Raman spectra to alcohol concentration. Correction techniques reduce determination errors from detection of light other than that from Raman scattering from the alcohol in the tissue.Filed by TruTouch Technologies; illustrates how Raman-based non-invasive sensing claims extend beyond bioprocess apparatus into physiological measurement.
Most-cited records in this landscape
| # | Publication no. | Patent title | Citations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | US6998247B2 | Method and apparatus using alternative site glucose determinations to calibrate and maintain noninvasive and … | 1,705 |
| 2 | US6574490B2 | System for non-invasive measurement of glucose in humans | 1,013 |
| 3 | WO2003076893A2 | Method and apparatus using alternative site glucose determinations to calibrate and maintain noninvasive and … | 621 |
| 4 | US7183102B2 | Apparatus using reference measurement for calibration | 554 |
| 5 | US20190154439A1 | A Method and Apparatus for Cooperative Usage of Multiple Distance Meters | 522 |
| 6 | US6002480A | Depth-resolved spectroscopic optical coherence tomography | 507 |
| 7 | US20060079809A1 | Blood monitoring system | 377 |
| 8 | US20040024553A1 | Method and apparatus using alternative site glucose determinations to calibrate and maintain noninvasive and … | 352 |
| 9 | US20090054753A1 | Variable Sampling Interval for Blood Analyte Determinations | 344 |
| 10 | US6370422B1 | Fiber-optic confocal imaging apparatus and methods of use | 317 |
Citation counts favour older filings that have had more time to accumulate forward references; treat them as a signal of influence within this corpus, not as a ranking of current technical importance.
Each row carries its publication number; clicking a row searches Eureka by that number.
Source: Patsnap Eureka. Citation counts and representative records. Derived from a Patsnap search on Bioprocess Sensors and Soft Sensing covering 2015–2026, data cut-off 2026-07-31. Counts reflect published records only and shift as new filings publish.Run this in Eureka MCP
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What the data means for filing decisions
Three patterns stand out once the records are pulled apart by year, class and assignee.
Concentration
25.1% held by top 5
of 1,098 records
Leadership is present but not entrenched
The top 5 assignees combine for 276 records, 25.1% of the field, and the top 10 add up to only 36.9%. That leaves nearly two-thirds of filings spread across a long tail of single- or few-filing entrants, which is a more open competitive picture than the leader's individual count (101 records) might suggest on its own.
Based on the 1,098-record assignee ranking.
Momentum
-23% 2021-2024
complete-year filings
Post-peak cooling, not collapse
Filings peaked in 2020 at 88 and eased to 55 by 2024, a -23% move across that three-year span. That is a step down from a peak year rather than a structural decline, and the leading assignees in the momentum data show flat or negative year-over-year counts consistent with a maturing rather than an expanding claim environment.
2025-2026 figures are still filling in due to publication lag.
Technology mix
44.9% G01N
of 1,098 records
Physical measurement dominates over software
Material analysis and testing (G01N) and diagnosis/surgery (A61B) classes anchor the field at 44.9% and 28.8% of records respectively, while AI-and-computing classes G06N and G06F sit near 4.5% each. Soft sensing as a modelling discipline is present but still a minority claim surface relative to the optical and physical hardware it depends on.
Classes overlap; shares sum above 100% of the 1,098-record base.
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Eureka can read the same corpus for gaps instead of for coverage: under-claimed branches adjacent to bioprocess sensors and soft sensing, with the prior art for and against each one.
Source: Patsnap Eureka. Co-assignee relationships and derived observations. Derived from a Patsnap search on Bioprocess Sensors and Soft Sensing covering 2015–2026, data cut-off 2026-07-31. Counts reflect published records only and shift as new filings publish.Run this in Eureka MCP
Players
Who is filing, and where the openings sit
The assignee ranking spans 100 companies rather than a narrow top tier, and co-filing activity is thin — a sign that most work here is still done independently rather than through joint ventures.
Leader
101 records
leading assignee
A single leader well ahead of the pack
The top-ranked assignee holds 101 records, more than three times the fifth-place count of 32, but the gap narrows quickly after that — tenth place sits at 23. This shape points to one company with sustained, focused investment rather than a cluster of comparably sized competitors.
Ranking covers 100 assignees, counted in records.
Co-filing
10 pairs
co-assignee pairs
Collaboration is limited and clustered
Only 10 co-assignee pairs appear in the dataset, and the strongest ones are inventor-level pairings tied to a single company's internal teams rather than cross-company alliances. Most records in this field are filed solo, which makes the white space more accessible to new entrants without needing to negotiate joint IP.
Strongest pairs each appear 10 times.
Momentum
0 in latest year
for several top assignees
Recent-year activity has gone quiet at the top
Several of the most active historical assignees show zero filings in the latest tracked year, including year-over-year drops of -100% for at least two of them. Given the 18-month publication lag, this likely overstates the slowdown, but it still signals that incumbents are not visibly refreshing their claim positions right now.
Momentum reflects the most recent tracked year only.
Recent-year filing momentum by assignee
| Assignee | Recent year | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Vertex Pharmaceuticals Inc | 0 | — |
| Amgen Inc | 0 | -100% |
| Potrero Medical | 0 | — |
| Cilag GmbH International | 0 | -100% |
| INTELLIDX INC | 0 | — |
| Automotive Coalition for Traffic Safety Inc | 0 | — |
| X Development LLC | 0 | -100% |
| Nirrin Technologies Inc | 0 | — |
Source: Patsnap Eureka. Assignee-level momentum. Derived from a Patsnap search on Bioprocess Sensors and Soft Sensing covering 2015–2026, data cut-off 2026-07-31. Counts reflect published records only and shift as new filings publish.Run this in Eureka MCP
What's Next
Where to take this analysis
The dataset points to a field with one clear leader, a long tail of smaller filers, and a modelling layer that has not yet caught up to the physical sensing hardware around it.
Check freedom to operate around the cited core
The most-cited records in this landscape trace back to glucose calibration and non-invasive measurement patents with citation counts in the hundreds to over a thousand. Any new sensor or calibration-transfer filing should be checked against this cluster before claim drafting starts.
Run a freedom-to-operate check in EurekaTrack the AI-classed white space
G06N and G06F classes sit near 4.5% of records each, far behind the physical measurement classes. That gap is either an opportunity or a sign the modelling layer is being claimed elsewhere — worth confirming before committing R&D spend.
Explore soft sensor claims in EurekaSource: Patsnap Eureka. Forward-looking reading of the same dataset. Derived from a Patsnap search on Bioprocess Sensors and Soft Sensing covering 2015–2026, data cut-off 2026-07-31. Counts reflect published records only and shift as new filings publish.Run this in Eureka MCP
FAQ
Common questions about this landscape
The assignee ranking in this dataset covers 100 companies, with the leader holding 101 records against a fifth-place count of 32 and a tenth-place count of 23. That gap shows one company with a clear lead in filing volume, but the top 10 combined still only account for 36.9% of all 1,098 records, so the field is far from a two- or three-player market. Anyone assessing competitive risk should look at the full ranked list rather than assume the leader dominates the whole space.
Filings peaked at 88 in 2020 and fell to 55 by 2024, a -23% change over that three-year span using the last fully complete filing years. That is a cooling from a peak rather than a collapse, and figures for 2025 and 2026 are understated because publication typically lags filing by around 18 months. Treat any apparent recent drop with caution until later data years catch up.
G01N (material analysis and testing) appears in 44.9% of the 1,098 records and A61B (diagnosis and surgery) in 28.8%, making physical and optical measurement the dominant claim surface. Software and AI-oriented classes such as G06N and G06F each sit near 4.5%, meaning the modelling side of soft sensing is present but thin relative to the hardware. A record can carry multiple classes, so these percentages do not sum to 100%.
Sub-areas like calibration transfer across probe batches, single-use bag measurement geometry, probe fouling detection algorithms and soft sensor model maintenance triggers show comparatively thin filing density relative to the core G01N and A61B classes. These are specific enough to draft around without colliding with the dense prior art anchored by the most-cited glucose calibration patents. Confirming current filing activity in each of these narrower branches before drafting is still advisable.
US20130317328A1 covers non-invasive determination of alcohol concentration in tissue using Raman spectroscopy combined with a spectral model and correction techniques for non-Raman light. It is a physiological-measurement claim rather than a bioreactor-process claim, so it most directly affects work applying Raman spectroscopy to human tissue with similar correction methods. Bioprocess-specific Raman sensing inside bioreactors or single-use bags sits in a different application context, but the underlying spectral correction technique should still be checked against this filing during drafting.
Answers are grounded in the same dataset. Derived from a Patsnap search on Bioprocess Sensors and Soft Sensing covering 2015–2026, data cut-off 2026-07-31. Counts reflect published records only and shift as new filings publish.Run this in Eureka MCP
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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.
Nothing on this page constitutes an exhaustive prior-art, novelty, freedom-to-operate, or validity search, nor does it constitute legal, financial, investment, or professional advice, and it should not be relied upon as such. Any patent, commercial, or strategic decision should be verified independently and reviewed with qualified patent, legal, and domain professionals. Patsnap makes no warranties, express or implied, as to the accuracy, completeness, or fitness for any particular purpose of the information presented.
Machine translation. Assignee and organisation names originally recorded in Chinese, Japanese or Korean have been rendered into English by an AI translation step so that the tables stay readable. These renderings are best-effort and may not match a company's registered English name; the original name is what the underlying patent record carries, and it is what any Eureka query launched from this page uses.