Contrast-Enhanced Ultrasound Patents: Who Leads, White Space 2026
Contrast-Enhanced Ultrasound and Microbubble Patents: Where the Field Stands
78.6% concentration. The top 5 assignees hold 81 of 103 records in scope — this field is claimed by a small group, not a broad crowd. Filings ran from 4 in 2017 up to a peak of 13 in 2018. The most recent complete comparison available is 2021 (8) to 2024 (4) — a -50% change over that three-year span. Because publication lags filing by roughly 18 months, 2025 and 2026 figures are still filling in and should not be read as a continued decline.
- 1KONINKLIJKE PHILIPS NV32
- 2MAYO FOUNDATION FOR MEDICAL EDUCATION & RESEARCH22
- 3SUNNYBROOK & WOMENS COLLEGE HEALTH SCI CENT11
- 4SAMSUNG MEDISON CO LTD10
- 5THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES OF THE LELAND STANFORD JUNIOR UNIV6
See the full contrast-enhanced ultrasound and microbubbles analysis in Eureka
- The complete ranking, not just the top five
- Every IPC branch with its share of the corpus
- The most-cited records, and where claim space is still thin
Common questions about this patent landscape
Who holds the most patents in contrast-enhanced ultrasound and microbubble imaging?
The ranking covers 31 companies, and it is heavily front-loaded: the leading assignee holds 32 of the 103 records in scope, well ahead of the fifth-place holder at 6. The top 5 assignees combine for 78.6% of all records, and the top 10 reach 96.1%. That means the practical competitive set for freedom-to-operate purposes is small even though the full ranking lists 31 names.
Is patent filing in contrast-enhanced ultrasound growing or slowing down?
Filing peaked at 13 records in 2018 and has since pulled back; the last fully comparable window, 2021 to 2024, shows a -50% change (8 records down to 4). However, publication typically lags actual filing by around 18 months, so the 2025 and 2026 figures in this dataset are still incomplete and should not be read as confirmation of continued decline.
What technology areas does contrast-enhanced ultrasound patenting actually cover?
The bulk of activity sits in A61B (diagnosis and surgery), which touches 80.6% of the 103 records, closely tied to G01S (radar, sonar and positioning) at 35.0% — together these describe the imaging detection and processing pipeline. Smaller but distinct pockets exist in G06T (image data processing, 17.5%) and A61K (medicinal preparations, 14.6%), the latter being the class most associated with microbubble agent formulation itself rather than the imaging system around it.
Disclaimer. This analysis is based on Patsnap Eureka data drawn from a limited snapshot of global patent records and is provided for general information and reference only. Patent data carries inherent limitations — recent filings are under-counted because of publication lag, counts may be on a record or family basis, classification and applicant-name data may contain errors or duplicates, and the underlying search query defines the scope shown — so the analysis may be incomplete or inaccurate and may not reflect the full technology landscape.
Nothing here is an exhaustive prior-art, novelty, freedom-to-operate or validity search, nor does it constitute legal, financial or professional advice, and it should not be relied upon as such. Verify independently and review with qualified patent and legal professionals before acting on it.
Method: Filing trend and technology composition. Derived from a Patsnap search on Contrast-Enhanced Ultrasound and Microbubbles covering 2015–2026, data cut-off 2026-07-31. Counts reflect published records only and shift as new filings publish. Every share divides by all records in scope. Data: Patsnap Eureka. See the full landscape report.