Cryoablation Systems Patents: Who Leads, Where the Gaps Are 2026
- 42.7% concentration. The top 5 of 1,203 records in scope account for 514 filings, 42.7% of the field, and the top 10 hold 59.3%.
- Growth cooled, not stopped. Filings ran 81 in 2021 to 48 in 2024, a -41% move over that span, against a 2018 peak of 167.
- One dense core, several thin edges. A61B carries 92.7% of records while F25D refrigeration hardware and G16H informatics sit at 2.2% and 2.0% respectively.
Filing growth compares 2021 (81 records) with 2024 (48) — 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 1,203 records in scope (CR5), not by the ranked leaders only.
What the cryoablation systems patent record shows
Cryoablation systems patents cluster around three mechanical problems: how the balloon occludes the vessel, how refrigerant is delivered and controlled to reach a target nadir temperature, and how freeze duration and phrenic nerve monitoring are managed during pulmonary vein isolation. The dataset in scope spans 1,203 patent families published between 2015 and mid-2026, drawn from filings that combine cryoballoon or cryoablation catheter language with occlusion, freeze-duration, or nerve-injury claim elements.
Filing activity peaked in 2018 at 167 records and has since eased, though the most recent years understate true activity because publication typically lags filing by around 18 months. The leading assignees hold a substantial but not overwhelming share of the field, leaving room for differentiated claims in refrigeration hardware, sensing and informatics-adjacent classes that remain comparatively thin.
Filing trends and technology composition
Two views of the same 1,203-record dataset: the pace of filing over time, and how records distribute across IPC subclasses.
Filing trend, 2017-2026
Filings rose to a 2018 peak of 167, then eased to 81 by 2021 and 48 by 2024, a -41% move over that three-year span. 2025 and 2026 figures are still filling in given the typical 18-month publication lag, so the apparent drop in the newest years should not be read as a slowdown yet.
IPC subclass composition
A61B (diagnosis and surgery) appears in 92.7% of the 1,203 records, reflecting that cryoablation catheters are filed as surgical devices first. A61M (25.6%) and A61N (19.9%) cover fluid-delivery and electrotherapy overlaps, while A61F implants (11.2%), A61K medicinal preparations (3.2%), F25D refrigeration hardware (2.2%), A61L sterilising (2.0%) and G16H informatics (2.0%) each represent a much smaller, more specialised slice. Because records can carry multiple classes, these shares sum to well over 100%.
Shares are the percentage of the 1,203 records in scope. A patent can carry several IPC classes, so the shares add up to more than 100%.
Go deeper on Cryoablation Systems with Eureka
This page is one run against one query. Ask Eureka your own question about cryoablation systems and every answer comes back with the patent numbers behind it.
Try EurekaThe most-cited prior art in cryoablation systems
US9050073B2 – Cryogenic balloon ablation system (Merit Medical Systems, 2015)
A cryogenic ablation catheter includes a catheter shaft, a balloon and a connector at the proximal and distal ends, a refrigerant delivery tube assembly rotatable within the catheter shaft lumen, and a refrigerant delivery element with an outlet inside the balloon that directs refrigerant outward against the balloon at different rotary positions as it rotates. The system pairs the catheter with a catheter coupler, a motor with a rotatable hollow motor shaft, and a delivery line to a cryogenic gas source.Filed by Merit Medical Systems; illustrates the rotating-outlet approach to even balloon-wall cooling that recurs across later refrigerant-delivery claims.
| # | Publication no. | Patent title | Citations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | US6012457A | Device and method for forming a circumferential conduction block in a pulmonary vein | 1,603 |
| 2 | US6024740A | Circumferential ablation device assembly | 1,557 |
| 3 | US6161543A | Methods of epicardial ablation for creating a lesion around the pulmonary veins | 1,298 |
| 4 | US6164283A | Device and method for forming a circumferential conduction block in a pulmonary vein | 850 |
| 5 | US6245064B1 | Circumferential ablation device assembly | 763 |
| 6 | US6416511B1 | Circumferential ablation device assembly | 543 |
| 7 | US6254599B1 | Circumferential ablation device assembly | 489 |
| 8 | US20190069949A1 | Systems and methods for modulatng nerves or other tissue | 450 |
| 9 | US20110306851A1 | Mapping sympathetic nerve distribution for renal ablation and catheters for same | 449 |
| 10 | US6752805B2 | Surgical ablation probe for forming a circumferential lesion | 421 |
Citation counts favour older filings simply by virtue of being in the corpus longer; treat them as a signal of influence on later filers, not as a measure of current commercial relevance.
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Browse MCP servers →What the concentration and citation data mean for filing strategy
The leading assignees hold a real but bounded share of the field, and the most-cited prior art dates back two decades, which together shape where new claims still have room to stand.
The core is claimed, not sealed
Five assignees account for 514 of the 1,203 records in scope, 42.7% of the field, and the top 10 extend that to 59.3%. That leaves roughly 40% of filings spread across a long tail of single- and few-filing entrants, a pattern typical of a field with an established core technology but active peripheral innovation.
Foundational claims sit two decades back
The most-cited records in this dataset date to the late 1990s and describe circumferential ablation and conduction-block techniques around the pulmonary veins. Their citation counts reflect long exposure inside the corpus rather than current commercial weight, but they remain the reference point most later refrigerant-delivery and balloon-occlusion claims build against.
Activity has eased from its 2018 peak
Filings peaked at 167 in 2018 and fell from 81 in 2021 to 48 in 2024, a -41% move over that span. Because publication lags filing by roughly 18 months, 2025 and 2026 counts are still incomplete and should not yet be read as continued decline.
Refrigeration and informatics classes stay thin
While A61B surgical claims dominate at 92.7% of records, F25D refrigeration-hardware classes sit at just 2.2% and G16H healthcare informatics at 2.0%. That gap suggests the mechanical cooling hardware and software-driven procedure guidance around cryoablation are comparatively under-claimed relative to the core device art.
Eureka can read the same corpus for gaps instead of for coverage: under-claimed branches adjacent to cryoablation systems, with the prior art for and against each one.
Who is filing, and where the claim space is still open
A small number of medical device manufacturers hold the largest blocks of filings, but the ranked list of 100 companies shows a long tail beyond them, and recent-year momentum has slowed across nearly every leading assignee.
A single filer sets the pace
The leading assignee holds 140 records, well ahead of fifth place at 61 and tenth place at 29. That gap between first and fifth position indicates a genuine leader rather than a tightly bunched group at the top.
Collaboration is limited and concentrated
Only 10 co-assignee pairs appear across the dataset, with the strongest pairing linked at 10 shared records. Most filings in this field are single-assignee, so cross-company collaboration is the exception rather than the norm.
Recent-year activity has gone quiet across the board
Several of the historically active assignees show zero filings in the latest year, with year-over-year drops of -100% recorded for multiple names on the list. Given the 18-month publication lag, this likely reflects incomplete recent-year data rather than an actual halt in R&D.
| Assignee | Recent year | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Boston Scientific International | 1 | — |
| St. Jude Medical Cardiology Division, Inc. | 0 | -100% |
| Adagio Medical | 0 | -100% |
| Metavention | 0 | — |
| ABLACON INC | 0 | -100% |
| Medtronic CryoCath LP | 0 | — |
| Symap Medical (Suzhou) Limited | 0 | -100% |
| St. Jude Medical Atrial Fibrillation Division, Inc. | 0 | — |
Where to take this analysis
The dataset points to specific next steps depending on whether the goal is freedom-to-operate, licensing, or identifying a filing gap.
Check freedom-to-operate against the leader's portfolio
With 140 records held by the top-ranked assignee alone, any new balloon-occlusion or refrigerant-delivery filing should be checked against that portfolio before drafting claims.
Run a freedom-to-operate check in EurekaExplore the under-claimed refrigeration and informatics branches
F25D refrigeration hardware and G16H informatics each sit at roughly 2% of records, well below the surgical core, suggesting room for differentiated claims in cooling-unit design or procedure-guidance software.
Explore white space in EurekaWatch for recent-year filings once the publication lag clears
Because 2025 and 2026 data is still incomplete, tracking newly published families as they clear the 18-month lag will give an earlier read on whether the 2021-2024 slowdown continues.
Set up monitoring in EurekaCommon questions about cryoablation systems patents
The dataset ranks 100 assignees by patent family count, and the leading assignee holds 140 of the 1,203 records in scope, well ahead of fifth place at 61 and tenth place at 29. The top 5 assignees combined account for 514 records, 42.7% of the field, and the top 10 extend that to 59.3%. That gap between the leader and the rest indicates a clear frontrunner rather than several tightly matched competitors, though roughly 40% of filings still belong to a long tail of smaller entrants.
Filing activity peaked in 2018 at 167 records and has since declined, with the complete-year figures showing 81 filings in 2021 falling to 48 in 2024, a -41% change over that span. Publication typically lags filing by about 18 months, so the lower counts shown for 2025 and 2026 are incomplete rather than evidence of a continued drop. A fair read of the trend should stop at the last complete year, 2024, rather than the most recent published figures.
A61B, the diagnosis and surgery classification, appears in 92.7% of the 1,203 records in scope, making it the dominant technical category by a wide margin. A61M fluid-delivery devices (25.6%) and A61N electrotherapy (19.9%) are the next most common overlaps, reflecting how cryoballoon catheters combine mechanical delivery with therapeutic energy elements. Smaller categories like F25D refrigeration hardware (2.2%) and G16H healthcare informatics (2.0%) appear far less often, pointing to less-crowded claim space in cooling-unit design and software-driven procedure support.
US9050073B2, assigned to Merit Medical Systems, describes a cryogenic ablation catheter with a rotatable refrigerant delivery tube and an outlet inside the balloon that directs refrigerant against the balloon wall at different rotary positions as it rotates, paired with a motor-driven catheter coupler and cryogenic gas source. It blocks designs that use a rotating internal outlet to achieve even balloon-wall cooling through mechanical rotation of the delivery tube itself. Designs using fixed multi-port outlets, alternative refrigerant-distribution geometries, or non-mechanical temperature-uniformity approaches would need a separate freedom-to-operate review against this and related family members.
The clearest gaps sit outside the dominant A61B surgical classification, specifically in F25D refrigeration hardware and G16H healthcare informatics, each covering only about 2% of the 1,203 records in scope. Sub-areas such as refrigerant flow-rate control hardware, phrenic nerve monitoring sensors, and freeze-duration software algorithms show comparatively few filings relative to the core catheter and balloon claims. A first claim in these areas would likely combine a specific hardware or sensing mechanism with a control method, rather than competing directly on balloon or catheter geometry where the leading assignees already hold dense coverage.
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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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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.