Endoscopic Imaging Patents: Who Leads, Where the Gaps Are 2026
- Filings have cooled since the 2020 peak of 138, with the 2022 midpoint of 99 confirming a flat-to-declining trend rather than a temporary dip.
- A61B carries almost the whole corpus (2,131 of 2,132 records), but G02B optics and H04N video pipelines are where the real claim differentiation sits.
- The United States draws the most filings (724) ahead of Japan and the EPO, while recent-year momentum across named assignees has largely dropped to 0-1 filings.
Filing growth compares 2021 (91 records) with 2024 (74) — 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 2,132 records in scope (CR5), not by the ranked leaders only.
What this landscape covers
This landscape tracks 2,132 patent families filed between 2015 and mid-2026 that combine endoscope or endoscopy claim language with imaging-specific terms such as chip-on-tip cameras, confocal endomicroscopy and capsule endoscopy imaging, scoped to the core diagnosis-and-surgery IPC classes. It is a view of how imaging hardware and image-processing claims have been layered onto endoscopic devices, not of endoscopy mechanics generally.
Filing activity peaked in 2020 and has since flattened, which combined with the near-total concentration in A61B and heavy secondary weight in optics (G02B) and video pictorial communication (H04N) suggests the claim space around core image capture is well occupied, while processing and downstream analysis classes carry comparatively lighter density.
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Filing trend and technology composition
Two views of the same 2,132-family dataset: how filing volume has moved year over year, and how those filings distribute across the IPC subclasses that make up an endoscopic imaging device.
A flat-to-declining filing curve since the 2020 peak
Filings rose from 91 in 2017 to a peak of 138 in 2020, then eased back toward the 2022 midpoint of 99 and down to 9 in the most recent, still-partial year. Because publication typically lags filing by around 18 months, the last one to two years will always look thinner than they eventually turn out to be — but the multi-year plateau before that lag effect kicks in is the more reliable signal.
A61B dominates; optics and video carry the secondary claim load
A61B appears in effectively every record (2,131 of 2,132), confirming the search scope. Behind it, G02B optical elements (701) and H04N pictorial communication (477) are the two subclasses doing the real differentiating work, with G06T image processing (176) a distant third and A61M, G01J, G01N and G03B each under 80 — signalling comparatively open ground in processing, measurement and photographic-apparatus crossover claims.
Shares are the percentage of the 2,132 records in scope. A patent can carry several IPC classes, so the shares add up to more than 100%.
Go deeper on Endoscopic Device Medical Imaging with Eureka
This page is one run against one query. Ask Eureka your own question about endoscopic device medical imaging and every answer comes back with the patent numbers behind it.
Try EurekaThe prior art doing the most citation work
Endoscopic imaging apparatus, endoscopic imaging system and method of using the same
The present invention discloses an endoscopic imaging apparatus, an endoscopic imaging system and a method of using the same. The endoscopic imaging apparatus includes a diagnostic imaging means, an external control device and an ingestible capsule endoscopy. The external control device positions and/or orientates the capsule endoscopy in a target area. The diagnostic imaging means is included in the capsule endoscopy for diagnostic imaging of a target area under the control of the external control device.Filed by Ankon Medical Technologies (Shanghai) Co., Ltd., this record is representative of the capsule-endoscopy imaging branch of the dataset rather than the single highest-cited filing.
| # | Publication no. | Patent title | Citations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | US20100145146A1 | Endoscopic digital recording system with removable screen and storage device | 1,577 |
| 2 | US6134003A | Method and apparatus for performing optical measurements using a fiber optic imaging guidewire, catheter or e… | 1,576 |
| 3 | US5928137A | System and method for endoscopic imaging and endosurgery | 1,477 |
| 4 | US6221007B1 | System and method for endoscopic imaging and endosurgery | 1,378 |
| 5 | US20050182295A1 | Catheterscope 3D guidance and interface system | 1,128 |
| 6 | US7233820B2 | Endoscope structures and techniques for navigating to a target in branched structure | 914 |
| 7 | US20150230697A1 | Flexible master – slave robotic endoscopy system | 819 |
| 8 | US6174291B1 | Optical biopsy system and methods for tissue diagnosis | 611 |
| 9 | US20060149134A1 | Catheterscope 3D guidance and interface system | 469 |
| 10 | US20040199052A1 | Endoscopic imaging system | 468 |
Citation counts inside a searched corpus skew toward older filings simply because they have had more time to accumulate citations — treat this as a measure of influence on later filers, not of current commercial relevance.
Each row carries its publication number; clicking a row searches Eureka by that number.
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Browse MCP servers →What the numbers mean for a filing decision
Three read-throughs from the trend, the citation table and the technology split, aimed at where to file next rather than where filings already sit.
The core imaging claim space has plateaued
The 2020 peak followed by a return to roughly the 2022 midpoint of 99 indicates the foundational chip-on-tip and optical-path claims have largely been staked out. New entrants are more likely to find room in adjacent processing or measurement classes than in core image capture.
A handful of 1990s-2000s filings still anchor the field
The most-cited records date to the late 1990s and 2000s and centre on endoscopic imaging and endosurgery systems plus fiber-optic measurement guidewires. Their influence on later filings is clear from citation volume, but that volume reflects age in the corpus as much as current relevance.
Optics is crowded; processing is comparatively open
G02B optical elements appear in a third of the corpus, while G06T image data processing sits well behind at 176 records. Software-side claims on image enhancement, artefact correction or AI-assisted analysis of endoscopic feeds carry less prior art density than the optical hardware they run on.
Eureka can read the same corpus for gaps instead of for coverage: under-claimed branches adjacent to endoscopic device medical imaging, with the prior art for and against each one.
Assignee activity and momentum
Named assignees in this corpus show limited co-filing activity and, in the most recent year, momentum has thinned across the board rather than concentrating in one or two firms.
Co-assignee activity is sparse and shallow
Only ten co-assignee pairs appear in the dataset, the strongest recurring only twice, each involving a major medical device group paired with a named individual inventor rather than another company. This points to a field where cross-company joint filing is rare — most patent families here are filed by a single assignee.
Momentum has thinned across every tracked name
Every assignee tracked for recent-year momentum shows either one filing or none in the latest year, with one recording a 67% year-on-year decline. Given the roughly 18-month publication lag, some of this is an artefact of incomplete recent data, but the multi-year plateau in the trend chart suggests the slowdown is more than a reporting gap.
Filing strategy is US-anchored with strong Japan and EPO coverage
The United States leads as receiving office with 724 filings, ahead of Japan (395) and the EPO (391); WIPO/PCT filings (235) and China (116) trail. A three-way US/Japan/Europe filing pattern is the baseline expectation for a competitive filer in this space, with PCT used more selectively than direct regional filing.
| Assignee | Recent year | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Boston Scientific Scimed, Inc. | 1 | — |
| Stryker Corporation | 1 | — |
| Gyrus ACMI, Inc. | 1 | -67% |
| Olympus Corporation | 0 | — |
| EndoChoice, Inc. | 0 | — |
| FUJIFILM Corporation | 0 | — |
| Intuitive Surgical Operations, Inc. | 0 | -100% |
| Koninklijke Philips N.V. | 0 | — |
Where to take this next
The trend and composition data point to specific next steps depending on whether the goal is freedom-to-operate, portfolio benchmarking or identifying open filing ground.
Map claims against the G06T and G01J branches
With image processing and light-measurement classes carrying a fraction of the density seen in G02B optics, a claim-by-claim review of those branches is likely to surface open filing room faster than a review of core optical-path claims.
Explore the technology breakdown in Eureka →Watch for the 18-month reporting lag before reading the latest year as decline
The drop to 9 filings in the most recent year is expected given publication lag; a more reliable read comes from comparing 2020's peak of 138 against the 2022 midpoint of 99 rather than the final partial year.
Run a live trend check in Eureka →Check freedom-to-operate against the highest-cited records before filing capsule or fiber-optic imaging claims
The most-cited records concentrate on endoscopic imaging/endosurgery systems and fiber-optic measurement guidewires; any new filing touching those mechanisms should be checked against this cluster specifically.
Pull the full citation table in Eureka →Common questions about endoscopic imaging patents
This dataset counts 2,132 patent families published between 2015 and mid-2026 that combine endoscope or endoscopy claim language with imaging-specific terms such as chip-on-tip cameras, confocal endomicroscopy or capsule endoscopy imaging. That figure uses patent families rather than raw document counts, which avoids double-counting the same invention across continuations or multiple jurisdictions. It is scoped to the core diagnosis-and-surgery IPC classes, so it understates any adjacent imaging technology filed outside those classes.
No, filing activity has flattened. Filings rose from 91 in 2017 to a peak of 138 in 2020, then eased back to roughly the 2022 midpoint of 99, and the latest partial year shows only 9. Because publication lags filing by around 18 months, the most recent one to two years always look artificially thin, but the multi-year plateau before that lag effect appears is a genuine slowdown signal rather than a data artefact.
A61B (diagnosis and surgery) appears in almost every record in this corpus, confirming the scope of the search. Behind it, optical elements and systems (G02B) appear in about a third of records and pictorial communication/video (H04N) in roughly a fifth, making these the two subclasses carrying the most claim density beyond the base device class. Image data processing (G06T) and measurement-adjacent classes like A61M, G01J and G01N sit well behind, at under 180 records each.
The clearest gaps sit in the classes with comparatively low record counts relative to the optical hardware they support: image data processing (176 records), light and radiation measurement (71), and body-fluid device crossover (71). Concretely, this points to under-claimed ground in AI-assisted artefact correction on endoscopic video, confocal endomicroscopy signal processing, and light-source measurement integration alongside the optical path. High density in G02B and A61B means the imaging hardware itself is well staked out, so a first claim is more defensible if it targets the processing or measurement layer instead.
The dataset's recent-year momentum figures show every tracked assignee — including major medical device and endoscopy names — filing either one or zero patents in the latest year, with one showing a 67% year-on-year drop. Co-assignee collaboration is also limited, with only ten co-assignee pairs identified across the whole corpus and none recurring more than twice. Combined with the flattening overall trend, this suggests the field's leading filers are consolidating existing positions rather than expanding them aggressively.
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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.