FO Flux/Fouling Sensor Integration Patent Snapshot
The FO flux/fouling sensor integration field is highly concentrated, with a single filer — Gambro Lundia AB — holding a commanding share of the 22 patent families in scope. The field is in a growth stage on a multi-year basis, though annual volume has eased from its 2022 peak and recent years remain understated by publication lag.
Gambro Lundia AB leads a tightly concentrated field
Gambro Lundia AB holds the visible position with 16 patent families, placing it far ahead of every other filer in the ranking. Asahi Kasei Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha follows as a distant second with 2 patent families, while Advanced Aqua Group and Four Rivers Water Corp each hold 1.
The top five filers account for 100% of the combined total among the ranked applicants visible in this query, confirming extreme concentration with virtually no competitive cushion between the leader and the rest of the field. The tier gap between Gambro Lundia and all challengers is substantial.
| # | Applicant | Patent families | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Gambro Lundia AB | 16 | |
| 2 | Asahi Kasei Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha | 2 | |
| 3 | Advanced Aqua Group | 1 | |
| 4 | Four Rivers Water Corp | 1 |
Gambro Lundia’s position in medical body-fluid devices (A61M) and filtration separation processes (B01D) suggests that its intellectual property is tightly integrated with dialysis-adjacent systems, giving it significant freedom-to-operate leverage in clinical FO applications. Challengers entering this space must navigate this dense core.
The most recent 18–24 months of filing data are subject to publication lag and likely undercount actual activity; current apparent inactivity in 2023–2024 should not be interpreted as a slowdown. Longer-window growth, applicant concentration, and technology-route coverage are therefore more reliable signals than the latest-year bar alone.
A 2022 filing surge underpins multi-year growth, with filtration and medical devices dominating the technology mix
Annual filings were negligible before 2020 and then surged sharply in 2022, establishing a three-year recent window well above the prior baseline. The technology composition is led by separation/filtration processes and medical body-fluid devices, with a long tail of adjacent classes at low activity.
Annual filing trend
Annual activity was zero from 2017 through 2019, rose to 3 in 2020, dipped to 1 in 2021, then jumped to 16 in 2022 before returning to near-zero in 2023–2024. The single 2025 and 2026 data points each show 1 family, but these figures are understated by publication lag and should not be read as a continuation of the 2022 trough.
↗ Hover for values · click a bar to ask EurekaTechnology composition
B01D (separation/filtration) and A61M (devices for body fluids) together account for the large majority of patent records, reflecting the field’s roots in membrane filtration and clinical dialysis instrumentation. G01M (machine and structural testing), C02F (water and wastewater treatment), and several smaller classes form an adjacent ring with notably fewer records.
↗ 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.
Evaluation Method and Evaluation Device for Forwar…
[PROBLEM] To provide an evaluation method and evaluation device with which the practical performance of a forward osmosis membrane can more accurately be measured. [SOLVING MEANS] Provided is a method for evaluating a forward osmosis membrane module. The method includes the steps of, in a forward osmosis membrane module having spaces which are partitioned… (excerpt from the patent abstract)
| # | Patent | Citations |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Production of concentrated spent dialysate | 12 |
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.
Assignee snapshot from the current evidence set
The applicants below are visible in this query result. Because the evidence set is relatively small, read this section as a directional snapshot rather than a full competitive ranking.
Gambro Lundia AB
Gambro Lundia AB holds 16 patent families and entered this specific topic as a new entrant in the recent window, with 14 families filed in the recent period. Its technology is concentrated in A61M 1 (medical devices for body fluids), B01D 65 (membrane maintenance/flux monitoring), and B01D 61 (pressure-driven membrane processes), reflecting an integrated approach to sensing fouling in clinical dialysis circuits.
families: 16Asahi Kasei Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha
Asahi Kasei holds 2 patent families, all filed in the recent window as a new entrant. Its focus spans B01D 61 (pressure-driven separation), B01D 63 (membrane module configurations), and B01D 65 (membrane monitoring and cleaning), indicating a pure-play membrane engineering angle without the medical-device overlay seen in the leader’s portfolio.
families: 2Frequently asked questions
The in-scope corpus contains 22 patent families. This is a small, specialized field with filing activity concentrated among a handful of assignees.
Gambro Lundia AB leads with 16 patent families, representing the visible position in this corpus. Asahi Kasei Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha is the next-largest filer with 2 patent families.
The field is classified as Growth. The recent three-year filing window is 300% above the prior three-year window, confirming multi-year expansion. Annual volume has eased from its 2022 peak, and the most recent years are further understated by publication lag.
The United States leads with 10 patent records, followed by Europe (EPO) with 8, WIPO (PCT) with 4, and India with 1. Jurisdiction counts are at the patent-record level and reflect where protection has been sought.
B01D (separation and filtration processes) and A61M (devices for body fluids) are the visible IPC branches by patent-record count. G01M (machine and structural testing) and C02F (water and wastewater treatment) are secondary branches.
C02F (water and wastewater treatment) has only 4 patent records, and G01N (material analysis and testing), B01J (chemical/physical processes), and C25B (electrolytic production) each have just 1 record. These branches have low filing density relative to the filtration and medical-device core and may present entry opportunities for applicants with relevant expertise.
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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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