Implantable Biosensor (Standalone) Patent Snapshot
The standalone implantable biosensor space is a compact, moderately concentrated field dominated by Medtronic and a mix of academic and specialist firms, with the United States as the primary filing jurisdiction. The field peaked around 2019 and annual volume has since eased, though publication lag means recent-year counts remain incomplete.
Medtronic leads a fragmented field with a long academic tail
Medtronic ranks first in the applicant table, followed by Willow Lab and Optoelectronics Systems Consulting. The top five filers — Medtronic, Willow Lab, Optoelectronics Systems Consulting, University of Connecticut, and Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center — together account for 36% of the ranked applicants visible in this query’ combined patent records, signalling moderate concentration at the top with a wide, fragmented middle tier.
The gap between the leader and the second tier is notable but not overwhelming: Medtronic holds 13 patent records against Willow Lab’s 9 and Optoelectronics Systems Consulting’s 8. Below the top five, counts drop rapidly to single digits, confirming a long academic and start-up tail rather than an entrenched oligopoly.
| # | Applicant | Patent records | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Medtronic Inc | 13 | |
| 2 | Willow Lab Inc | 9 | |
| 3 | Optoelectronics Systems Consulting | 8 | |
| 4 | University of Connecticut | 7 | |
| 5 | Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center | 7 | |
| 6 | International Business Machines Corporation (IBM) | 6 | |
| 7 | Board of Regents of the University of Texas System | 6 | |
| 8 | Pacesetter Inc | 4 | |
| 9 | Sub Q Inc | 4 | |
| 10 | Kotov | 4 |
| # | Applicant | Patent records | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| 11 | Mississippi State University | 3 | |
| 12 | University of South Florida | 3 | |
| 13 | Regents of the University of California | 3 | |
| 14 | WL GORE & ASSOC INC | 3 | |
| 15 | Sorenson James L | 2 | |
| 16 | Hitchcock Robert W | 2 | |
| 17 | Board of Regents for Oklahoma State University | 2 | |
| 18 | BOARD OF REGENTS FOR THE OKLAHOMA AGRI & MECHANICA… | 2 | |
| 19 | Sorenson Medical Inc | 2 | |
| 20 | Kotov | 2 |
Medtronic’s position reflects a dual-route strategy spanning diagnostic sensing and electrotherapy, giving it broader claim coverage than narrower academic entrants. Academic institutions — University of Connecticut, Cincinnati Children’s Hospital, University of Texas System, University of South Florida, and others — collectively represent a substantial share of activity, indicating that foundational science remains an active source of new filings.
Filing counts for the most recent 18–24 months are subject to publication lag and should be treated as underestimates of true activity. Longer-window growth, applicant concentration, and technology-route coverage are therefore more reliable signals than the latest-year bar alone.
Peak activity around 2019 with a dominant diagnostic sensing core
Two charts together reveal when the field was most active and which technology branches attract the most coverage. The trend line shows a lifecycle pattern with a clear peak, while the IPC composition confirms a heavily diagnostic-centric corpus with several sparse adjacent branches.
Annual filing trend
Filing activity built from 2017, reached its highest annual volume in 2019 with 5 patent records, and has since eased. The lifecycle evidence classifies the field as in decline from that peak. Years 2024–2026 show zero records, but this reflects publication lag rather than a true cessation of activity — recent filings have not yet entered the public record.
↗ Hover for values · click a bar to ask EurekaTechnology composition
A61B (Diagnosis and surgery) is visible in the IPC mix with 87 patent records, establishing it as the central technical route. C12Q (enzyme/DNA measurement) and G01N (material analysis and testing) each appear at 21 records, forming a secondary tier. A61N (electrotherapy) contributes 16 records. All remaining branches — including C12M, G01F, B22F, G01R, and H01Q — individually hold fewer than 10 records, marking them as sparse adjacencies.
↗ 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.
Implantable biosensor and methods of use thereof
Disclosed herein is an analyte sensing device capable of continuously monitoring metabolic levels of a plurality of analytes. The device comprises an external unit, which, for example, could be worn around the wrist like a wristwatch or could be incorporated into a cell phone or PDA device, and an implantable sensor platform that is suitable, for example… (excerpt from the patent abstract)
| # | Patent | Citations |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Implantable gas-containing biosensor and method fo… | 1,210 |
| 2 | Implantable gas-containing biosensor and method fo… | 902 |
| 3 | Implantable biosensor system, apparatus and method | 594 |
| 4 | Implantable Biosensor and Methods of Use Thereof | 520 |
| 5 | Implantable biosensor from stratified nanostructur… | 355 |
| 6 | Implantable biosensor system, apparatus and method | 246 |
| 7 | Implantable biosensor | 221 |
| 8 | Implantable biosensor | 211 |
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.
Medtronic Inc
Medtronic holds 13 patent records, the highest count in the corpus. Its technology emphasis is concentrated in A61B 5 (diagnostic sensing, 12 records) and A61N 1 (electrotherapy and radiation therapy, 11 records), indicating a strategy that spans sensing and therapeutic stimulation within implantable platforms. No momentum signal was returned for Medtronic in the recent-period data, consistent with the field’s post-peak lifecycle.
patent records: 13IBM (International Business Machines Corporation)
IBM holds 6 patent records and is flagged as a new entrant in the recent filing period, making it the only applicant with a positive momentum signal in the evidence. Its focus is concentrated in A61B 5 (diagnostic sensing, 6 records). IBM’s entry into implantable biosensing — likely driven by data-processing and miniaturization capabilities — represents an atypical new voice in a field otherwise dominated by medical-device and biotech specialists.
patent records: 6Frequently asked questions
Medtronic Inc leads the applicant ranking with 13 patent records, ahead of Willow Lab Inc (9) and Optoelectronics Systems Consulting (8). The field also includes significant academic participation from institutions such as the University of Connecticut and Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center.
The evidence classifies the field as in decline, with annual filings having eased back from a peak in 2019. The field is not inactive, but new annual output has contracted. Publication lag means the most recent 18–24 months of data are underestimates of true activity.
A61B (Diagnosis and surgery) is the visible branch with 87 patent records, far ahead of C12Q (enzyme/DNA measurement) and G01N (material analysis and testing), which each hold 21 records. All other branches individually hold fewer than 17 records.
The United States is the primary jurisdiction with 44 patent records. Europe (EPO) follows with 19 and WIPO (PCT) with 16. Secondary markets including Canada and China each hold 4 records, and Australia holds 3, indicating limited but real international coverage beyond the US and EPO.
Yes. The strongest co-filing partnership is between Optoelectronics Systems Consulting and the University of Connecticut, sharing 5 co-filed patent records. The University of Texas System and Oklahoma State University Stillwater co-filed on 2 records, as did the pairing of Botvinick Elliot and Sub Q Inc. Academic-industry collaboration is the visible partnership model.
IBM (International Business Machines Corporation) is flagged as a new entrant in the recent filing period — the only applicant with a positive momentum signal in the evidence. Its 6 patent records are concentrated in A61B 5 (diagnostic sensing), suggesting an interest in data-driven implantable diagnostic platforms.
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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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