Isotopes & Nuclear Applications Patents: Leaders, Trends & White Space 2026
- 41.9% of the field sits with five assignees. the top five combined account for 351 of 837 records in scope, so freedom-to-operate work concentrates fast around a small group.
- Filings peaked in 2021 at 124, then fell 61% by 2024. from 124 records in 2021 to 48 in 2024 — a real contraction, not a publication-lag artefact, since 2024 is the most recent complete year.
- Reactor-core claims dominate; ceramics and alloys trail far behind. G21C nuclear reactors covers 46.7% of all 837 records, while C04B ceramics and C22C alloys each sit near 5-7%, marking where claim density thins out.
Filing growth compares 2021 (124 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 837 records in scope (CR5), not by the ranked leaders only.
What this landscape covers
This landscape maps 837 published records spanning nuclear isotope production, reactor instrumentation and radiation monitoring, drawn from a search string that pairs isotope and reactor-application terms with core operational functions: neutron detection, coolant flow, radiation dose, plasma control, radiation monitoring and reactor core design. The scope runs from 2015 through the 2026-08-31 data cut-off, so the most recent filing years are still filling in as publications lag behind filing dates by roughly eighteen months.
Reactor-core engineering (G21C) is the dominant IPC subclass by a wide margin, with heat-exchange apparatus, nuclear power plant systems and radiation measurement forming a second tier. Filing activity is concentrated among a small number of established nuclear-industry assignees, with a long tail of single- or few-filing entrants below them.
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Trend and technology composition
The filing curve and the IPC breakdown below are drawn from the same 837-record scope described above; the composition chart sums to more than 100% because individual records often carry several IPC classes.
A sharp peak, then a real pullback
Filings rose to a peak of 124 records in 2021, then declined to 48 by 2024 — a drop of 61% over that three-year span. Because 2024 is the last year with a largely complete publication record, this contraction reflects an actual pullback in filing activity rather than the reporting lag that understates 2025 and 2026.
Reactor engineering dominates the class mix
G21C (nuclear reactors) appears in 46.7% of the 837 records, more than four times the share of the next largest class. F28D (heat exchange) and G21D (nuclear power plants) each sit near 11-12%, while G01T (radiation measurement) and G21F (radiation shielding) trail in the single digits, and C04B, B21D and C22C mark the outer edge of the claim map at 5-7% each.
Shares are the percentage of the 837 records in scope. A patent can carry several IPC classes, so the shares add up to more than 100%.
Go deeper on Isotopes & Nuclear Applications Patent Landscape with Eureka
This page is one run against one query. Ask Eureka your own question about isotopes & nuclear applications patent landscape and every answer comes back with the patent numbers behind it.
Try EurekaRepresentative and most-cited filings
Method and apparatus for the ex-core production of nuclear isotopes in commercial PWRs
Describes using existing or modified core former plate coolant flow holes in operating pressurized water reactors to install isotope target holders for ex-core isotope production, positioning a flow enabler at the elevation of the core former plates so target materials can be accessed without disrupting normal reactor coolant flow.Filed by Carter, Gary Shelton; published 2004-06-03.
| # | Publication no. | Patent title | Citations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | US5361198A | Compact work station control room | 131 |
| 2 | US5459675A | System for monitoring an industrial process and determining sensor status | 124 |
| 3 | US20150228363A1 | Nuclear reactors and related methods and apparatus | 121 |
| 4 | US5410492A | Processing data base information having nonwhite noise | 116 |
| 5 | US5774379A | System for monitoring an industrial or biological process | 111 |
| 6 | US5629872A | System for monitoring an industrial process and determining sensor status | 109 |
| 7 | US20210098143A1 | Offshore and marine vessel-based nuclear reactor configuration, deployment and operation | 80 |
| 8 | US20040105520A1 | Method and apparatus for the ex-core production of nuclear isotopes in commercial PWRs | 76 |
| 9 | US6140651A | Optically stimulated, fast neutron sensor and dosimeter and fiber-optic coupled fast neutron remote sensor an… | 69 |
| 10 | US5495106A | Detection of subsurface fissionable nuclear contamination through the application of photonuclear techniques | 67 |
Citation counts inside a searched corpus skew toward older filings and should be read as a signal of influence, not of current technical importance.
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Three patterns stand out once the record set is broken down by assignee, year and IPC class.
The leading tier is small and well established
Five assignees hold 351 of 837 records in scope, and the leader alone accounts for 194. A newcomer's claims will almost certainly be read against filings from this small group first, particularly in reactor-core and coolant-flow subclasses.
The 2021 peak has not held
Filings fell from 124 records in 2021 to 48 in 2024. Several of the largest historical filers show no filings in the latest year, which is consistent with a genuine slowdown in new filing activity among the incumbent leaders rather than a data artefact.
Reactor-core claims crowd out the periphery
Nuclear reactor engineering (G21C) covers nearly half of all 837 records, while ceramics, sheet-metal working and alloy subclasses each sit at 5-7%. That gap is where claim space is least occupied, not where the underlying technology is least developed.
Eureka can read the same corpus for gaps instead of for coverage: under-claimed branches adjacent to isotopes & nuclear applications patent landscape, with the prior art for and against each one.
Who is filing, and where they cluster
The ranked leaders sit in established reactor-vendor and national-lab territory, with co-assignment patterns that reveal a few tightly linked filing groups.
A single assignee holds the largest share
The top-ranked assignee holds 194 of the 837 records in scope, well ahead of fifth place at 25 and tenth place at 13. That gap between first and fifth place is the clearest signal of where reactor-core and instrumentation claims are already densely covered.
Corporate affiliates file jointly at scale
The strongest co-assignee pair shares 24 records, well above the next pairs at 7 each. This pattern points to formal joint-filing arrangements between related corporate entities rather than incidental overlap.
Incumbent leaders have gone quiet in the latest year
Multiple assignees among the largest historical filers, including the top-ranked leader, show zero filings in the latest year — a -100% year-on-year change for at least two of them. That leaves room to read the 2021 peak as a closed filing wave rather than an ongoing one.
| Assignee | Recent year | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Westinghouse Electric Corp | 0 | -100% |
| NuScale Power LLC | 0 | -100% |
| General Atomics Co | 0 | — |
| Board of Regents, The University of Texas System | 0 | — |
| General Electric Co | 0 | — |
| GE Hitachi Nuclear Energy Americas LLC | 0 | — |
| BWXT Nuclear Energy Inc | 0 | — |
| BWXT Advanced Technologies LLC | 0 | — |
Where to take this analysis
The dataset points to a field with a settled top tier and a cooling filing rate, but the sub-claim level still has room to move.
Map freedom-to-operate against the top tier
With 41.9% of records held by five assignees, a targeted FTO search against just those portfolios covers a disproportionate share of the risk before looking at the long tail.
Run an FTO scan in EurekaTrack whether the 2021 peak reopens
Several leading assignees show zero filings in the latest tracked year. Watching for renewed activity from that group is a faster signal than waiting for full-year aggregate counts.
Set up assignee alerts in EurekaTest claims in the under-claimed sub-areas
Ceramic shielding composites, alloy cladding and ex-core target-holder geometries sit below the main reactor-core claim mass and may offer more open drafting room.
Explore white space in EurekaCommon questions on isotopes and nuclear applications patents
The ranking is concentrated at the top: five assignees together hold 351 of the 837 records in scope, or 41.9%, and the single leading assignee holds 194 records on its own. Fifth place sits at 25 records and tenth place at 13, showing a steep drop-off after the leader. Because the assignee names in this field include established reactor vendors and national laboratories, a competitive review should start with that leading group rather than the full 100-company ranking.
Filings peaked at 124 records in 2021 and had fallen to 48 by 2024, a 61% decline over that three-year span. 2024 is the most recent year with a largely complete publication record, so this is a real contraction rather than an artefact of the roughly 18-month lag between filing and publication that understates 2025 and 2026. Several of the largest historical filers show no filings in the latest tracked year, reinforcing that the slowdown is broad rather than isolated to one company.
Nuclear reactor engineering, IPC class G21C, appears in 46.7% of the 837 records in scope, making it by far the most heavily claimed area. Heat-exchange apparatus and nuclear power plant systems each cover roughly 11-12% of records, and radiation measurement and shielding sit in the single digits. Ceramics, sheet-metal working and alloy classes trail furthest behind, at 5-7% each, marking the outer edge of current claim density.
The IPC composition thins out sharply once you move past reactor-core and power-plant claims: ceramics, sheet-metal fabrication and alloy classes each cover only 5-7% of the 837 records, compared with 46.7% for reactor engineering. That gap suggests under-claimed territory in areas like ceramic radiation-shielding composites, alloy cladding for isotope targets, and coolant-flow-based isotope target holder designs. A first claim there would need to sit specifically in that structural or materials space rather than restating general reactor-core function.
This filing describes using existing or modified pressurized water reactor core former plate coolant flow holes to install isotope target holders for ex-core isotope production, with a flow enabler positioned at the elevation of the core former plates. It blocks designs that rely on that specific mechanism: accessing coolant flow holes in the core former plate to hold isotope targets without disrupting normal coolant flow. Designs that produce isotopes through other reactor locations, different target-holder mounting geometries, or in-core rather than ex-core placement would need a separate freedom-to-operate review rather than relying on this filing's claim scope alone.
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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.