Medical Device Technology Patent Landscape 2026
Medical Device Technology Patent Landscape in 2026
The medical device patent field is moderately concentrated, with Terumo, Philips, and Medtronic holding the top positions among a large commercial field of 7,254 patent families. Activity peaked in 2019 and has eased since, making this a field where established positions are consolidating rather than expanding.
Terumo leads a moderately concentrated field of large incumbents
Terumo (Terumo Corporation) holds the top position in this landscape, followed by Koninklijke Philips and Medtronic. The top five filers account for 26% of the combined patent records of the hundred largest filers, indicating moderate-to-high concentration at the top tier without a single dominant monopoly.
A clear tier gap exists between the leader — Terumo at 1,439 patent records — and the fifth-ranked Biosense Webster (Israel) at 828 patent records, representing a roughly 42% gap from first to fifth. Below the top five, the field broadens into a long tail of mid-tier specialists.
| # | Applicant | Patent records | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Terumo Corporation | 1,439 | |
| 2 | Koninklijke Philips NV | 1,024 | |
| 3 | Medtronic Inc | 944 | |
| 4 | Cardiac Pacemakers Inc | 856 | |
| 5 | Biosense Webster (Israel) Ltd | 828 | |
| 6 | Boston Scientific Scimed Inc | 657 | |
| 7 | Intuitive Surgical Operations Inc | 616 | |
| 8 | Biosense Webster Inc | 515 | |
| 9 | Toshiba Corporation | 429 | |
| 10 | Auris Health Inc | 400 |
| # | Applicant | Patent records | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| 11 | ICU Medical Inc | 367 | |
| 12 | BECTON DICKINSON & CO | 361 | |
| 13 | Ethicon Endo-Surgery Inc | 339 | |
| 14 | Edwards Lifesciences Corp | 339 | |
| 15 | C.R. Bard Inc | 338 | |
| 16 | Olympus Corporation | 328 | |
| 17 | Acclarent Inc | 271 | |
| 18 | St. Jude Medical Atrial Fibrillation Division Inc | 269 | |
| 19 | F HOFFMANN LA ROCHE & CO AG | 263 | |
| 20 | Synaptive Medical Inc | 259 |
The leaders’ positions reflect deep, sustained investment in vascular access, electrophysiology, and surgical guidance. New entrants face high barriers from this accumulated portfolio depth, but mid-tier adjacencies remain accessible to focused challengers.
Filings from 2024 onward are subject to publication lag and likely undercount actual activity; the apparent sharp drop in 2025–2026 should not be interpreted as a real decline in R&D investment. Longer-window growth, applicant concentration, and technology-route coverage are therefore more reliable signals than the latest-year bar alone.
Activity peaked in 2019; diagnosis and surgical guidance dominate the technology mix
The annual filing trend reveals a field that reached peak output in 2019 and has eased since, while the technology composition chart shows that diagnosis and surgery (A61B) and devices for body fluids (A61M) together account for the largest share of activity.
Annual filing trend
Filings rose from 952 in 2017 to a peak of 1,169 in 2019, then declined through 2020–2023. Data from 2024 onward reflects publication lag and should be treated as a floor, not a ceiling. The multi-year window still covers substantial cumulative output across the 7,254 patent families in scope.
↗ Hover for values · click a bar to ask EurekaTechnology composition
A61B (Diagnosis & surgery) is by far the largest branch, followed by A61M (Devices for body fluids) and A61N (Electrotherapy & radiation therapy). Emerging digital-health branches — G16H (Healthcare informatics) and G06F (Electric digital data processing) — are present but at a much smaller scale, signaling that digital integration is nascent relative to core device engineering.
↗ 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.
Instrumentation with Embedded Imaging Systems
A medical instrument includes a shaft having a proximal end, a distal end and a longitudinal axis, and a working member at the distal end of the shaft and having a first arm and a second arm, wherein each of the first and second arms has a proximal end and a distal end, and wherein at least of the first and second arms pivots relative to the longitudinal… (excerpt from the patent abstract)
| # | Patent | Citations |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | System for determining the location and orientatio… | 4,033 |
| 2 | Medical procedures and apparatus using intrabody p… | 3,247 |
| 3 | Medical diagnosis, treatment and imaging systems | 2,411 |
| 4 | Independently positionable transducers for locatio… | 2,405 |
| 5 | Adjustable angle medical forceps | 2,397 |
| 6 | Magnetic determination of position and orientation | 2,314 |
| 7 | System and method for telemetrically providing int… | 2,300 |
| 8 | Gastric treatment and diagnosis device and method | 2,212 |
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.
What the competitive structure means for R&D strategy
The combination of a post-peak lifecycle, moderate concentration, and active cross-entity collaborations defines specific strategic options for incumbents and new entrants alike.
Post-peak field: consolidation phase underway
The lifecycle stage is Decline, with annual filings easing back from the 2019 peak. The field is not in free fall — 7,254 patent families represent a large accumulated base — but the pace of new filings has moderated. R&D teams should prioritize quality and strategic positioning over volume, and focus on adjacent branches where coverage is thinner.
Lifecycle: DeclineTop five hold 26% of the largest filers’ combined records
The top five filers — Terumo, Philips, Medtronic, Cardiac Pacemakers, and Biosense Webster (Israel) — collectively represent 26% of the patent records among the hundred largest filers. This moderate concentration means the field is competitive but not foreclosed; mid-tier players such as Boston Scientific and Intuitive Surgical demonstrate that sustained investment can build defensible positions outside the top five.
Concentration: ModeratePhilips leads co-filing activity; Terumo partners with academic institutions
The most active co-filing pair is Koninklijke Philips and Philips Intellectual Property & Standards (43 joint filings), followed by Biosense Webster (Israel) and Acclarent (37 joint filings). Medtronic collaborates with the Mayo Foundation for Medical Education & Research, and Terumo co-files with Kumamoto University. These pairings show that the major players leverage intra-group IP structures and selective academic partnerships rather than broad cross-industry consortia.
Collaboration: Intra-group dominantUS-centric coverage with EPO and PCT as secondary channels
The United States is by far the leading jurisdiction by patent records, followed by Europe (EPO) and WIPO (PCT). Australia and Canada form a secondary tier. China and Japan each show very limited records in this corpus, which may reflect portfolio strategy, prior-art landscape differences, or corpus scope. Entrants targeting Asian markets may find comparatively lower incumbent density in those filing routes.
Geography: US-dominantGo beyond the landscape: Eureka’s TRIZ Solution agent breaks down an R&D problem and returns patented concept solutions, each with a technical approach and cited patent & literature evidence.
| Applicant | Collaborator | Co-filings |
|---|---|---|
| Koninklijke Philips NV | Philips Intellectual Property & Standards GmbH | 43 |
| Biosense Webster (Israel) Ltd | Acclarent Inc | 37 |
| Koninklijke Philips NV | PHILIPS GMBH | 10 |
| Koninklijke Philips NV | PHILIPS PATENTVERWALTUNG GMBH | 6 |
| Medtronic Inc | Mayo Foundation for Medical Education & Research | 3 |
| Terumo Corporation | Kumamoto University | 2 |
| Terumo Corporation | MARUHO HATSUJYO KOGYO LTD | 2 |
| Koninklijke Philips NV | U.S. Department of Health and Human Services | 2 |
| Koninklijke Philips NV | National Institutes of Health | 2 |
| Koninklijke Philips NV | INSERM (French National Institute of Health and Medical Research) | 2 |
Co-filing pairs, ranked by the number of jointly-filed patent families.
Terumo anchors vascular access; Intuitive Surgical leads robotic surgery
The top two leaders by patent records reflect distinct strategic focuses: Terumo dominates vascular and fluid-delivery devices while Intuitive Surgical is the leading filer in computer-assisted surgical guidance. Both show declining recent momentum, consistent with the broader post-peak field.
Terumo Corporation
Terumo holds 1,439 patent records, the largest position in the corpus, concentrated in A61M 25 (catheter and body-fluid devices), A61M 5 (injection and infusion devices), and A61M 39 (connecting elements for fluid lines). Recent momentum is down 43% versus the prior period, reflecting the broader field deceleration rather than a unique competitive retreat.
patent records: 1,439Intuitive Surgical Operations
Intuitive Surgical ranks third overall with 616 patent records and is the field’s clearest specialist in computer-assisted and robotic surgery, with strong coverage across A61B 34 (computer-assisted surgery), A61M 25, and A61B 5. Recent filings are down 25% versus the prior period — a shallower decline than most peers — suggesting relatively more sustained investment in its surgical robotics core. Auris Health, which shares the robotic surgery focus and ranks tenth at 400 patent records, adds further depth to this cluster.
patent records: 616| Applicant | Recent (3 yrs) | Trend |
|---|---|---|
| Terumo Corporation | 54 | ▼ -43% |
| Koninklijke Philips NV | 38 | ▼ -42% |
| Intuitive Surgical Operations Inc | 91 | ▼ -25% |
| Medtronic Inc | 27 | ▼ -32% |
| Cardiac Pacemakers Inc | 24 | ▼ -61% |
| Biosense Webster (Israel) Ltd | 64 | ▼ -41% |
| Biosense Webster Inc | 2 | ▲ new entrant |
| Auris Health Inc | 50 | ▼ -60% |
Under-served branches adjacent to the dominant device core
Several IPC branches appear at materially lower coverage relative to the dominant A61B and A61M clusters. These represent observations of relative sparsity; where technical value and a plausible entry path exist, they warrant further investigation.
G16H · Healthcare Informatics
G16H holds only a 3% share among the top branches in this corpus — low relative to the scale of digital health investment globally. The branch sits at the intersection of clinical data management, AI-assisted diagnostics, and connected device platforms. Established device makers with hardware portfolios could extend into software-defined clinical decision support; the low incumbent density in this branch within this corpus makes it a plausible adjacent entry point for IP-light digital health teams.
Search this in Eureka →A61N · Electrotherapy & Radiation Therapy
A61N accounts for an 8% share, below its commercial importance given the growth of neuromodulation, cardiac rhythm management, and focused ultrasound. Medtronic and Cardiac Pacemakers are the primary holders here, creating a concentrated sub-field. Teams working on next-generation stimulation waveforms, closed-loop neuromodulation, or non-invasive energy delivery could find navigable white space between the established positions in this branch.
Search this in Eureka →How leaders differ by technology route
Strength of each leader across the main technology routes.
| Player | A61B 5 · Diagnosis & surgery | A61M 25 · Devices for body fluids | A61B 17 · Diagnosis & surgery | A61N 1 · Electrotherapy & radiation therapy | A61B 1 · Diagnosis & surgery |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Intuitive Surgical Operations Inc | Strong · 224 | Strong · 238 | Strong · 163 | Absent | Strong · 211 |
| Biosense Webster Inc | Strong · 259 | Strong · 211 | Moderate · 125 | Emerging · 50 | Strong · 130 |
| Medtronic Inc | Strong · 289 | Moderate · 113 | Absent | Strong · 371 | Absent |
| Koninklijke Philips NV | Strong · 480 | Absent | Emerging · 59 | Absent | Emerging · 51 |
| Cardiac Pacemakers Inc | Strong · 282 | Absent | Absent | Strong · 295 | Absent |
| Auris Health Inc | Strong · 124 | Absent | Strong · 111 | Absent | Strong · 113 |
| Biosense Webster (Israel) Ltd | Strong · 225 | Strong · 114 | Absent | Absent | Absent |
Frequently asked questions
The corpus covers 7,254 patent families across the medical device technology domain on a global basis.
Terumo Corporation leads with 1,439 patent records, ahead of Koninklijke Philips (1,024) and Medtronic (944).
A61B (Diagnosis & surgery) is the dominant branch by patent records, followed by A61M (Devices for body fluids) and A61N (Electrotherapy & radiation therapy).
The field is in a Decline stage, with annual filings having eased back from a peak in 2019. The recent three-year window shows a decline of 35% relative to the prior period, though the total accumulated base of 7,254 patent families remains large.
The United States is the leading jurisdiction by patent records, followed by Europe (EPO) and WIPO (PCT). Australia and Canada form a secondary tier. China and Japan each have very limited records in this corpus.
Koninklijke Philips and Philips Intellectual Property & Standards are the most active co-filing pair with 43 joint filings, followed by Biosense Webster (Israel) and Acclarent with 37. Medtronic co-files with the Mayo Foundation for Medical Education & Research, and Terumo partners with Kumamoto University.
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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.