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Run your analysis now →https://www.patsnap.com/resources/blog/rd-blog/medical-imaging-mri-rf-coil-technology-patent-landscape/ · Patsnap · data cut-off 2026-07-31 · downloaded from the live page
Patent Landscape · Biomedical DevicesMRI RF coil patents: mapping who holds the claims on phased-array, high-density and flexible receive coil designs
- Filing has cooled since a 2020 peak of 80. annual filings fell to single digits by 2026, with the midpoint 2022 figure of 38 confirming a declining trend rather than a temporary dip.
- Claim density concentrates in two IPC subclasses. G01R (1,069 records) and A61B (673) dominate, while H01Q antenna-adjacent filings sit at just 21 — a narrow slice given how coil work borders antenna engineering.
- Momentum has stalled even among the largest holders. Several of the most active historical assignees show 0 filings in the latest year and -100% YoY, suggesting the leading positions are now defensive rather than expanding.
1,186
Published Records
38%
Top-5 Share of All Records
-87%
Filing Growth 2021→2024
US
Leading Jurisdiction
Filing growth compares 2021 (68 records) with 2024 (9) — 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 1,186 records in scope (CR5), not by the ranked leaders only.
Published byPatsnap Research··7 min readSourced from Patsnap Eureka
Overview
What this landscape covers
This dataset tracks 1,186 patent families filed against a search string combining MRI system/scanner terminology with RF coil design claims — phased-array coils, high-density coil arrays, flexible receive coils — restricted to the core measurement and diagnostic IPC classes (G01R33/34, G01R33/36, A61B5/055). Coverage runs from 2015 through the 2026-07-31 data cut-off, meaning the most recent year is necessarily undercounted: publication typically lags filing by around 18 months, so 2025 and 2026 figures will rise as later filings publish.
The composition skews heavily toward magnetic and electric measurement (G01R) and diagnostic/surgical devices (A61B), with a meaningful secondary cluster in magnets and inductive components (H01F). Filing offices are led by the United States, followed by the EPO and WIPO's PCT route, indicating that most applicants pursue protection through the major examining authorities rather than filing narrowly in single national offices.
Filings by year, 2017–2026
Source: Patsnap Eureka. Assignee ranking and totals. Derived from a Patsnap search on Medical Imaging MRI RF Coil Technology covering 2015–2026, data cut-off 2026-07-31. Counts reflect published records only and shift as new filings publish.Run this in Eureka MCP
The data
Filing trend and technology composition
Two views of the same 1,186-family dataset: filing activity by year, and how records distribute across the IPC subclasses that define the coil-design search.
A cooling filing curve since 2020
Filings rose to a peak of 80 in 2020, then declined through the 38 filings recorded at the 2022 midpoint down to single digits approaching 2026. Even allowing for publication lag on the most recent one to two years, the shape is a decline rather than a plateau — the RF coil claim space that drove filings through the late 2010s has largely been staked out.
Measurement and diagnostic classes dominate
G01R (1,069 records) and A61B (673) account for the bulk of filings, consistent with a technology defined by measurement hardware embedded in diagnostic systems. H01F (116) reflects the magnet and inductor engineering underlying coil construction, while G01V (59), A61N (42), A61M (36), G01N (36) and H01Q (21) mark smaller adjacent zones — several of them, notably H01Q antenna design, look under-claimed relative to how directly they bear on coil performance.
Shares are the percentage of the 1,186 records in scope. A patent can carry several IPC classes, so the shares add up to more than 100%.
Source: Patsnap Eureka. Filing trend and technology composition. Derived from a Patsnap search on Medical Imaging MRI RF Coil Technology covering 2015–2026, data cut-off 2026-07-31. Counts reflect published records only and shift as new filings publish.
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The documents anchoring this field
Representative filing
CA2884097A1 — Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) system and method
LT IMAGING INC.
A magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) system and method of magnetic resonance imaging. The preferred MRI system is of lower weight and/or uses less power than conventional MRI systems, due to one or more of magnet design, transmit and receive coil design, selection of RF pulse sequence, synchronization methods, and image reconstruction methods. Preferably, the MRI system is portable.Filed by LT Imaging Inc., 2015-09-13. Its claims span magnet, coil, pulse-sequence and reconstruction design jointly — a breadth that makes it a useful reference point for anyone assessing freedom to operate in portable or lower-power MRI systems.
View full recordMost-cited records in the corpus
| # | Publication no. | Patent title | Citations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | US6628980B2 | Apparatus, systems, and methods for in vivo magnetic resonance imaging | 403 |
| 2 | US6675033B1 | Magnetic resonance imaging guidewire probe | 351 |
| 3 | US5964705A | MR-compatible medical devices | 339 |
| 4 | US5476095A | Intracavity probe and interface device for MRI imaging and spectroscopy | 246 |
| 5 | US20030028095A1 | Magnetic resonance imaging probe | 227 |
| 6 | US5348010A | Intracavity probe and interface device for MRI imaging and spectroscopy | 181 |
| 7 | US20150119689A1 | Identifying individual target sites for transcranial magnetic stimulation applications | 177 |
| 8 | US5572132A | MRI probe for external imaging | 177 |
| 9 | US20160069968A1 | Low field magnetic resonance imaging methods and apparatus | 159 |
| 10 | US5382904A | Structured coil electromagnets for magnetic resonance imaging and method for fabricating the same | 152 |
Citation counts favour older records simply because they have had longer to be cited within the searched corpus — read them as a signal of influence on subsequent filings, not as a ranking of present-day relevance.
Each row carries its publication number; clicking a row searches Eureka by that number.
Source: Patsnap Eureka. Citation counts and representative records. Derived from a Patsnap search on Medical Imaging MRI RF Coil Technology covering 2015–2026, data cut-off 2026-07-31. Counts reflect published records only and shift as new filings publish.Run this in Eureka MCP
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What the numbers mean for a filing decision
Three read-throughs from the trend, composition and citation data that matter more for a filing or freedom-to-operate decision than the raw counts alone.
Filing trend
80 → 2
peak (2020) to latest year
The growth phase is over
Filings peaked at 80 in 2020 and have declined every year since, with 2022's midpoint figure of 38 already confirming the downturn rather than a one-year anomaly. New entrants filing now are working in a claim space that earlier filers have had a decade to occupy.
Publication lag means the final one to two years will revise upward, but not enough to reverse the trend.
IPC composition
1,069 records
G01R subclass
Measurement claims carry the weight
G01R33/34 and G01R33/36 — the core measurement subclasses — anchor the great majority of filings, with A61B diagnostic-system claims layered closely alongside. H01Q antenna-adjacent filings, at only 21 records, look thin given how much coil design borrows from antenna theory.
A narrow H01Q footprint is a plausible signal of open claim space, not just low interest.
Assignee momentum
-100% YoY
multiple leading assignees
Leaders have gone quiet
Several of the historically most active assignees, including major imaging OEMs, recorded zero filings in the latest year with -100% YoY change. That pattern is consistent with mature portfolios being maintained rather than expanded, not with a shrinking market.
Watch for continuation or divisional filings from these holders rather than fresh priority filings.
Filing geography
506 filings
United States receiving office
US and EPO carry most protection
The United States (506), EPO (255) and WIPO PCT route (140) account for the large majority of receiving-office activity, with Canada, India and Australia trailing well behind. Applicants pursuing broad protection are routing through PCT rather than filing nationally in secondary markets.
Freedom-to-operate work outside the US/EU/PCT corridor may find thinner coverage.
Eureka AI Agent
Looking for what nobody has claimed yet?
Eureka can read the same corpus for gaps instead of for coverage: under-claimed branches adjacent to medical imaging mri rf coil technology, with the prior art for and against each one.
Source: Patsnap Eureka. Co-assignee relationships and derived observations. Derived from a Patsnap search on Medical Imaging MRI RF Coil Technology covering 2015–2026, data cut-off 2026-07-31. Counts reflect published records only and shift as new filings publish.Run this in Eureka MCP
Players
Who holds the claims — and where they've stopped filing
Concentration sits with a handful of long-standing imaging OEMs and research institutions, several of which show no filings in the most recent year. Co-assignee pairs point to hospital-industry and intra-company IP-holding structures rather than new joint ventures.
Assignee pattern
10 pairs
co-assignee relationships
Collaboration is structural, not new
The strongest co-assignee links — a university paired with a surgical-imaging spinout, and a major imaging OEM paired with its own IP-holding subsidiary — reflect internal corporate structuring and long-run academic-industry ties rather than fresh joint filings.
New multi-party filings are rare in this dataset.
Momentum
0 filings
latest year, multiple leaders
Historic leaders are dormant, not exiting
Several major imaging companies and a university research foundation show zero filings in the latest year. Given publication lag, this reads as a pause in new priority filings rather than withdrawal from the field.
Check continuation filings before assuming a competitor has left the space.
Institutional filers
1,186 families
total in ranking
A mix of OEMs and universities
Alongside the large imaging OEMs, university and research-foundation assignees appear repeatedly in the ranking, indicating that a meaningful share of foundational coil-design IP originates in academic labs before licensing or assignment to industry.
Licensing-in from academic assignees is a viable route to freedom to operate.
Recent-year filing momentum by assignee
| Assignee | Recent year | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Koninklijke Philips N.V. (Royal Philips) | 0 | -100% |
| Promaxo, Inc. | 0 | -100% |
| General Electric Company | 0 | — |
| General Hospital Corporation (Massachusetts General Hospital) | 0 | -100% |
| PICKER INT INC | 0 | — |
| The Regents of the University of California | 0 | — |
| Hyperfine Research, Inc. | 0 | — |
| Advanced Electric Co., Ltd. | 0 | — |
Source: Patsnap Eureka. Assignee-level momentum. Derived from a Patsnap search on Medical Imaging MRI RF Coil Technology covering 2015–2026, data cut-off 2026-07-31. Counts reflect published records only and shift as new filings publish.Run this in Eureka MCP
What's next
Where to take this next
The trend and composition data point to a mature, concentrated field with specific thin spots. Turning that into a filing or freedom-to-operate decision means going claim-by-claim in the areas flagged above.
Check freedom to operate on high-density and flexible coil claims
The most-cited records in this corpus cover foundational coil and probe designs; newer filings build on them incrementally. A claim chart against the top-cited records is the fastest way to see what is actually blocked.
Explore in Patsnap EurekaWatch dormant leaders for continuation activity
Zero recent-year filings from major OEMs does not mean the portfolio is inactive. Continuations and divisionals can extend enforceable claim scope years after the original priority date.
Explore in Patsnap EurekaScope the antenna-coil boundary
H01Q's thin 21-record footprint relative to G01R's 1,069 suggests real white space at the antenna-coil boundary. A first-claim draft here should specify impedance-matching structure rather than general coil geometry.
Explore in Patsnap EurekaSource: Patsnap Eureka. Forward-looking reading of the same dataset. Derived from a Patsnap search on Medical Imaging MRI RF Coil Technology covering 2015–2026, data cut-off 2026-07-31. Counts reflect published records only and shift as new filings publish.Run this in Eureka MCP
FAQ
Common questions about MRI RF coil patents
Filing activity in this dataset concentrates among a small group of long-standing imaging OEMs and research institutions rather than a single dominant holder. Several of the most historically active assignees show zero filings in the most recent year, which points to mature, defensively maintained portfolios rather than active expansion. A ranking of specific assignees and their family counts is rendered in the players table on this page; treat recent-year figures as understated due to publication lag.
No — filings peaked at 80 in 2020 and have declined every year since, with the 2022 midpoint figure of 38 confirming a genuine downturn rather than a one-year fluctuation. By the most recent year, filings had fallen to a handful. Some of that apparent decline is an artefact of the roughly 18-month gap between filing and publication, but the multi-year trend predates any lag effect and reflects real cooling in new filing activity.
The IPC composition shows a strong skew toward core measurement claims (G01R, 1,069 records) and diagnostic-system claims (A61B, 673), with the antenna-adjacent H01Q subclass carrying only 21 records despite its technical relevance to coil impedance and array design. Flexible-coil conformal geometry and high-density channel multiplexing also show thinner representation relative to how often they come up in commercial coil designs. These are reasonable starting points for a novelty search before drafting new claims.
CA2884097A1, filed by LT Imaging Inc. in 2015, describes an MRI system aimed at lower weight and power consumption, achieved through combinations of magnet design, transmit/receive coil design, RF pulse sequencing, synchronization methods and image reconstruction. Its breadth — spanning coil design together with magnet and reconstruction elements — makes it a useful reference for anyone assessing portable or lower-power MRI systems, since a narrow coil-only design may still need to clear this combination claim. It should be checked directly rather than relied on secondhand, since claim scope in the granted family can differ from the published application.
The United States receiving office leads with 506 records in this dataset, followed by the EPO at 255 and the WIPO PCT route at 140. Canada, India and Australia trail well behind. This distribution suggests most applicants seeking meaningful protection route through the US, EPO or PCT rather than filing narrowly in secondary national offices, which matters for anyone scoping a freedom-to-operate search outside those three jurisdictions.
Answers are grounded in the same dataset. Derived from a Patsnap search on Medical Imaging MRI RF Coil Technology covering 2015–2026, data cut-off 2026-07-31. Counts reflect published records only and shift as new filings publish.Run this in Eureka MCP
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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.