Nondestructive Testing Patents: Who Leads, Where the Gaps Are 2026
- Filing peaked in 2017 at 141 records and 2021-2024 volume fell 15% (54 to 46), a real cool-off but not a collapse — recent years are still filling in as publications catch up.
- The top 5 assignees hold just 17.1% of the 1,623 records in scope, and the top 10 only 24.5% — this is a fragmented field with a long tail, not one owned by a handful of firms.
- G01N material testing touches 53.3% of records while A61B diagnosis and surgery reaches 24.0%, showing how much NDT sensing technique crosses into medical device claims.
Filing growth compares 2021 (54 records) with 2024 (46) — 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 1,623 records in scope (CR5), not by the ranked leaders only.
What this landscape covers
This dataset gathers 1,623 published records matching nondestructive testing methods paired with transducer, sensor and signal-conditioning claim language. It spans filings from 2015 through the 2026 data cut-off, drawing on receiving offices led by the United States, the European Patent Office and the WIPO PCT route. The scope favours records where an NDT method claim is combined with a specific sensing or signal-handling element, rather than NDT as a standalone process claim.
Because publication lags filing by roughly 18 months, the most recent one to two years in any trend understate true filing activity. The 2024 figures are the most recent that can be read as complete; 2025 and 2026 will continue to rise as pending applications publish.
Filing trend and technology composition
Two views of the same 1,623-record field: how filing volume has moved year over year, and which IPC subclasses carry the claim language.
Filing trend, 2017 peak to present
Filings peaked in 2017 at 141 records. The 2021-2024 window shows a 15% decline, from 54 down to 46 records — a genuine slowdown from peak, though the tail years are still incomplete due to publication lag and should not be read as a sharper drop than the data supports.
Technology composition by IPC subclass
G01N (material analysis and testing) anchors the field at 53.3% of the 1,623 records in scope, with A61B (diagnosis and surgery) at 24.0% showing substantial overlap with medical device claims. G01S (radar, sonar and positioning), B06B (mechanical vibration generation) and G01B (dimensional measurement) each sit in the 7-10% range, and G01R (electric and magnetic measurement) and A61N (electrotherapy) close out the set near 5%. Records can carry multiple classes, so these shares sum to more than 100%.
Shares are the percentage of the 1,623 records in scope. A patent can carry several IPC classes, so the shares add up to more than 100%.
Go deeper on Nondestructive Testing Patent Landscape with Eureka
This page is one run against one query. Ask Eureka your own question about nondestructive testing patent landscape and every answer comes back with the patent numbers behind it.
Try EurekaRepresentative filing and most-cited prior art
Eddy Current Testing System for Non-destructive Testing of Pipeline (US20240345028A1)
The system combines a data processing unit with two signal conditioning units and a testing probe built from an excitation coil, a receiving coil and a passive resonance coil placed between them. Positioning the passive resonance coil this way removes the need for a separate magnetizing treatment device, shrinking the system and lowering the demands on the testing setup.Filed by Sichuan Deyuan Pipeline Technology Company Limited, published 2024-10-17.
| # | Publication no. | Patent title | Citations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | US20160029998A1 | Systems and methods for locating and/or characterizing intragastric devices | 710 |
| 2 | US6005916A | Apparatus and method for imaging with wavefields using inverse scattering techniques | 368 |
| 3 | US4060716A | Method and apparatus for automatic abnormal events monitor in operating plants | 332 |
| 4 | WO1998029853A1 | Grating transducer for acoustic touchscreen | 270 |
| 5 | US4662222A | Apparatus and method for acoustic imaging using inverse scattering techniques | 258 |
| 6 | US5588032A | Apparatus and method for imaging with wavefields using inverse scattering techniques | 249 |
| 7 | US4297607A | Sealed, matched piezoelectric transducer | 246 |
| 8 | US5614670A | Movable seismic pavement analyzer | 239 |
| 9 | US4211948A | Front surface matched piezoelectric ultrasonic transducer array with wide field of view | 229 |
| 10 | US6763722B2 | Ultrasonic transducers | 217 |
Citation counts favour older records simply by virtue of time in the corpus; treat them as a signal of influence on the field, not of current commercial relevance.
Each row carries its publication number; clicking a row searches Eureka by that number.
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Four figures worth acting on, drawn directly from the dataset rather than from general impressions of the field.
No single filer dominates NDT sensing claims
The leading assignee holds 100 records against a field of 1,623, and the top 5 combined reach only 17.1%. That leaves the great majority of filing spread across a long tail of single- and few-filing entrants — a structure that favours new entrants who can find a genuinely open claim rather than one already crowded by an incumbent.
Volume has eased from its 2017 peak
Filings peaked at 141 in 2017 and the 2021-2024 window shows a further 15% pullback, from 54 to 46 records. That is a real cooling, not a technology in decline — the drop sits well below peak activity but the field has not gone quiet, and 2025-2026 figures are still incomplete due to publication lag.
NDT sensing claims spill into medical devices
Nearly a quarter of the 1,623 records also carry an A61B diagnosis-and-surgery classification alongside G01N material testing at 53.3%. Filers building sensing or transducer elements for industrial inspection should expect overlap with medical device prior art, and vice versa.
US filings lead, PCT and EPO close behind
The United States receives the largest single share of filings at 565 records, with Europe (EPO) at 257 and the WIPO PCT route at 175 close behind. China and Canada each sit near 85, suggesting most applicants still treat the US and Europe as primary markets before extending via PCT.
Eureka can read the same corpus for gaps instead of for coverage: under-claimed branches adjacent to nondestructive testing patent landscape, with the prior art for and against each one.
Who is filing, and where the gaps sit
The ranked field spans 100 assignees, but ownership is thin at the top and most recent-year momentum has stalled even among the largest filers.
The top assignee holds a modest lead
The leading assignee sits at 100 records, with fifth place already down to 35 and tenth place at 21. That gradient is steep near the very top and flattens quickly, meaning the practical competitive set is wider than the leaderboard's top few names suggest.
Several established filers show no latest-year activity
A number of the more established names in the ranking — including university and large-corporate assignees — show zero filings in the latest year, with year-on-year change at -100% for some. This does not necessarily mean exit from the field; it is consistent with publication lag pulling recent applications out of view.
Co-filing is rare and concentrated in a few clusters
Only 10 co-assignee pairs appear across the dataset, and the strongest pairings — all involving the same corporate entity paired with different individual co-inventors — reach 21 shared records. Co-assignment is not a common structure in this field; most filers protect claims independently.
| Assignee | Recent year | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| The Regents of the University of California | 0 | -100% |
| JENTEK SENSORS INC | 0 | -100% |
| General Electric Co. | 0 | — |
| SQUARE ROBOT INC | 0 | — |
| Perimetrics LLC | 0 | -100% |
| The Boeing Co. | 0 | — |
| PENRITH CORP | 0 | — |
| Molex Inc. | 0 | — |
Where to take this analysis
The dataset points to a fragmented field with specific pockets of dense prior art and others left open. Two directions follow naturally.
Stress-test a claim against the crowded core
G01N and A61B together anchor the majority of records, and citation leaders like the wavefield inverse-scattering patents show where foundational claim language already sits. Before drafting in that space, map a candidate claim against the most-cited records directly rather than against the field average.
Explore claim-level prior art in EurekaTrack assignees whose filing has gone quiet
Several established filers show zero latest-year activity, which can mean exit, portfolio consolidation, or simply publication lag masking pending work. Either reading changes how a competitive-intelligence team should weight that assignee going forward.
Set up assignee monitoring in EurekaCommon questions about this landscape
This dataset identifies 1,623 published records matching nondestructive testing methods combined with transducer, sensor or signal-conditioning claim elements, filed between 2015 and the 2026 data cut-off. The true figure for the field as a whole depends on how narrowly or broadly the search terms are drawn, since NDT overlaps with material testing, medical diagnostics and radar/sonar sensing. Treat this as the scope of this particular search, not an absolute count of every NDT-related filing worldwide.
The ranked field covers 100 assignees, with the leader holding 100 records against a fifth-place figure of 35 and a tenth-place figure of 21. The top 5 assignees combined account for 17.1% of all 1,623 records in scope, and the top 10 for 24.5%, which means ownership is fragmented rather than dominated by one or two firms. A long tail of single- and few-filing entrants makes up the majority of the field.
Filing peaked in 2017 at 141 records and has eased since; the 2021-2024 window, the most recent period that can be read as complete, shows a 15% decline from 54 to 46 records. That is a genuine slowdown rather than a sharp collapse. Figures for 2025 and 2026 will rise as pending applications publish, since publication typically lags filing by around 18 months.
G01N, material analysis and testing, appears in 53.3% of the 1,623 records in scope, making it the dominant classification by a wide margin. A61B, diagnosis and surgery, follows at 24.0%, reflecting significant overlap between industrial NDT sensing techniques and medical device claims. G01S (radar, sonar and positioning), B06B (mechanical vibration) and G01B (dimensional measurement) each sit between roughly 7% and 10%, rounding out the main technical clusters.
The thinner clusters relative to the core G01N/A61B claim density include passive resonance coil probe geometries, signal conditioning tuned for multi-coil eddy current arrays, and fusion approaches that combine electric/magnetic measurement (G01R) with acoustic methods. These branches show up in the technology composition data as smaller shares of the 1,623 records, which signals lighter claim coverage rather than lower technical relevance. Anyone drafting in these areas should still check the most-cited foundational patents before assuming clear space.
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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.