Optical/Fiber Pressure Sensor Patent Snapshot 2026
The standalone optical/fiber pressure sensor space comprises 24 patent families, led by Expro Meters Inc with the largest filing share among the top hundred filers; the field is in a Growth stage on a multi-year basis, with recent-window activity running well ahead of the prior window, though annual volume has eased from its 2023 peak. Coverage is concentrated in the United States and Europe, with oilfield and medical diagnostics emerging as the dominant application verticals alongside core pressure measurement.
Expro Meters leads a moderately fragmented but specialist field
Expro Meters Inc holds the top-ranked position with 14 patent records among the ranked applicants visible in this query, followed closely by Halliburton Energy Services and Litton Systems, each with 10 patent records. The top five filers account for 22% of the ranked applicants visible in this query’ combined total, indicating that no single player has achieved visible lock-in.
The tier gap between the leader and the mid-pack is present but narrow: eight applicants sit within the 7–10 patent-record range, suggesting a competitive cluster rather than a runaway leader. This structure leaves room for focused challengers to accumulate meaningful positions with targeted filing programs.
| # | Applicant | Patent records | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Expro Meters Inc | 14 | |
| 2 | Halliburton Energy Services Inc | 10 | |
| 3 | Litton Systems Inc | 10 | |
| 4 | Leiv Eiriksson Nyfotek | 8 | |
| 5 | General Electric Company | 8 | |
| 6 | United Technologies Corporation | 8 | |
| 7 | Opsens Inc | 7 | |
| 8 | Rosemount Inc | 7 | |
| 9 | Tunable Infrared Technologies AS | 7 | |
| 10 | Weatherford Technology Holdings LLC | 7 |
| # | Applicant | Patent records | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| 11 | Shimadzu Corporation | 6 | |
| 12 | Scientific Center for Fiber Optics at the Institute of General Physics (Russian Academy of Sciences) | 6 | |
| 13 | Abiomed Inc | 6 | |
| 14 | Weatherford/Lamb Inc | 6 | |
| 15 | Nanyang Technological University | 5 | |
| 16 | AGENCY FOR SCI TECH & RES | 5 | |
| 17 | Nanjing Normal University | 5 | |
| 18 | Furukawa Electric Co Ltd | 5 | |
| 19 | Intelligent Fiber Optic Systems Inc | 4 | |
| 20 | Denso Corporation | 4 |
The leaders’ positions reflect specialization in downhole oil-and-gas sensing (Expro Meters, Halliburton) and aerospace/defense-adjacent optical systems (Litton Systems, United Technologies), signaling that application-domain expertise, not just sensor physics, is the primary differentiator among the front runners.
The most recent 18–24 months of filing data are subject to publication lag and will undercount actual activity; trend readings for 2024–2026 should be treated as provisional. Longer-window growth, applicant concentration, and technology-route coverage are therefore more reliable signals than the latest-year bar alone.
A 2023 filing surge and a pressure-measurement core with selective medical and downhole extensions
Two charts together reveal both the pace of activity and where the technology boundaries are being drawn: annual filings spiked sharply in 2023, and the IPC class distribution shows a visible core with several secondary application branches.
Annual filing trend
Filings were subdued at 1–2 families per year from 2017 through 2021, then accelerated to 4 in 2022 and reached a visible peak of 10 in 2023. The 2024 and 2025 readings of 2 and 1 respectively reflect publication lag and should not be read as a real-data decline; the three-year recent window remains 300% above the prior three-year window, confirming multi-year growth.
↗ Hover for values · click a bar to ask EurekaTechnology composition
G01L (Force & Pressure Measurement) is visible in with 222 patent records, establishing it as the foundational technical class. G02B (Optical Elements & Systems, 27 records) and A61B (Diagnosis & Surgery, 20 records) are the next largest branches, pointing to active development in optical design and medical applications. Downhole (E21B, 12 records) and signal transmission (G08C, 15 records; H04B, 11 records) round out the secondary clusters.
↗ 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.
FASEROPTISCHER DRUCKSENSOR FÜR KATHETERVERWENDUNG
| # | Patent | Citations |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | High sensitivity fiber optic pressure sensor for u… | 350 |
| 2 | Mandrel-wound fiber optic pressure sensor | 211 |
| 3 | Non-intrusive fiber optic pressure sensor for meas… | 196 |
| 4 | Optical pressure-sensing system using optical reso… | 158 |
| 5 | Fiber optic pressure sensor systems | 127 |
| 6 | Fiber optic pressure sensor systems | 122 |
| 7 | Non-intrusive fiber optic pressure sensor for meas… | 119 |
| 8 | Fiber-optic pressure sensor, variants and method f… | 110 |
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.
Expro Meters Inc
Expro Meters Inc ranks first with 14 patent records. Its technology focus is concentrated in G01L11 (fiber-optic pressure measurement, 23 records), E21B47 (downhole well measurement, 12 records), and G01L1 (general pressure measurement, 12 records), positioning it squarely as a downhole flow-and-pressure metering specialist. This application-domain depth in upstream oil and gas is the clearest competitive moat among the ranked filers.
families: 14Halliburton Energy Services Inc
Halliburton Energy Services Inc holds 10 patent records and concentrates its filings in G01L11 (fiber-optic pressure measurement, 9 records) with secondary work in G01B9 (interferometric length and dimension measurement, 2 records). Its portfolio overlaps significantly with Expro Meters in the downhole sensing application space, making it the most direct competitive counterpart to the leader.
families: 10Frequently asked questions
The evidence covers 24 patent families in scope. This is a specialized, focused corpus reflecting the standalone sensor segment rather than the broader fiber sensing market.
Expro Meters Inc leads with 14 patent records among the top hundred filers, focused on downhole fiber-optic pressure measurement (G01L11) and well-measurement applications (E21B47).
The field is classified as Growth: the recent three-year filing window is 300% above the prior three-year window. Annual volume peaked in 2023 and has eased since, but the multi-year trajectory remains upward. The most recent data (2024–2025) is further understated by publication lag.
The United States leads with 52 patent records, followed by Europe via the EPO (38 records), Japan (25 records), Canada (24 records), and WIPO PCT filings (21 records). Norway (8 records) is a notable niche jurisdiction, reflecting the offshore oil-and-gas applicant cluster.
No co-applicant relationships are recorded in this evidence set. The field appears to be characterized by proprietary, individually filed portfolios rather than collaborative or consortium-based IP strategies.
Beyond G01L (Force & Pressure Measurement, 222 patent records), the most active adjacent verticals are G02B (Optical Elements & Systems, 27 records), A61B (Diagnosis & Surgery, 20 records), G01D (General Measuring & Recording, 18 records), and G08C (Transmission of Measured Values, 15 records), followed by E21B (Earth & Rock Drilling/Wells, 12 records).
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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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