Pacemaker Biocompatible Materials Patent Snapshot
The pacemaker biocompatible materials space is a mature, concentrated field anchored by established cardiac-device incumbents, with Cardiac Pacemakers Inc holding a commanding lead. Filing activity has plateaued following a 2017 peak, signaling a field where foundational positions are largely set and differentiation increasingly depends on adjacent technical branches.
Cardiac Pacemakers Inc leads a tightly held field
Cardiac Pacemakers Inc ranks first with 17 patent records, well ahead of second-ranked Cook Vascular Inc at 7 and Pacesetter Inc and Cook Medical Technologies LLC, each with 6. The top five filers together account for 56% of the ranked applicants visible in this query’ combined total, indicating a concentrated visible assignee structure.
The gap between the leader and the second tier is pronounced: Cardiac Pacemakers Inc holds roughly 2.4 times the patent records of the next-closest applicant. Below the top five, holdings drop sharply to four records or fewer per applicant, creating a clear two-tier structure.
| # | Applicant | Patent records | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Cardiac Pacemakers Inc | 17 | |
| 2 | Cook Vascular Inc | 7 | |
| 3 | Pacesetter Inc | 6 | |
| 4 | Cook Medical Technologies LLC | 6 | |
| 5 | Intermedics Inc | 5 | |
| 6 | BIOTRONIK SE & CO KG | 4 | |
| 7 | Advanced Neuromodulation Systems Inc | 4 | |
| 8 | Heil Ronald W | 2 | |
| 9 | Nimon Yevgeniy S | 2 | |
| 10 | Kusmo Inc | 2 |
| # | Applicant | Patent records | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| 11 | Lambda Nu Technology LLC | 2 | |
| 12 | Telectronics | 2 | |
| 13 | PolyPlus Battery Co Inc | 2 | |
| 14 | Lui Chun Kee | 2 | |
| 15 | Katz Bruce D | 2 | |
| 16 | Norlander Barry E | 2 | |
| 17 | Nelson Michael T | 2 | |
| 18 | Visco Steven J | 2 | |
| 19 | Advanced Medical Devices | 1 | |
| 20 | Merit Medical Systems Inc | 1 |
The incumbents’ positions — built on electrotherapy-focused filings under A61N — reflect deep integration of biocompatible materials within lead and electrode design rather than materials science in isolation. New entrants face both the incumbents’ IP density and the field’s plateau in annual activity.
The most recent 18–24 months of filings are subject to publication lag and will likely show additional records as applications publish; the apparent zero activity in 2024–2026 should not be read as a real cessation. Longer-window growth, applicant concentration, and technology-route coverage are therefore more reliable signals than the latest-year bar alone.
Activity has plateaued and technology is concentrated in electrotherapy
Two charts capture the temporal and technical shape of this corpus: annual filing volume from 2017 onward, and the IPC branch distribution across all records. Together they show a field that peaked in 2017 and is dominated by a single primary class.
Annual filing trend
Filings peaked at 3 records in 2017, then fell to zero in 2018–2019, recovered modestly to 2 in 2020 and again to 2 in 2023, with no records visible in 2024–2026. Per the publication-lag rule, recent zeros reflect incomplete indexing rather than a confirmed halt; the overall pattern nonetheless confirms a plateau consistent with a mature field.
↗ Hover for values · click a bar to ask EurekaTechnology composition
A61N (Electrotherapy and radiation therapy) is visible in with 60 patent records, dwarfing A61B (Diagnosis and surgery) at 13. All remaining branches — A61F, A61L, B29B, B29C, B29D, B32B, and A61M — each hold 2 or fewer records, pointing to very limited coverage of materials-processing, implant-structure, and sterilization methods in the existing corpus.
↗ 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.
Pulse generator header lead introducer tool
A cardiac lead introducing apparatus, the cardiac lead introducing apparatus having a sleeve with a peripheral surface, a first end and a second end, where the sleeve includes an opening extending from the first end to the second end and adapted to hold at least a portion of a cardiac lead. The cardiac lead introducing apparatus further includes a first… (excerpt from the patent abstract)
| # | Patent | Citations |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Self-anchoring coronary sinus lead | 452 |
| 2 | Ultrasonically activated electrodes | 339 |
| 3 | Radio frequency dilator sheath | 282 |
| 4 | Self-anchoring coronary sinus lead | 112 |
| 5 | Threaded suture sleeve | 108 |
| 6 | Pulse generator header lead introducer tool | 80 |
| 7 | Cardiac lead with active fixation and biocompatibl… | 76 |
| 8 | Radio frequency dilator sheath | 66 |
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.
Cardiac Pacemakers Inc
Cardiac Pacemakers Inc holds 17 patent records, the largest position in the corpus, with its technology emphasis concentrated in A61N 1 (Electrotherapy and radiation therapy) at 11 records. This focus reflects deep integration of biocompatible material choices within lead and electrode architectures. No recent momentum signal is available in the evidence, consistent with a mature incumbent holding a largely static but visible position.
families: 17Biotronik SE & Co KG
Biotronik SE & Co KG holds 4 patent records and carries the only positive momentum signal in the applicant data — classified as a new entrant with 2 recent records. Its technology emphasis spans A61B 17 (surgical instruments, 4 records), A61N 1 (electrotherapy, 4 records), and A61B 5 (diagnostic measurement, 2 records), suggesting a broader systems approach than the pure-electrotherapy focus of the leader.
families: 4Frequently asked questions
The corpus contains 7 patent families in scope. The applicant ranking and IPC composition figures are drawn from patent records, which can exceed the family count when a family is filed across multiple jurisdictions.
Cardiac Pacemakers Inc leads with 17 patent records, more than twice the count of second-ranked Cook Vascular Inc at 7 records.
No. The lifecycle evidence classifies the field as Mature, with annual filings having plateaued near their 2017 peak. The most recent years show zero visible records, but publication lag means that figure is incomplete rather than confirmed zero activity.
A61N (Electrotherapy and radiation therapy) is visible in with 60 patent records, reflecting that biocompatible material choices in this field are primarily addressed within lead, electrode, and stimulation-device patents rather than standalone materials filings.
The United States leads with 25 patent records, followed by Europe (EPO) and WIPO (PCT), each at 11. Australia and Canada each have 5 records. Germany, Japan, and Austria each have 1.
The evidence identifies one co-applicant relationship: Visco Steven J and Advanced Polymer Battery Co share 2 co-filed records. No other cross-entity collaborations appear in the corpus, suggesting incumbents have developed biocompatible materials capabilities largely in-house.
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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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