Single-Use Endoscope Patents: Who Leads, Where the Gaps Are 2026
- Concentration at the top. the five leading assignees account for 52.4% of all 1,026 records in scope, and the ten leading assignees for 65.9% — a field where a handful of filers hold most of the claim space.
- Filing has pulled back from its peak. 2019 was the high point at 152 records, and filings fell from 121 in 2021 to 35 in 2024, a 71% drop over that span; 2025-2026 figures are still filling in due to publication lag.
- Optics and imaging classes are secondary but real. 94.0% of records sit in A61B (diagnosis & surgery), but 17.3% also carry G02B optical elements claims and 10.2% carry H04N pictorial-communication claims — the imaging chain is where secondary claim layers concentrate.
Filing growth compares 2021 (121 records) with 2024 (35) — 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 1,026 records in scope (CR5), not by the ranked leaders only.
What the single-use endoscope patent record shows
Single-use endoscope design sits at the intersection of mechanical disposability and imaging electronics: claims cover insertion tube construction, chip-on-tip sensor packaging, sheath and sterilization-avoidance systems, and the cost engineering needed to make a device disposable without degrading image quality. The search scope defined here spans 1,026 published records from 2015 through the 2026 data cut-off, drawing on both device-mechanics filings and imaging-electronics filings that reference cross-contamination or unit-cost pressures explicitly.
Because a single disposable-endoscope family often generates continuation filings across mechanical and electronic claim sets, patent families are the more reliable unit for judging real inventive activity than raw document counts. The composition data below reflects that overlap: a record can and often does carry more than one IPC subclass at once.
Filing trend and technology composition
Two views of the same 1,026-record dataset: how filing volume moved year over year, and how records distribute across IPC subclasses.
Filing activity peaked in 2019, then pulled back
Filings rose to a peak of 152 records in 2019, then declined; the tracked three-year contraction from 121 records in 2021 to 35 in 2024 (-71%) is the clearest complete-year signal in the dataset. Treat 2025 and 2026 as undercounted, since publication typically lags filing by roughly 18 months.
A61B dominates; imaging and fluid-handling classes layer on top
A61B (diagnosis & surgery) covers 94.0% of the 1,026 records, confirming this is fundamentally a surgical-device dataset. G02B optical elements (17.3%), H04N pictorial communication (10.2%) and A61M body-fluid devices (8.7%) show where secondary claim layers sit — imaging trains, video transmission and fluid-channel integration respectively.
Shares are the percentage of the 1,026 records in scope. A patent can carry several IPC classes, so the shares add up to more than 100%.
Go deeper on Single-Use Endoscope Design with Eureka
This page is one run against one query. Ask Eureka your own question about single-use endoscope design and every answer comes back with the patent numbers behind it.
Try EurekaKey patents shaping the field
US4997084A — Packaging system for disposable endoscope sheaths
A system for packaging disposable endoscope sheaths so they do not become contaminated prior to use during shipment, storage and installation on an endoscope, and that also prevents spread of contamination after use during sheath removal and disposal. The sheath ships in an elongated flexible bag sized to the insertion tube's length, with a diameter substantially larger than the tube, optionally inside a sterile tray with a spiral recess.Filed by OPIELAB, INC. and granted in 1991 — one of the earliest records in this dataset addressing sterilization avoidance through packaging rather than sheath material alone.
| # | Publication no. | Patent title | Citations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | WO1993015648A1 | Endoscope with disposable insertion member | 1,756 |
| 2 | US6659940B2 | Image sensor and an endoscope using the same | 1,265 |
| 3 | US20140288460A1 | Method and apparatus for hysteroscopy and endometrial biopsy | 1,082 |
| 4 | US20110028790A1 | Disposable endoscopic access device and portable display | 361 |
| 5 | US4869238A | Endoscope for use with a disposable sheath | 310 |
| 6 | US20120289858A1 | Method and apparatus for hysteroscopy and endometrial biopsy | 285 |
| 7 | US4825850A | Contamination protection system for endoscope control handles | 232 |
| 8 | US6461294B1 | Inflatable member for an endoscope sheath | 224 |
| 9 | US20090054728A1 | Manipulatable guide system and methods for natural orifice translumenal endoscopic surgery | 221 |
| 10 | US20060173244A1 | System and method of obstruction removal | 207 |
Ranked by citation count within the searched corpus; older filings accumulate citations simply by being older, so treat this as a signal of influence rather than current relevance.
Each row carries its publication number; clicking a row searches Eureka by that number.
Put your own technology through the same analysis
Eureka on the web
When you want the answer in the next five minutes.
The agent works the prompt against patents and technical literature, citing every source.
Run your analysis now →MCP server & REST API
When it has to run inside your own pipeline.
Patent search, landscape analysis and assignee resolution as MCP tools. Drop them into any agent framework, or call REST directly.
Browse MCP servers →What the data means for R&D and IP strategy
Three patterns worth acting on before committing engineering or freedom-to-operate budget.
A small group holds most of the claim space
The top five assignees combined account for 52.4% of all 1,026 records in scope, and the top ten for 65.9%. That level of concentration in a device category this specific means new entrants are more likely to be designing around existing families than filing into open ground.
Filing has cooled from its 2019 peak
Volume peaked at 152 records in 2019 and contracted sharply through the complete-year data, falling from 121 records in 2021 to 35 in 2024. Recent-year assignee activity shows several leading filers at zero or flat year-over-year, consistent with a maturing claim landscape rather than an emerging one.
Optics claims are a secondary but persistent layer
Beyond the 94.0% of records in A61B, optical elements (G02B, 17.3%) and pictorial communication (H04N, 10.2%) recur often enough to matter. Chip-on-tip sensor integration and video-transmission claims sit largely inside these two subclasses, not inside the core surgical-device class.
Eureka can read the same corpus for gaps instead of for coverage: under-claimed branches adjacent to single-use endoscope design, with the prior art for and against each one.
| Assignee | Co-assignee | Shared families |
|---|---|---|
| Olive Medical Corp | WICHERN DONALD M | 6 |
| Olive Medical Corp | TALBERT JOSHUA D | 6 |
| Olive Medical Corp | HENLEY JEREMIAH D | 6 |
| VISION SCI INC | HADANI RON | 4 |
| VISION SCI INC | SOULOS THOMAS S | 3 |
| VISION SCI INC | LANDMAN MARK S | 3 |
| VISION SCI INC | LABOMBARD DENIS | 3 |
| VISION SCI INC | KATSUMI ONEDA | 2 |
Only 10 co-assignee pairs appear across the dataset, with the strongest pairs linked at 6 shared records each — collaboration between filers is the exception, not the norm, in this field.
Who is filing, and where the gaps sit
The ranked leaders in this dataset are a mix of device-focused specialists and larger surgical-device companies; momentum in the most recent tracked year has slowed across nearly all of them.
One filer holds a clear lead
The leading assignee's 368 records are more than the next several ranked competitors combined, reflecting a long-running, sustained filing program rather than a single family burst.
A long tail below the leaders
Past the leading assignees, filing counts drop quickly — by tenth place the count is 23 records, and the ranking extends across 100 companies total, most holding only a handful of families each.
Recent-year activity has gone flat across leaders
Several of the most active historical filers show zero filings in the latest tracked year, with year-over-year changes of -100% where prior activity existed. This is consistent with the broader 2021-2024 contraction rather than a single company pulling back.
| Assignee | Recent year | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| DEKA Products LP | 1 | 0% |
| Ambu A/S | 0 | -100% |
| Verathon Inc. | 0 | — |
| Olive Medical Corp | 0 | — |
| Noah Medical Corp | 0 | -100% |
| VISION SCI INC | 0 | — |
| I Q ENDOSCOPES LTD | 0 | — |
| Vivid Medical Inc | 0 | — |
Where to take this analysis
The dataset points to specific decisions — not just observations — for teams working on single-use endoscope design.
Map freedom-to-operate against the leading assignees
With 52.4% of records held by five assignees, a design review should start by pulling their full family trees rather than searching the field at large.
Explore assignee families in Eureka →Test claim language in the under-claimed branches
Sterilization-avoidance packaging and chip-on-tip thermal management show thinner claim density than the core insertion-tube filings — worth a validation search before committing engineering time.
Run a white space search in Eureka →Track the 2021-2024 contraction into 2025-2026 filings
As newer filings publish, the -71% contraction may flatten or continue; monitoring new publications as they land will clarify which outcome is underway.
Set up filing alerts in Eureka →Common questions about single-use endoscope patents
It is highly concentrated at the top. The five leading assignees together account for 52.4% of all 1,026 records in scope, and the ten leading assignees account for 65.9%. Below that, the ranking extends across 100 companies with counts dropping quickly — tenth place sits at 23 records, well below the leader's 368. This pattern means new entrants are more likely to encounter existing claim coverage than open ground, particularly in core insertion-tube and sheath mechanics.
Filing peaked in 2019 at 152 records and has since contracted through the most recent complete-year data, falling from 121 records in 2021 to 35 in 2024 — a 71% decline over that span. Figures for 2025 and 2026 are still incomplete because publication typically lags filing by around 18 months, so the most recent years should not be read as a continued decline until later data fills in. The complete-year trend, however, does point toward a maturing rather than emerging filing landscape.
While 94.0% of the 1,026 records sit in A61B (diagnosis and surgery), secondary claim layers appear in optical elements (G02B, 17.3%), pictorial communication and video transmission (H04N, 10.2%), and body-fluid devices (A61M, 8.7%). Smaller but present classes include digital data processing (G06F, 4.0%) and healthcare informatics (G16H, 2.1%). Because a single record can carry multiple IPC classes, these shares add up to more than 100% and should be read individually against the full 1,026-record base, not summed.
The dataset's assignee ranking includes 100 companies, led by one assignee with 368 records — more than several of the next-ranked competitors combined. The broader field mixes companies focused specifically on disposable-scope mechanics with larger surgical-device manufacturers that file endoscopy patents as part of a wider device portfolio. Co-filing between assignees is uncommon: only 10 co-assignee pairs appear across the whole dataset.
Relative to the dense filing around insertion tubes and sheath packaging, areas such as sterilization-avoidance methods that do not rely on a sheath, chip-on-tip thermal management, and unit-cost engineering for low-cost image sensors show comparatively thinner claim density in this dataset. That does not guarantee an area is unclaimed, but it does suggest lower filing pressure than the core mechanical claims. A targeted prior-art search in those specific sub-areas is the reasonable next step before committing design or filing resources.
Research Single-Use Endoscope Design in depth with Eureka
Go past this page: query the whole single-use endoscope design corpus yourself, in your own scope.
Every answer comes back with patent numbers you can open.
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.