SPECT & Gamma Camera Patents: Who Leads, Where the Gaps Are 2026
SPECT and Gamma Camera Systems Patents: Mapping the Field to 2026
27.0% concentration. The top 5 of 100 ranked assignees hold 2,000 of the 7,420 records in scope — a leader well ahead of a long tail of single- and few-filing entrants. Annual filings climbed from 293 in 2017 to a peak of 432 in 2018. The last complete comparison window, 2021 to 2024, shows a 14% decline (251 to 216) — a cooling rather than a collapse, and the 2025-2026 tail is still being backfilled by the normal publication lag.
- 1KONINKLIJKE PHILIPS NV10.4%
- 2GE PRECISION HEALTHCARE LLC5.9%
- 3SIEMENS MEDICAL SOLUTIONS USA INC4.9%
- 4GENERAL ELECTRIC CO3.7%
- 5THE GENERAL HOSPITAL CORP2.0%
See the full spect and gamma camera systems analysis in Eureka
- The complete ranking, not just the top five
- Every IPC branch with its share of the corpus
- The most-cited records, and where claim space is still thin
Common questions on SPECT and gamma camera patents
Who holds the most SPECT and gamma camera patents?
One assignee leads the ranked field with 775 of the 7,420 records in scope, well ahead of the fifth-place holder at 152 and tenth place at 113. The top 5 assignees together hold 27.0% of all records, and the top 10 hold 34.7%, which means concentration is real at the very top but drops off quickly after that. Most of the remaining ranked assignees hold only a handful of records each, forming a long tail typical of hospital systems, university labs and smaller device makers.
Is gamma camera and SPECT patent filing still growing?
Filing activity peaked in 2018 at 432 records and has eased since; the last fully comparable window, 2021 to 2024, shows a 14% decline from 251 to 216 filings. Figures for 2025 and 2026 look lower still, but that is expected because publication typically lags actual filing by around 18 months, so those years are not yet complete. The honest read is a field that has cooled from its 2018 peak rather than one in active decline.
What technology areas dominate SPECT and gamma camera patent claims?
Nuclear and X-radiation measurement claims (IPC class G01T) appear on 35.3% of the 7,420 records, and diagnosis and surgery claims (A61B) appear on 29.7%, making detector hardware and acquisition method claims the densest ground in the corpus. Radiopharmaceutical-adjacent classes A61K and A61P also carry meaningful shares at 31.1% and 12.1%, reflecting how tightly tracer chemistry and imaging hardware claims overlap in this field. Image data processing (G06T) is comparatively lighter at 10.2%, which is worth noting for anyone assessing where claim space is less crowded.
Disclaimer. This analysis is based on Patsnap Eureka data drawn from a limited snapshot of global patent records and is provided for general information and reference only. Patent data carries inherent limitations — recent filings are under-counted because of publication lag, counts may be on a record or family basis, classification and applicant-name data may contain errors or duplicates, and the underlying search query defines the scope shown — so the analysis may be incomplete or inaccurate and may not reflect the full technology landscape.
Nothing here is an exhaustive prior-art, novelty, freedom-to-operate or validity search, nor does it constitute legal, financial or professional advice, and it should not be relied upon as such. Verify independently and review with qualified patent and legal professionals before acting on it.
Method: Filing trend and technology composition. Derived from a Patsnap search on SPECT and Gamma Camera Systems covering 2015–2026, data cut-off 2026-07-31. Counts reflect published records only and shift as new filings publish. Every share divides by all records in scope. Data: Patsnap Eureka. See the full landscape report.