Vascular Access for Hemodialysis Patents: Leaders & Filing Trends 2026
- Top 5 filers hold 25.3% of the field. 330 of the 1,306 records in scope sit with just five assignees, while the ranked leaders' list runs on to a long tail of single-digit filers.
- Filing has cooled from its 2017 peak. Annual filings ran from 70 in 2017 down through 35 in 2021 to 29 in 2024, a 17% pullback over that span, though 2025-26 counts are still incomplete.
- A61M and A61F dominate the claim map. Devices for body fluids (47.4%) and implants & prostheses (39.8%) between them cover most records, leaving diagnosis/surveillance codes comparatively thin.
Filing growth compares 2021 (35 records) with 2024 (29) — 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 1,306 records in scope (CR5), not by the ranked leaders only.
What this landscape covers
Vascular access for hemodialysis spans the surgical creation of an arteriovenous fistula, the graft materials used when native vessels are unsuitable, the devices and needles that cannulate the access site, and the surveillance tools that flag stenosis before an access fails. This landscape pulls 1,306 patent families published between 2015 and mid-2026 that combine fistula or vascular-access terms with graft, maturation, cannulation, surveillance or flow-related claim language. Endovascular fistula creation and access flow monitoring sit inside the same search scope as older graft-material filings, so the dataset spans both mechanical hardware and biological approaches to the same clinical problem.
Because publication trails filing by roughly 18 months, the most recent one to two years in any trend understate real filing activity; 2024 is the last year that can be read as complete.
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Filing trend and technology composition
Two views of the same 1,306-record scope: how filing volume has moved year over year, and which IPC subclasses carry the claim density.
Filing trend, 2017-2026
Filings peaked at 70 in 2017 and eased to 35 by 2021. The last complete year, 2024, logged 29 filings — a 17% decline from 2021 — before the 2025-26 counts taper further, an effect of publication lag rather than a real drop-off.
Technology composition by IPC subclass
A61M (devices for body fluids) and A61F (implants & prostheses) each cover well over a third of the 1,306 records, reflecting the field's split between fluid-handling hardware and implanted graft structures. A61B (diagnosis & surgery) at 34.1% and A61L (sterilising) at 31.9% trail close behind, while A61N (electrotherapy) and A01N (biocides) sit under 5%, marking thinner claim territory.
Shares are the percentage of the 1,306 records in scope. A patent can carry several IPC classes, so the shares add up to more than 100%.
Go deeper on Vascular Access for Hemodialysis with Eureka
This page is one run against one query. Ask Eureka your own question about vascular access for hemodialysis and every answer comes back with the patent numbers behind it.
Try EurekaMost-cited records and a representative filing
US20190209825A1 — Method and apparatus for enhancing the maturation rate of an arteriovenous fistula
A method and apparatus are aimed to improve arteriovenous fistula maturation rate by treating the fistula with a crosslink agent solution (fixative solution). The fixative solution will crosslink proteins and biomolecules, allowing formation of crosslinks that stabilize or stable tissue structure. The method and apparatus will address factors that contribute to arteriovenous fistula maturation failure by stopping the neointimal hyperplasia growth after vascular injury and stabilizing the venous wall to prevent the lumen from narrowing.Filed by C.R. Bard, Inc., published 2019-07-11.
| # | Publication no. | Patent title | Citations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | US7967839B2 | Electromagnetic treatment of tissues and cells | 1,624 |
| 2 | US8273404B2 | Extraction of solvents from drug containing polymer reservoirs | 1,351 |
| 3 | WO2005096954A2 | Electromagnetic treatment of tissues and cells | 908 |
| 4 | US20140296962A1 | Actively Controllable Stent, Stent Graft, Heart Valve and Method of Controlling Same | 640 |
| 5 | US6099542A | Catheter apparatus and methodology for generating a fistula on-demand between closely associated blood vessel… | 630 |
| 6 | US20130166017A1 | Actively Controllable Stent, Stent Graft, Heart Valve and Method of Controlling Same | 575 |
| 7 | US5830224A | Catheter apparatus and methodology for generating a fistula on-demand between closely associated blood vessel… | 558 |
| 8 | US6379373B1 | Methods and apparatus for intraluminal deposition of hydrogels | 548 |
| 9 | US20060147492A1 | Medical implants and anti-scarring agents | 480 |
| 10 | US20050143817A1 | Medical implants and anti-scarring agents | 396 |
Citation counts favour older filings inside this searched corpus; treat them as a signal of influence on subsequent filers, not as a measure of current commercial relevance.
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Concentration at the top of the ranking, a cooling filing curve, and an IPC mix skewed toward hardware together sketch where claim space is occupied and where it is not.
The field is led but not locked up
330 of the 1,306 records in scope belong to just five assignees, yet the leader's own share (82 records) is far short of dominant. The top 10 combined reach 38.5% (503 records), which leaves the majority of filings spread across a long tail of smaller entrants — room for a differentiated filer to build a position without displacing an incumbent.
Volume has eased from its 2017 peak
Filings dropped from a 2017 peak of 70 to 35 by 2021 and to 29 by 2024, a 17% pullback across that three-year window. Recent-year momentum tables show several established assignees at 0 filings in the latest tracked year, consistent with a maturing rather than an expanding filing base — though 2025-26 figures are still filling in under publication lag.
Hardware and implant claims dominate the map
Devices for body fluids (A61M) and implants & prostheses (A61F) together anchor most of the corpus, while therapeutic-compound codes A61P (6.7%) and electrotherapy code A61N (4.5%) remain comparatively open. That imbalance suggests claim space around drug-eluting or bioelectric approaches to fistula maturation is less crowded than the mechanical graft and cannulation space.
Eureka can read the same corpus for gaps instead of for coverage: under-claimed branches adjacent to vascular access for hemodialysis, with the prior art for and against each one.
Who is filing, and where the gaps sit
The ranked leaders combine device makers, graft-material specialists and a scatter of single-filing entrants. Co-assignee pairings point to close R&D partnerships rather than broad industry consolidation.
A single leader, no runaway gap to fifth
The top-ranked assignee holds 82 of the 1,306 records, compared with 43 at fifth place and 32 at tenth — a gradual taper rather than a cliff, meaning mid-tier filers still carry meaningful claim weight.
Collaboration clusters around a few R&D pairings
Ten co-assignee pairs appear in the data, the strongest pairing filing 21 records together and two other pairings each reaching 10. These look like inventor-company or subsidiary relationships rather than industry-wide cross-licensing.
Several established filers have gone quiet recently
Multiple assignees that built substantial portfolios show zero filings in the latest tracked year, including one at -100% year-on-year. That is consistent with either portfolio maturity or a shift in filing strategy, and it opens room for new entrants to file into areas the incumbents are no longer actively claiming.
| Assignee | Recent year | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| LimFlow | 0 | -100% |
| Shire Regenerative Medicine, Inc. | 0 | — |
| Artio Medical, Inc. | 0 | — |
| Cordis Corporation | 0 | — |
| Vascular Therapies, Inc. | 0 | — |
| Shire Regenerative Medicine, Inc. | 0 | — |
| Vascular Therapies, Inc. | 0 | — |
| ANGIOTECH INT AG (CH) | 0 | — |
Where to take this analysis
The dataset points to specific next steps depending on whether the goal is freedom-to-operate, portfolio benchmarking, or spotting an entry point.
Check freedom-to-operate on graft and cannulation claims
A61M and A61F carry the densest claim coverage in this field; any new graft or needle-cannulation design should be checked against the leading assignees' active families before development spend.
Run a freedom-to-operate searchTrack the quiet incumbents
Several top-ranked filers show zero recent-year filings. Watch for renewed activity, licensing moves, or acquisition signals from these portfolios before assuming the space stays open.
Set up assignee monitoringExplore the under-claimed branches
Bioelectric maturation and non-invasive flow surveillance sit well below the density of the mechanical graft space, making them worth a closer look for a first-mover claim position.
Explore white space with EurekaCommon questions on this landscape
The leading assignee in this dataset holds 82 of the 1,306 records in scope, with the top five combined reaching 330 records, or 25.3% of the field. That leaves the majority of filings spread across a long tail of smaller entrants, so no single company controls the space outright. Anyone assessing competitive risk should look at both the leader's core claims and the mid-tier filers clustered around 30-40 records each, since the taper from first to tenth place is gradual rather than steep.
Filings peaked in 2017 at 70 and have since eased, falling from 35 in 2021 to 29 in 2024 — a 17% decline over that three-year window. That is the most reliable recent trend, because 2025-26 counts are still incomplete due to normal 18-month publication lag and should not be read as a further drop. Several previously active assignees also show zero filings in the latest tracked year, consistent with a market that is consolidating rather than expanding.
US20190209825A1, filed by C.R. Bard, Inc., covers a method and apparatus that treats an arteriovenous fistula with a crosslinking fixative solution to stabilise the venous wall and slow neointimal hyperplasia after vascular injury. It is aimed squarely at maturation failure, one of the more persistent clinical problems in fistula creation. Anyone developing a chemical or biologic approach to accelerating fistula maturation should review this claim scope closely, since crosslink-based stabilisation is a fairly specific mechanism that leaves room for differently-mechanised alternatives such as mechanical, bioelectric or drug-eluting approaches.
The IPC composition shows A61N (electrotherapy, 4.5% of records) and A01N (biocide-related, 2.8%) carrying far less claim density than the dominant A61M and A61F codes. That points to bioelectric stimulation for fistula maturation, non-invasive access flow surveillance and biocide-based graft infection control as comparatively open branches. These are not guaranteed to be free of prior art, but they sit well below the density of the mechanical graft and cannulation space and warrant a closer freedom-to-operate check before assuming they are crowded.
Among receiving offices in this dataset, the United States leads with 423 filings, followed by the European Patent Office at 198 and the WIPO PCT route at 143. Australia, Canada and Israel each sit in the 88-116 range. That distribution suggests the US remains the primary commercial filing target for this technology, with PCT filings used as a common route into secondary markets.
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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.