The medical devices industry continues to be a hotbed of patent innovation. Activity is driven by increased need for homecare, preventative treatments, early diagnosis, reducing patient recovery times and improving outcomes, and growing importance of technologies such as machine learning, augmented reality, 5G and digitalization. In the last three years alone, there have been over 710,000 patents filed and granted in the medical devices industry, according to GlobalData’s report on 3D printing in medical: ophthalmic lenses 3D printing. Buy the report here.
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According to GlobalData’s Technology Foresights, which uses over 155,000 patents to analyze innovation intensity for the medical devices industry, there are 30+ innovation areas that will shape the future of the industry.
Ophthalmic lenses 3D printing is a key innovation area in 3D printing
Ophthalmic lenses 3D printing involves the use of 3D printing technology to manufacture custom lenses for eyewear. This technology allows the lenses to be made with complex and customized designs with high precision and accuracy.
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GlobalData’s analysis also uncovers the companies at the forefront of each innovation area and assesses the potential reach and impact of their patenting activity across different applications and geographies. According to GlobalData, there are 60+ companies, spanning technology vendors, established medical devices companies, and up-and-coming start-ups engaged in the development and application of ophthalmic lenses 3D printing.
Key players in ophthalmic lenses 3D printing – a disruptive innovation in the medical devices industry
‘Application diversity’ measures the number of applications identified for each patent. It broadly splits companies into either ‘niche’ or ‘diversified’ innovators.
‘Geographic reach’ refers to the number of countries each patent is registered in. It reflects the breadth of geographic application intended, ranging from ‘global’ to ‘local’.
Patent volumes related to ophthalmic lenses 3D printing
| Company | Total patents (2010 - 2022) | Premium intelligence on the world's largest companies |
| EssilorLuxottica | 274 | Unlock Company Profile |
| Johnson & Johnson | 178 | Unlock Company Profile |
| Carl Zeiss Stiftung | 69 | Unlock Company Profile |
| Carbon | 59 | Unlock Company Profile |
| Signify | 40 | Unlock Company Profile |
| Olympus | 20 | Unlock Company Profile |
| Alcon | 19 | Unlock Company Profile |
| Indizen Optical Technologies SL | 17 | Unlock Company Profile |
| Novartis | 14 | Unlock Company Profile |
| National Research Council of Canada | 13 | Unlock Company Profile |
| Multiphoton Optics | 13 | Unlock Company Profile |
| Menicon | 13 | Unlock Company Profile |
| SightGlass Vision | 13 | Unlock Company Profile |
| Tokai Optical | 12 | Unlock Company Profile |
| 3M | 12 | Unlock Company Profile |
| Northrop Grumman | 11 | Unlock Company Profile |
| Nikon | 9 | Unlock Company Profile |
| Baden-Wurttemberg Stiftung | 8 | Unlock Company Profile |
| HP | 8 | Unlock Company Profile |
| E-Vision Smart Optics | 8 | Unlock Company Profile |
| The Boeing | 7 | Unlock Company Profile |
| U.S. Department of Defence | 7 | Unlock Company Profile |
| Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft zur Forderung der Angewandten Forschung | 6 | Unlock Company Profile |
| BICO Group | 6 | Unlock Company Profile |
| Will Semiconductor | 6 | Unlock Company Profile |
| Carl Zeiss | 6 | Unlock Company Profile |
| SWISSto12 | 5 | Unlock Company Profile |
| ams | 5 | Unlock Company Profile |
| Eaton | 4 | Unlock Company Profile |
| China Wafer Level CSP | 4 | Unlock Company Profile |
| UEA Enterprises | 4 | Unlock Company Profile |
| The Walt Disney | 4 | Unlock Company Profile |
| Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson | 3 | Unlock Company Profile |
| The French Alternative Energies and Atomic Energy Commission | 3 | Unlock Company Profile |
| TH Koln | 3 | Unlock Company Profile |
| Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique | 3 | Unlock Company Profile |
| Zumtobel Group | 3 | Unlock Company Profile |
| The Corporation For Penn State | 2 | Unlock Company Profile |
| ASAN Foundation | 2 | Unlock Company Profile |
| Anymedi | 2 | Unlock Company Profile |
| Isotropic Systems | 2 | Unlock Company Profile |
| Nutech Ventures | 2 | Unlock Company Profile |
| General Electric | 2 | Unlock Company Profile |
| Hon Hai Precision Industry | 2 | Unlock Company Profile |
| Schneider | 2 | Unlock Company Profile |
| Zorlu | 2 | Unlock Company Profile |
| Kia | 1 | Unlock Company Profile |
| HPM | 1 | Unlock Company Profile |
| Arizona Board of Regents | 1 | Unlock Company Profile |
| Acuity Brands | 1 | Unlock Company Profile |
Source: GlobalData Patent Analytics
EssilorLuxottica and Johnson & Johnson are two of the leading patent filers in ophthalmic lenses 3D printing. Some other key patent filers in the field include Carl Zeiss Stiftung, Carbon, and Signify.
In terms of application diversity, Carbon leads the pack, while Zorlu and U.S. Department of Defence stood in the second and third positions, respectively. By means of geographic reach, Carbon held the top position, followed by Johnson & Johnson and Multiphoton Optics.
Ophthalmic lenses 3D printing offers possibilities for highly personalized, lightweight, and thin lenses design, along with improved optical quality. Additionally, the use of smart materials such as nylon, resins and others may enable dynamic adjustments in response to change lighting conditions or the wearer’s requirements. As 3D printing technology continues to evolve, it has the potential to revolutionize the eyewear industry, offering improved vision correction and aesthetics.
To further understand the key themes and technologies disrupting the medical devices industry, access GlobalData’s latest thematic research report on 3D Printing in Medical Devices.
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GlobalData, the leading provider of industry intelligence, provided the underlying data, research, and analysis used to produce this article.
GlobalData’s Patent Analytics tracks patent filings and grants from official offices around the world. Textual analysis and official patent classifications are used to group patents into key thematic areas and link them to specific companies across the world’s largest industries.
