The medical devices industry continues to be a hotbed of innovation, with activity driven by the increased need for homecare, preventative treatments, early diagnosis, reducing patient recovery times and improving outcomes, as well as a growing importance of technologies such as machine learning, augmented reality, 5G and digitalisation. In the last three years alone, there have been over 450,000 patents filed and granted in the medical devices industry, according to GlobalData’s report on Cybersecurity in Medical Devices: Biometrics secured EHR.
According to GlobalData’s Technology Foresights, which uses over 550,000 patents to analyse innovation intensity for the medical devices industry, there are 150+ innovation areas that will shape the future of the industry.
Biometrics secured EHR is a key innovation area in cybersecurity
Electronic health records using biometric logins allow only users and system administrators have access to sensitive patient data. Biometric encryption can help to ensure the authenticity, confidentiality, and integrity of data.
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 biometrics secured EHR.
Key players in biometrics secured EHR – a disruptive innovation in the medical devices industry
‘Application diversity’ measures the number of different applications identified for each relevant patent and broadly splits companies into either ‘niche’ or ‘diversified’ innovators.
‘Geographic reach’ refers to the number of different countries each relevant patent is registered in and reflects the breadth of geographic application intended, ranging from ‘global’ to ‘local’.
Patent volumes related to biometrics secured EHR
Source: GlobalData Patent Analytics
Microsoft is one of the leading patent filers in the field of biometrics. Some other key patent filers in the field include DexCom, F. Hoffmann-La Roche, and Koninklijke Philips.
In terms of application diversity, Johnson & Johnson leads the pack, followed by FitStar Labs and Qualcomm. By means of geographic reach, Nant Holdings held the top position, followed by NantWorks and i-Lumen Scientific in the second and third spots, respectively.
EHR stores sensitive patient data and hence there is an increasing need to create secure access to the data. Advances in technology, decreasing costs, and integration of artificial intelligence into EHR will further increase the adoption of biometrics in healthcare. The future focus, however, should be on addressing challenges such as privacy, cost and interoperability.
To further understand how cybersecurity is disrupting the medical devices industry, access GlobalData’s latest thematic research report on Cybersecurity in Medical (2020).
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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.
