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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, as well as a growing importance in 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 Innovation in medical: cardiovascular implant deliveryBuy the report here.

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However, not all innovations are equal and nor do they follow a constant upward trend. Instead, their evolution takes the form of an S-shaped curve that reflects their typical lifecycle from early emergence to accelerating adoption, before finally stabilizing and reaching maturity.

Identifying where a particular innovation is on this journey, especially those that are in the emerging and accelerating stages, is essential for understanding their current level of adoption and the likely future trajectory and impact they will have.

30+ innovations will shape the medical devices industry

According to GlobalData’s Technology Foresights, which plots the S-curve for the medical devices industry using innovation intensity models built on over 155,000 patents, there are 30+ innovation areas that will shape the future of the industry.

Within the emerging innovation stage, neuromodulation implants, shapeable guide catheters, and biopotential signal monitoring are disruptive technologies that are in the early stages of application and should be tracked closely. Fall detection monitoring, ingestible sensors, and biofeedback wearables are some of the accelerating innovation areas, where adoption has been steadily increasing. Among maturing innovation areas are CPR assistance devices and bioabsorbable coated implants, which are now well established in the industry.

Innovation S-curve for the medical devices industry

Cardiovascular implant delivery catheters is a key innovation area in the medical devices industry

A catheter is a thin, plastic tube that can be inserted into a blood vessel to administer treatment inside. The positioning of several cardiac devices, including leads, valves, and stents, requires the use of catheters. Unlike the invasive open surgical approach, this method of therapy just needs to make a small puncture site in the skin.

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 140+ companies, spanning technology vendors, established medical devices companies, and up-and-coming start-ups engaged in the development and application of cardiovascular implant delivery catheters.

Key players in cardiovascular implant delivery catheters – 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 cardiovascular implant delivery catheters

Company Total patents (2010 - 2022) Premium intelligence on the world's largest companies
W. L. Gore & Associates Inc 436 Unlock Company Profile
Edwards Lifesciences Corp 421 Unlock Company Profile
Becton Dickinson and Co 362 Unlock Company Profile
Abbott Laboratories 296 Unlock Company Profile
Boston Scientific Corp 288 Unlock Company Profile
Medtronic Plc 205 Unlock Company Profile
Terumo Corp 158 Unlock Company Profile
Cook Group Inc 154 Unlock Company Profile
Johnson & Johnson 92 Unlock Company Profile
Advanced Bifurcation Systems Inc 88 Unlock Company Profile
Koninklijke Philips NV 74 Unlock Company Profile
Biotronik SE & Co KG 58 Unlock Company Profile
Silk Road Medical Inc 50 Unlock Company Profile
Route 92 Medical Inc 38 Unlock Company Profile
Penumbra Inc 34 Unlock Company Profile
Bentley InnoMed GmbH 32 Unlock Company Profile
Cardinal Health Inc 31 Unlock Company Profile
TransAortic Medical Inc 29 Unlock Company Profile
Endologix LLC 28 Unlock Company Profile
Hotspur Technologies Inc 26 Unlock Company Profile
RAM Medical Innovations Inc 24 Unlock Company Profile
Concept Medical Inc 23 Unlock Company Profile
Blue Sail Medical Co Ltd 22 Unlock Company Profile
Teleflex Inc 21 Unlock Company Profile
Angioslide Ltd 20 Unlock Company Profile
Kona Gold Beverage Inc 20 Unlock Company Profile
Contego Medical LLC 20 Unlock Company Profile
Ostial Corporation 17 Unlock Company Profile
Avera Health 17 Unlock Company Profile
Cook Inc 17 Unlock Company Profile
Vesper Medical Inc 16 Unlock Company Profile
Svelte Medical Systems Inc 15 Unlock Company Profile
Hellman & Friedman LLC 14 Unlock Company Profile
Olympus Corp 14 Unlock Company Profile
VASOInnovations Inc 13 Unlock Company Profile
Advanced Stent Technologies, Inc. 12 Unlock Company Profile
Merit Medical Systems Inc 12 Unlock Company Profile
Swat Medical Ab 11 Unlock Company Profile
Stentys SA 10 Unlock Company Profile
Incept LLC 10 Unlock Company Profile
Colibri Heart Valve LLC 10 Unlock Company Profile
Nipro Corp 10 Unlock Company Profile
JenaValve Technology Inc 9 Unlock Company Profile
CorFlow Therapeutics AG 9 Unlock Company Profile
TriSalus Life Sciences Inc 9 Unlock Company Profile
AllVascular Pty Ltd. 9 Unlock Company Profile
Mercator MedSystems Inc 9 Unlock Company Profile
Nexeon MedSystems Inc 9 Unlock Company Profile
HCA Healthcare Inc 8 Unlock Company Profile
The Cleveland Clinic Foundation 8 Unlock Company Profile

Source: GlobalData Patent Analytics

W.L. Gore & Associates is the leading patent filer in the field of cardiovascular implant delivery catheters. Some other key patent filers in the field include Edwards Lifesciences, Becton Dickinson, Abbott Laboratories and Boston Scientific.

In terms of application diversity, Penumbra leads the pack, followed by Concept Medical and Kona Gold Beverage. By geographic reach, Contego Medical holds the top position, followed by Kona Gold Beverage and Route 92 Medical in second and third spots, respectively.

Due to factors such as ageing population in developing countries, an increase in chronic and cardiovascular diseases and a lack of readily available biological replacement options, the market for cardiovascular implant delivery catheters is growing considerably. As less invasive therapies and superior medical imaging become more common, the market share will continue to rise, and the market trends will be supported by factors such as the increasing need for interventional cardiac catheterization, technical developments, and improvements in sensor technology.

To further understand the key themes and technologies disrupting the medical devices industry, access GlobalData’s latest thematic research report on 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.