The medical devices industry continues to be a hotbed of innovation, with activity driven by 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 Cloud in Medical Devices: Clinical trials management systems.
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 stabilising 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.
150+ 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 550,000 patents, there are 150+ innovation areas that will shape the future of the industry.
Within the emerging innovation stage, CT angiography analysis automation, interactive nutrition monitoring and management, and clinical trials management systems are disruptive technologies that are in the early stages of application and should be tracked closely. Sensor integrated prosthesis, remote health monitoring networks, and AR/VR medical image visualisation are some of the accelerating innovation areas, where adoption has been steadily increasing. Among maturing innovation areas is the computer assisted surgeries, which is now well established in the industry.
Innovation S-curve for cloud in the medical devices industry
Clinical trials management systems is a key innovation area in Cloud
A clinical trial management system (CTMS) is a software-based collection of tools that maintains track of clinical research activities and assists in their management. The system manages planning, carrying out, and reporting tasks as well as participant contact information. It is also useful to track milestones and trial dates. The primary consumers of CTMS are clinical research organisations, companies in the medical device industry, pharmaceutical companies, and biotech companies. The main factor driving the demand for CTMS is the increase in R&D activities in the life sciences and clinical investigations.
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 70+ companies, spanning technology vendors, established medical devices companies, and up-and-coming start-ups engaged in the development and application of clinical trials management systems.
Key players in clinical trials management systems – 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 clinical trials management systems
Source: GlobalData Patent Analytics
Enlitic and Oracle are two of the leading patent filers in the clinical trials management systems. Some other leading patent filers include Apple, Koninklijke Philips, Fujifilm Holdings and Predictive Safety.
In terms of application diversity, Map Habit leads the pack, followed by Predictive Safety and Becton Dickinson. By means of geographic reach, Medical Information held the top position, followed by Magic Leap and Becton Dickinson in the second and third spots, respectively.
The growing prevalence of chronic diseases among individuals, as well as the increased demand for vaccines and pharmaceuticals, are the key drivers impacting the global market for clinical trial management systems. This market is also anticipated to grow over the coming years as a result of increased clinical trial outsourcing, rising R&D activity expenditures, and a rapid rise in clinical study numbers. Because of technological advancements and the ease of use of CTMS, the market will continue to develop. Also, cloud-based CTMS have an advantage over traditional systems since they reduce the need for organisations to maintain costly in-house database servers and data security measures while offering cost-effective comprehensive solutions to clinical trial management difficulties.
To further understand how Cloud is disrupting the medical devices industry, access GlobalData’s latest thematic research report on Cloud Computing 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.
