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 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 Innovation in medical: cryogenic tissue treatment. Buy 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
Cryogenic tissue treatment is a key innovation area in the medical devices industry
Cryogenic tissue treatment, or cryosurgery, is a minimally invasive treatment that utilises extremely low temperatures to destroy diseased tissues such as infected cells and cancer cells. It involves liquid nitrogen flowing into needle-like applicators called cryoprobes. Cryoprobes are directed to treatment sites using magnetic resonance or computed tomography to freeze and destroy damaged tissues. Cryogenic tissue treatment has replaced surgical excision method for removing cancer cells as it is less invasive and thus has fewer chances of post-operative ailments. Most patients recover quickly and with little discomfort after the surgery.
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 90 companies, spanning technology vendors, established medical devices companies, and up-and-coming start-ups engaged in the development and application of cryogenic tissue treatment.
Key players in cryogenic tissue treatment – 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 cryogenic tissue treatment
| Company | Total patents (2010 - 2022) | Premium intelligence on the world's largest companies |
| Boston Scientific Corp | 174 | Unlock Company Profile |
| Medtronic Plc | 161 | Unlock Company Profile |
| AbbVie Inc | 135 | Unlock Company Profile |
| Massachusetts General Hospital | 112 | Unlock Company Profile |
| Aerin Medical Inc | 88 | Unlock Company Profile |
| Recens Medical Co Ltd | 51 | Unlock Company Profile |
| General Hospital Corp | 44 | Unlock Company Profile |
| Pacira Pharmaceuticals, Inc. | 34 | Unlock Company Profile |
| Fractyl Health Inc | 32 | Unlock Company Profile |
| Cryosa Inc | 32 | Unlock Company Profile |
| CryoTherapeutics Gmbh | 30 | Unlock Company Profile |
| GoFundMe, Inc. | 26 | Unlock Company Profile |
| Pacira BioSciences Inc | 26 | Unlock Company Profile |
| Adagio Medical Inc. | 20 | Unlock Company Profile |
| NeuroPace Inc | 20 | Unlock Company Profile |
| Relievant MedSystems Inc | 20 | Unlock Company Profile |
| Stryker Corp | 19 | Unlock Company Profile |
| BASF SE | 18 | Unlock Company Profile |
| Abbott Laboratories | 15 | Unlock Company Profile |
| Aesthetics BioMedical, Inc. | 15 | Unlock Company Profile |
| Koninklijke Philips NV | 14 | Unlock Company Profile |
| Hologic Inc | 14 | Unlock Company Profile |
| Heartflow Inc | 11 | Unlock Company Profile |
| CSA Medical Inc | 11 | Unlock Company Profile |
| Nanobacterie | 10 | Unlock Company Profile |
| Dominion Aesthetic Technologies Inc | 10 | Unlock Company Profile |
| INNERCOOL therapies, Inc. | 10 | Unlock Company Profile |
| Toray Industries Inc | 10 | Unlock Company Profile |
| Attune Medical | 9 | Unlock Company Profile |
| Serene Medical, Inc. | 9 | Unlock Company Profile |
| Asahi Kasei Corp | 8 | Unlock Company Profile |
| Hironic Co Ltd | 8 | Unlock Company Profile |
| Autonomix Medical Inc | 8 | Unlock Company Profile |
| CryoVascular Systems, Inc. | 8 | Unlock Company Profile |
| Antartic Medical | 7 | Unlock Company Profile |
| CoolTech LLC | 7 | Unlock Company Profile |
| B2M Medical Inc | 6 | Unlock Company Profile |
| Johnson & Johnson | 6 | Unlock Company Profile |
| EyeCool Therapeutics Inc | 6 | Unlock Company Profile |
| Taewoong Medical Co Ltd | 6 | Unlock Company Profile |
| Karo Pharma AB | 6 | Unlock Company Profile |
| Siemens AG | 6 | Unlock Company Profile |
| NuVue Therapeutics, Inc. | 6 | Unlock Company Profile |
| Meacor Inc | 5 | Unlock Company Profile |
| ERBE Elektromedizin GmbH | 5 | Unlock Company Profile |
| Intuitive Surgical Inc | 5 | Unlock Company Profile |
| R2 Technologies Inc | 5 | Unlock Company Profile |
| Amphora Medical Inc | 5 | Unlock Company Profile |
| Mayo Clinic | 5 | Unlock Company Profile |
| The French Alternative Energies and Atomic Energy Commission | 4 | Unlock Company Profile |
Source: GlobalData Patent Analytics
Boston Scientific is the leading patent filer in the field of cryogenic tissue treatment. Some other key patent filers in the field include Medtronic, AbbVie, Massachusetts General Hospital, Aerin Medical, and Recens Medical.
In terms of application diversity, NuVue Therapeutics leads the pack, followed by NeuroPace and Serene Medical. By geographic reach, Fractyl Health holds the top position, followed by NeuroPace and Relievant MedSystems in second and third spots, respectively.
Cryogenic tissue treatment holds several medical applications including the treatment of infectious skin conditions, weight loss, preventing dementia, preventing the spread of cancer cells, and treating cancer cells. It also holds strong potential in several fields of medicine owing to the storage ease of therapeutic cells and tissues.
Low complication rates, affordability, and feasibility are the factors driving this market.
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.
