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 Innovation in Medical Devices: Endoscopic biopsy. Buy the report here.

Smarter leaders trust GlobalData

Report-cover

Data Insights Innovation in Medical Devices: Endoscopic Biopsy

Buy the Report

Data Insights

The gold standard of business intelligence.

Find out more

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, neurostimulation therapy, smart physiotherapy devices, and real-time IR thermographic imaging are disruptive technologies that are in the early stages of application and should be tracked closely. Precision radiotherapy, electric atomisers, and bio-active prosthesis coating are some of the accelerating innovation areas, where adoption has been steadily increasing. Among maturing innovation areas are bioresorbable stent coating and cryogenic tissue treatment, which are now well established in the industry.

Innovation S-curve for the medical devices industry

Endoscopic biopsy is a key innovation area in the medical devices industry

Endoscopic biopsy is performed through a natural body orifice or a small incision using a fibre-optic endoscope (a long, thin tube with a close-focusing telescope on the end for viewing). The endoscope is used to examine the organ in question for abnormal or suspicious regions before removing a tiny sample of tissue for analysis. Endoscopic procedures are called for the organ or area of the body that will be viewed and/or treated.

The endoscope can be put into one’s body by a tiny incision or through any entrance in the body, including the mouth, nose, rectum, or urethra. Endoscopies typically take five to 20 minutes.

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 endoscopic biopsy.

Key players in endoscopic biopsy – 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 endoscopic biopsy

Company Total patents (2021 - 2023) Premium intelligence on the world's largest companies
Johnson & Johnson 805 Unlock Company Profile
Waters 184 Unlock Company Profile
Medtronic 151 Unlock Company Profile
Olympus 131 Unlock Company Profile
Boston Scientific 126 Unlock Company Profile
Interscope 108 Unlock Company Profile
Hologic 102 Unlock Company Profile
Stryker 76 Unlock Company Profile
NICO 74 Unlock Company Profile
ConMed 64 Unlock Company Profile
Procept Biorobotics 60 Unlock Company Profile
Smith & Nephew 43 Unlock Company Profile
Danaher 42 Unlock Company Profile
Creo Medical Group 41 Unlock Company Profile
Abbott Laboratories 36 Unlock Company Profile
Becton Dickinson and Co 35 Unlock Company Profile
Teleflex 29 Unlock Company Profile
Avalo Therapeutics 29 Unlock Company Profile
Filtration Group 28 Unlock Company Profile
Koninklijke Philips 27 Unlock Company Profile
OBP Surgical 19 Unlock Company Profile
Mayo Clinic 15 Unlock Company Profile
Intuitive Surgical 15 Unlock Company Profile
Minerva Surgical 13 Unlock Company Profile
Gyrus ENT 13 Unlock Company Profile
460Medical 12 Unlock Company Profile
Massachusetts General Hospital 12 Unlock Company Profile
Venus Concept 12 Unlock Company Profile
Allied Minds 11 Unlock Company Profile
Lensar 10 Unlock Company Profile
Gynesonics 10 Unlock Company Profile
Bio-Medical Engineering (HK) 10 Unlock Company Profile
Cardioguidance Biomedical 10 Unlock Company Profile
Sony Group 9 Unlock Company Profile
Uniphar 9 Unlock Company Profile
NeoDynamics 9 Unlock Company Profile
CrossBay Medical 8 Unlock Company Profile
AtriCure 8 Unlock Company Profile
Integra LifeSciences Holdings 8 Unlock Company Profile
Electromedical Associates 8 Unlock Company Profile
Micro-Tech Nanjing 7 Unlock Company Profile
Autonomix 7 Unlock Company Profile
Orthocell 7 Unlock Company Profile
Polygon Medical 7 Unlock Company Profile
Nanocytomics 7 Unlock Company Profile
Zimmer Biomet Holdings 7 Unlock Company Profile
Terumo 7 Unlock Company Profile
Resitu Medical 6 Unlock Company Profile
Cooper Companies 6 Unlock Company Profile
Axis Surgical Technologies 6 Unlock Company Profile

Source: GlobalData Patent Analytics

Johnson & Johnson is one of the leading patent filers in the field of endoscopic biopsy. Some other key patent filers in the field include Waters, Medtronic, Olympus, and Boston Scientific.

In terms of application diversity, ConMed leads the pack, followed by Avalo Therapeutics and Waters. By means of geographic reach, Massachusetts General Hospital held the top position, followed by Axis Surgical Technologies and Waters.

The development of new imaging technologies that allow clinicians to go beyond basic anatomical features to grasp biological activity is crucial to the future of endoscopy. Tissue molecular characteristics include a lot of information that gives specifics about tissue activity that can be identified when scanned appropriately. The rise in technological advancements and the rise in the prevalence rate of diseases requiring endoscopy are the primary factors driving market growth of endoscopic biopsy.

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

Data Insights

From

The gold standard of business intelligence.

Blending expert knowledge with cutting-edge technology, GlobalData’s unrivalled proprietary data will enable you to decode what’s happening in your market. You can make better informed decisions and gain a future-proof advantage over your competitors.

GlobalData

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.