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 growing importance of technologies such as machine learning, augmented reality, 5G and digitalisation. 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 Internet of Things in medical devices: head-mounted surgical cameras. Buy the report here.
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According to GlobalData’s Technology Foresights, which uses over 155,000 patents to analyze innovation intensity for the medical devices industry, there are 30+ innovation areas that will shape the future of the industry.
Head-mounted surgical cameras is a key innovation area in Internet of Things
A head-mounted surgical camera is a hands-free device that allows surgeons to visualise and record surgeries, thereby creating a computerised archive. These videos are useful for educational purposes. These head-mounted cameras are expected to replace conventional camera types such as camcorders, as they are hands-free, lightweight and do not interfere with the first person’s view.
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 head-mounted surgical cameras.
Key players in head-mounted surgical cameras – 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 head-mounted surgical cameras
| Company | Total patents (2010 - 2022) | Premium intelligence on the world's largest companies |
| Smith & Nephew Plc | 132 | Unlock Company Profile |
| Stryker Corp | 103 | Unlock Company Profile |
| Medtronic Plc | 57 | Unlock Company Profile |
| Magic Leap Inc | 52 | Unlock Company Profile |
| Intuitive Surgical Inc | 36 | Unlock Company Profile |
| Vicarious Surgical Inc. | 32 | Unlock Company Profile |
| Globus Medical Inc | 24 | Unlock Company Profile |
| Align Technology Inc | 24 | Unlock Company Profile |
| Sony Group Corp | 24 | Unlock Company Profile |
| Johnson & Johnson | 24 | Unlock Company Profile |
| Alcon Inc | 23 | Unlock Company Profile |
| Elbit Systems Ltd | 23 | Unlock Company Profile |
| NovaRad Corp | 22 | Unlock Company Profile |
| Carl Zeiss Stiftung AG | 18 | Unlock Company Profile |
| Surgalign Holdings Inc | 17 | Unlock Company Profile |
| Aris MD Inc | 17 | Unlock Company Profile |
| Koninklijke Philips NV | 15 | Unlock Company Profile |
| Warner Bros. Discovery Inc | 15 | Unlock Company Profile |
| BrainLAB AG | 15 | Unlock Company Profile |
| Arspectra Sarl | 14 | Unlock Company Profile |
| Zimmer Biomet Holdings Inc | 12 | Unlock Company Profile |
| Siemens Healthineers AG | 11 | Unlock Company Profile |
| Olympus Corp | 11 | Unlock Company Profile |
| MediView XR Inc | 10 | Unlock Company Profile |
| Augmedics Inc | 10 | Unlock Company Profile |
| Ivoclar Vivadent AG | 9 | Unlock Company Profile |
| Dentsply Sirona Inc | 9 | Unlock Company Profile |
| Terumo Corp | 8 | Unlock Company Profile |
| Beyeonics Surgical Ltd | 8 | Unlock Company Profile |
| Taiwan Main Orthopaedics Biotechnology Co Ltd | 7 | Unlock Company Profile |
| Danaher Corp | 7 | Unlock Company Profile |
| Orangedental GmbH & Co., KG | 6 | Unlock Company Profile |
| Novartis AG | 6 | Unlock Company Profile |
| Westunitis Co Ltd | 6 | Unlock Company Profile |
| Paragon Care Group Australia Pty Ltd | 6 | Unlock Company Profile |
| Coretronic Corp | 5 | Unlock Company Profile |
| Radtec Medical Devices Inc | 5 | Unlock Company Profile |
| PrecisionOS Technology Inc | 5 | Unlock Company Profile |
| MiRus LLC | 5 | Unlock Company Profile |
| Fujifilm Holdings Corp | 5 | Unlock Company Profile |
| BHS Technologies GmbH | 5 | Unlock Company Profile |
| TROPHY | 4 | Unlock Company Profile |
| Enovis Corp | 4 | Unlock Company Profile |
| Becton Dickinson and Co | 4 | Unlock Company Profile |
| Halliburton Co | 4 | Unlock Company Profile |
| Orthogrid Systems Holdings LLC | 4 | Unlock Company Profile |
| International Business Machines Corp | 3 | Unlock Company Profile |
| B. Braun Melsungen AG | 3 | Unlock Company Profile |
| Surgical Theater Inc | 2 | Unlock Company Profile |
| KARL STORZ SE & Co KG | 2 | Unlock Company Profile |
Source: GlobalData Patent Analytics
Smith & Nephew is the leading patent filer in the field of head-mounted surgical cameras. Some other key patent filers in the field include Stryker, Medtronic, Magic Leap, and Intuitive Surgical.
In terms of application diversity, IBM leads the pack, followed by Intuitive Surgical and Sony Group. By means of geographic reach, Smith & Nephew holds the top position, followed by Aris MD and Vicarious Surgical in second and third spots, respectively.
The major factors driving the growth of the head-mounted surgical cameras market include increased adoption and development of integrated and hybrid operating rooms, along with the elevated significance of computerised archival systems. With varied possible applications of surgical procedure recordings from these cameras for review, training, education, assessment, and legal purposes, several product advancements can be witnessed in the foreseeable future.
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.
