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 in 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 Smart Hospitals in Medical Devices: CT-guided surgical system.
According to GlobalData’s Technology Foresights, which uses over 550,000 patents to analyse innovation intensity for the medical devices industry, there are 150+ innovation areas that will shape the future of the industry.
CT-guided surgical system is a key innovation area in smart hospitals
CT-guided surgical systems are used by healthcare professionals such as otolaryngologists and neurosurgeons to view real-time images of the inside of the body during a procedure. These devices allow surgeons to view the internal anatomy and display them on a computer monitor in the operating room before, during, and after the surgery, thereby improving the safety and efficacy of the surgical procedures.
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 20+ companies, spanning technology vendors, established medical devices companies, and up-and-coming start-ups engaged in the development and application of CT-guided surgical system.
Key players in CT-guided surgical system – 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 CT-guided surgical system
Source: GlobalData Patent Analytics
Johnson & Johnson is one of the leading patent filers in the field of CT-guided surgical systems. Some other key patent filers in the field include Heartflow, Stryker, Medtronic and Koninklijke Philips.
In terms of application diversity, Becton Dickinson leads the pack, followed by SymphonyAI and International Business Machines (IBM). By means of geographic reach, Stryker held the top position, followed by Neocis and BrainLAB in second and third spots, respectively.
Following advancements such as image fusion with magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and CT, healthcare professionals such as otolaryngologists and neurosurgeons can now make informed decisions by analysing the surgical situation to deliver accurate results. Future prospects of CT-guided surgical systems should include an additional focus on accurately capturing real-time updates allowing surgeons to view preoperative images to observe patient condition throughout the procedure.
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.
