Patents

Patent applications related to artificial intelligence increased by 26% per year on average in the medical device industry since 2020 

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The global medical device industry experienced a 26% increase in annual average growth rate (AAGR) in the number of artificial intelligence-related patent applications between 2020 and 2022. The total number of artificial intelligence-related grants increased by an AAGR of 43% during the same period, according to GlobalData's patent analytics database.  

Notably, the number of artificial intelligence-related patent applications in the medical device industry was 37,947 since 2020, while 13,484 applications were granted.  

The top five companies by filings accounted for 14% of patent applications  

Analysis of patent applications by assignee shows that Koninklijke Philips filed the most artificial intelligence patents within the medical device industry since 2020. The company filed 1,280 artificial intelligence-related patents since 2020.  

It was followed by Siemens (907 applications), Fujifilm (562 applications), IBM (534 applications) and Canon (513 applications).  

The top five companies by grants accounted for 15% of successful patent grants 

Analysis of patent grants by assignee shows that Siemens was granted 460 patents related to artificial intelligence within the medical device industry since 2020. It was followed by IBM (413 grants), Koninklijke Philips (288 grants), Fujifilm (209 grants) and Samsung Group (153 grants).

Patent activity was driven by the US with a 41% share of total patent publications  

The largest share of artificial intelligence-related patent publications in the medical device industry since 2020 was held by the US with 41%, followed by China (39%) and Japan (7%).

GlobalData, the leading provider of industry intelligence, provided the underlying data, research, and analysis used to produce this article.

GlobalData’s Patents Analytics tracks patent filings and grants from official patent offices around the world. Proprietary 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