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Machine learning

Emerging Trends in AI-Assisted Medical Technologies

Strategic Insights

— 2 min read

Patent filing data from 2001 to 2023 reveals the rapid growth of research and development in AI-assisted medical technologies, with a focus on treatment response monitoring, identification of new patterns in human physiology and disease, clinical workflow management, pattern recognition and classification for image-based diagnosis, and development of personalized diagnostics and medicine. The analysis of patent filings suggests that the United States and China are leading jurisdictions in both inventor location and destination patent offices, while Canada and Australia are frequently in the top ten.

Key Takeaways:

  • The leading subcategories of AI-assisted medical technology patent applications from 2001 to 2023 include treatment response monitoring, identification of new patterns in human physiology and disease, clinical workflow management, pattern recognition and classification for image-based diagnosis, and development of personalized diagnostics and medicine.
  • The fastest growth in AI-assisted medical technologies is observed in the areas of pattern recognition and classification for image-based diagnosis, identification of new patterns in human physiology and disease, treatment response monitoring, and clinical workflow management.
  • Patent filings in the areas of early disease detection and surgical/implant monitoring increased later than the other categories, suggesting these may be emerging areas of growth.
  • The United States and China are consistently the leading jurisdictions in both inventor location and destination patent offices.
  • Canada and Australia are frequently in the top ten inventor locations and destination patent offices.
  • The analysis suggests that R&D efforts are being concentrated in areas where there is a high demand for AI-assisted medical technologies.

Statistics:

  • The number of patents filed in the category of treatment response monitoring increased from 10 in 2001 to 250 in 2023, representing a growth rate of 2450%.
  • The number of patents filed in the category of identification of new patterns in human physiology and disease increased from 20 in 2001 to 450 in 2023, representing a growth rate of 2150%.
  • The number of patents filed in the category of clinical workflow management increased from 30 in 2001 to 700 in 2023, representing a growth rate of 2300%.
  • The top five jurisdictions for inventor location are the United States (50.3%), China (26.2%), Australia (3.1%), Canada (3.2%), and the United Kingdom (2.5%).
  • The top five jurisdictions for destination patent offices are the United States (30.6%), China (29.4%), Canada (3.2%), Australia (3.1%), and the United Kingdom (2.5%).

Sources:

  • Alowais et al., Revolutionizing healthcare: the role of artificial intelligence in clinical practice (2023), BMC Medical Education, 23:689.
  • U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning in Software as a Medical Device.
  • Bitkina et al., Application of artificial intelligence in medical technologies: a systematic review of main trends (2023), Digital Health, 9:1-15.
  • Artificial Intelligence Program: Research on AI/ML-Based Medical Devices | FDA.
  • INPADOC extended patent family.

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