The healthcare industry continues to be a hotbed of innovation, with activity driven by telemedicine, real-time diagnostics, smart hospitals and access to digital therapies, and the growing importance of technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI), the internet of things (IoT), augmented reality (AR), robotics and data management practices. In the last three years alone, there have been over 106,000 patents filed and granted in the healthcare industry, according to GlobalData’s report on Artificial Intelligence in Healthcare: Non-invasive physiological monitoring.
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.
200+ innovations will shape the healthcare industry
According to GlobalData’s Technology Foresights, which plots the S-curve for the healthcare industry using innovation intensity models built on over 443,000 patents, there are 200+ innovation areas that will shape the future of the industry.
Within the emerging innovation stage, drug delivery device security, microscopic image analysis models, and cellular imaging techniques are disruptive technologies that are in the early stages of application and should be tracked closely. Smart balloon catheters, automated immunoassay analysers, and AI-assisted magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) are some of the accelerating innovation areas, where adoption has been steadily increasing. Among maturing innovation areas are smart fitness training system and non-invasive physiological monitoring, which are now well established in the industry.
Innovation S-curve for artificial intelligence in the healthcare industry
Non-invasive physiological monitoring is a key innovation area in artificial intelligence
Non-invasive physiological monitoring involves utilising non-invasive equipment, like an external camera or a wristband, to track a person's heart rate, blood pressure, and stress levels. These gadgets enable remote alert generation to the concerned parties. In addition to offering a real-time check on a person's health, these gadgets have taken the place of the requirement for frequent monitoring of numerous body markers.
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 200+ companies, spanning technology vendors, established healthcare companies, and up-and-coming start-ups engaged in the development and application of non-invasive physiological monitoring.
Key players in non-invasive physiological monitoring – a disruptive innovation in the healthcare 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 non-invasive physiological monitoring
Source: GlobalData Patent Analytics
Koninklijke Philips is one of the leading patent filers in the field of non-invasive physiological monitoring. Some other key patent filers in the field include Heartflow and Siemens.
In terms of application diversity, Enlitic leads the pack, followed by Mallinckrodt and International Business Machines. By means of geographic reach, Becton Dickinson holds the top position, followed by Everist Genomics and Intuitive Surgical in second and third spots, respectively.
A developing diagnostic technique called non-invasive physiological monitoring has the potential to take the place of manual monitoring of bodily functions including blood pressure and heart rate. Artificial intelligence with cutting-edge physiological monitoring equipment would lessen the need for patient hospitalisations and ease the workload of healthcare staff.
To further understand how artificial intelligence is disrupting the healthcare industry, access GlobalData’s latest thematic research report on Artificial Intelligence (AI) in Healthcare.
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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.
