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 Innovation in Healthcare: Dosage monitoring inhalators. Buy the report here.
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, specimen collection devices, ultrasound imaging system, and automated laboratory systems are disruptive technologies that are in the early stages of application and should be tracked closely. Biological sampling devices, endoscopic ultrasound tomography, and NMR imaging systems are some of the accelerating innovation areas, where adoption has been steadily increasing. Among maturing innovation areas are doppler ultrasound imaging and CT-guided surgery, which are now well established in the industry.
Innovation S-curve for the healthcare industry

Dosage monitoring inhalators is a key innovation area in healthcare
Dosage monitoring inhalators are inhalers that deliver drugs to the lungs while monitoring and keeping track of the amount of dosage given to the patient.
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 healthcare companies, and up-and-coming start-ups engaged in the development and application of dosage monitoring inhalators.
Key players in dosage monitoring inhalators – 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 dosage monitoring inhalators
Company | Total patents (2010 - 2022) | Premium intelligence on the world's largest companies |
Teva Pharmaceutical Industries | 172 | Unlock Company Profile |
Pneuma Respiratory | 60 | Unlock Company Profile |
Syqe Medical | 55 | Unlock Company Profile |
Massachusetts General Hospital | 49 | Unlock Company Profile |
Novartis | 44 | Unlock Company Profile |
Koninklijke Philips | 40 | Unlock Company Profile |
Cold Plasma Medical Technologies | 36 | Unlock Company Profile |
Plasmology4 | 24 | Unlock Company Profile |
Trudell Medical International | 18 | Unlock Company Profile |
ResMed | 16 | Unlock Company Profile |
Becton Dickinson and Co | 15 | Unlock Company Profile |
Pneumoflex Systems | 14 | Unlock Company Profile |
General Hospital | 12 | Unlock Company Profile |
Science Group | 11 | Unlock Company Profile |
Adherium | 10 | Unlock Company Profile |
MannKind | 10 | Unlock Company Profile |
Mclean Hospital | 9 | Unlock Company Profile |
MicroBase Technology | 8 | Unlock Company Profile |
Inspiro Medical | 8 | Unlock Company Profile |
Airgraft | 7 | Unlock Company Profile |
PARI Medical Holding | 7 | Unlock Company Profile |
Services Medicaux Arnold Et Joan Zidulka | 7 | Unlock Company Profile |
Materialise | 6 | Unlock Company Profile |
Nobilis Therapeutics | 6 | Unlock Company Profile |
Nihon Kohden | 6 | Unlock Company Profile |
Luna Innovations | 6 | Unlock Company Profile |
Sensirion | 5 | Unlock Company Profile |
ODP | 5 | Unlock Company Profile |
Source: GlobalData Patent Analytics
Teva Pharmaceuticals Industries is one of the leading patent filers in the field of dosage monitoring inhalators. Some other key patent filers in the field include Pneuma Respiratory and Syqe Medical.
In terms of application diversity, Materialise leads the pack, followed by Cold Plasma Medical Technologies and Plasmology4, respectively. By means of geographic reach, Massachusetts General Hospital held the top position, followed by Cold Plasma Medical Technologies in second and Teva Pharmaceuticals Industries in third spot.
Inhalators that give medications to the lungs while tracking and monitoring the patient's intake are known as dosage monitoring inhalators. Electronic data that dose monitoring inhalers record and store is very accurate. It can be suggested for use in clinical trials where training and quality control systems are built into the study protocols to make sure that accurate data is collected.
To further understand the key themes and technologies disrupting the healthcare industry, access GlobalData’s latest thematic research report on Healthcare.
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