Genomics testing is the fastest growing tech in the US
Genomics testing and medical imaging are among the fastest-growing technologies based on patent filings, data provider IFI Claims Patent Services has announced.
In a new report published yesterday, February 27, IFI Claims said that US patent filings relating to genomics testing (involving modified oligonucleotides) grew by 249% in 2018 from the previous year.
Genomics testing involves the study of entire human genomes, while oligonucleotides are a type of DNA and RNA molecule.
A total of 206 genomics testing patents were filed, compared to 59 in 2017. Although this technology had the fastest growth in 2018, the number of patents in the field remain far behind the most popular technologies.
California-based company 10X Genomics filed the most patents in this field, with 13 published applications in 2018.
The number of medical imaging patents grew by 186% from 2017. Siemens Healthcare led the way with 36 filings, followed by Dutch multinational Koninklijke Philips with 20.
Machine learning also enjoyed significant growth in 2018, amounting to 2,498 patent filings, an increase of 116% from last year.
IBM filed 244 machine learning patents last year, while Microsoft and Intel filed 126 and 108 respectively.
Larry Cady, senior analyst at IFI Claims, said that the company was “interested in discovering which technologies are experiencing rapid growth”.
“Using this approach, we were able to see the smaller classes, such as genomics testing, medical imaging and machine learning based on biological models, that are making great strides with rapid growth”, he added.
IFI Claims also analysed the figures using the US Patent and Trademark Office’s Cooperative Patent Classification (CPC), which classifies patents in broader fields.
Input and Output of Arrangements for Transferring Data (G06F 3/), which includes technologies such as image acquisition, had the most patent filings of any CPC in 2018 with 20,703.
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