Technology Brief: Next-Generation Medtech
Next-Generation Medtech: Technology Overview
For much of its history, progress in medical technology has come through improvements to established products: sharper instruments, longer-lasting implants, more reliable catheters and pumps. These devices remain essential to modern healthcare, but most are passive. They perform the same function for every patient, while clinical decisions about their use remain in the hands of physicians.
A new generation of medical technology is changing this. Devices increasingly sense, interpret and respond to conditions in the body, or actively support medical interventions. Surgeons use robotic systems and real-time image guidance, implants stimulate nerves in response to the body’s own signals, glucose sensors automatically adjust insulin delivery, and software analyses medical images and vital signs to support clinical decisions. At the same time, monitoring and care are increasingly moving beyond hospitals, with wearables and connected devices allowing patients to be monitored continuously at home.
We have identified twelve technology areas that together represent what we consider Next-Generation Medtech. They cover a broad range of applications, from surgical robotics, imaging and diagnostics to clinical AI, implantable and wearable systems, as well as specialised fields such as radiotherapy, orthopaedics, dentistry and ophthalmology. Conventional products such as disposables, standard implants and administrative health IT are deliberately excluded, as are drugs, tissue-engineered products and other biological therapies.
The twelve areas span technologies at very different stages of development. Some, including continuous glucose monitoring and transcatheter heart valves, are already well established in clinical practice. Others, such as brain-computer interfaces and ultra-high dose rate radiotherapy, are only beginning to enter clinical trials. Both are relevant to the definition, and patent activity provides an indication of how quickly these fields are developing.
Patents offer an early view of technological change, often years before new devices reach routine clinical use. By analysing patent activity across the twelve areas, we can assess how quickly each is developing, where innovation is concentrated and which companies are building the strongest technological positions – from diversified medtech groups to specialised pure-plays.
Explore the twelve technology areas below for an overview of their scope, how they work and why they matter.
Surgical Robotics & Computer-Assisted Intervention
What it covers: Robotic surgical systems, flexible endoluminal and robotic endoscopy platforms, robotic catheter navigation, surgical navigation and instrument tracking, augmented-reality and fluorescence guidance, as well as surgical planning, simulation and digital twins.
Surgical robots allow surgeons to control instruments through computer-assisted systems. This can be done from a console, using a handheld robotic tool or by guiding a robotic arm that stabilises and constrains the surgeon’s movements. These systems can filter out hand tremors, scale movements and reach areas that are difficult to access with conventional instruments. Navigation systems add another layer of precision by tracking instruments against preoperative scans, giving surgeons a live view of where their tools are inside the body.
The technology is expanding beyond abdominal surgery into areas such as orthopaedics, spine surgery, neurosurgery, lung biopsy and procedures performed through natural body openings. Increasingly, individual steps within these procedures are also being automated.
Why it matters: Robotic and computer-assisted surgery can improve the precision and consistency of procedures while making minimally invasive approaches possible in cases that would previously have required open surgery. This can reduce recovery times and the associated burden on patients. At the same time, digital systems are transforming the operating room into a data-generating environment, with each installed platform creating opportunities for new instruments, software and analytics.
Advanced Medical Imaging
What it covers: Photon-counting CT, next-generation MRI (including low-field, portable and helium-free systems), AI-based image reconstruction, total-body and time-of-flight PET, chip-based and wearable ultrasound, photoacoustic imaging, magnetic particle imaging and novel X-ray sources.
Conventional CT detectors measure the combined energy of incoming X-rays, whereas photon-counting detectors register individual photons and measure their energy separately. This produces sharper images, improves tissue differentiation and can reduce radiation exposure. Similar advances are taking place across other imaging technologies: MRI scanners are becoming small enough to be used at the bedside, ultrasound probes are being built on semiconductor chips, and new PET systems can image the entire body in a single scan. Deep learning is also improving image reconstruction, making it possible to produce high-quality images from less data.
Why it matters: Medical imaging underpins a large share of diagnostic and treatment decisions. Advances that improve image quality, reduce costs or make scanners more accessible can expand both the range of applications and the number of patients who can be scanned. Imaging is no longer confined to specialised radiology departments but is increasingly moving into emergency rooms, outpatient clinics and, in some cases, patients’ homes.
Advanced Diagnostic Platforms
What it covers: Liquid biopsy and cell-free DNA testing (including cancer screening, residual disease monitoring and prenatal testing), clinical sequencing platforms, point-of-care molecular diagnostics such as digital PCR and CRISPR-based tests, ultrasensitive biosensors, plasma proteomics, breath diagnostics, digital pathology and rapid microbial identification.
Diagnostics is moving away from traditional tissue sampling and centralised laboratories towards less invasive tests and faster results. A simple blood sample can now reveal traces of tumour DNA, sometimes long before a tumour becomes visible on a scan, and some tests can screen for several types of cancer at once. At the same time, cartridge-based systems are bringing laboratory-grade molecular testing closer to the patient, while digital pathology converts traditional glass slides into digital images that can be analysed using algorithms.
Why it matters: Earlier and more accurate diagnosis can fundamentally change when and how diseases are treated, particularly in cancer and infectious disease. Less invasive tests can also be repeated more frequently, allowing physicians to monitor treatment response and adjust therapies over time rather than relying on measurements at a single point. For manufacturers, diagnostic platforms also offer a recurring source of revenue through tests and consumables, in addition to the instruments themselves.
AI & Clinical Software
What it covers: Machine learning, including foundation models and multimodal approaches, for medical image analysis; AI applied to physiological signals such as ECG and EEG; and clinical decision support software that predicts risks, detects diseases or recommends treatments. AI for digital pathology is covered under Advanced Diagnostic Platforms, while AI for surgical guidance is included under Surgical Robotics.
Clinical AI uses patterns learned from large datasets of medical images, physiological signals and patient records to support decisions in individual cases. Algorithms can flag suspected strokes on CT scans within minutes, detect arrhythmias in ECG recordings or identify patients at risk of deterioration in hospital. An increasing number of these applications are being approved or cleared as medical devices in their own right, independently of the hardware used to collect the underlying data.
Why it matters: Unlike hardware, software can be deployed at scale with relatively little additional cost. Once validated, an algorithm can be rolled out across thousands of scanners and hospitals, making advanced analytical capabilities more widely available. It also addresses one of healthcare’s major challenges: the growing volume of medical data and the limited number of specialists available to interpret it. Administrative health IT, such as patient records and billing systems, is not included.
Cardiovascular & Endovascular Therapies
What it covers: Transcatheter heart valves and structural heart devices, pulsed field ablation and electroanatomic mapping, leadless and extravascular pacing and defibrillation, wearable cardioverter-defibrillators, mechanical thrombectomy, flow diverters, intravascular lithotripsy and imaging, physiology-guided coronary diagnostics, heart pumps, renal denervation, and machine perfusion systems that keep donor organs viable outside the body.
Many procedures involving the heart and blood vessels that once required open surgery can now be performed using catheters inserted through the groin or wrist. Replacement heart valves, for example, can be delivered in a folded state through a catheter and expanded inside the beating heart, while blood clots causing strokes can be removed mechanically. Heart-rhythm treatments are also evolving: pulsed electric fields are increasingly being used instead of heat or cold to ablate cardiac tissue, and pacemakers have become small enough to be implanted directly inside the heart. Organ support is extending beyond the patient’s own body, too. Machine perfusion systems keep donor hearts, lungs, livers and kidneys functioning outside the body during transport, allowing them to be assessed before transplantation.
Why it matters: Cardiovascular disease remains the leading cause of death worldwide. Minimally invasive technologies can make treatment possible for patients who are too old or too ill to undergo conventional surgery, while reducing the burden of many procedures on patients. Several of these technologies have also given rise to some of the fastest-growing medical device markets of the past decade.
Neurotechnology & Bioelectronic Medicine
What it covers: Two related fields. Therapeutic neuromodulation includes closed-loop and adaptive stimulation of the spinal cord, deep brain and peripheral nerves, epilepsy stimulation, bioelectronic therapies such as hypoglossal and vagus nerve stimulation, focused-ultrasound neuromodulation and transcranial magnetic stimulation. Neural interfaces include brain-computer interfaces, implantable brain and peripheral nerve interfaces, and neuroprosthetics.
Neurotechnology treats disease by monitoring and modifying the electrical activity of the nervous system. Earlier stimulation devices delivered fixed electrical pulses, whereas newer systems measure the body’s response and adjust stimulation in real time. Brain-computer interfaces take this a step further by translating neural signals into commands, allowing people with paralysis to control a cursor, a robotic arm or even synthesised speech. Bioelectronic medicine uses targeted nerve stimulation to address conditions such as sleep apnoea and inflammatory disease.
Why it matters: Electrical stimulation offers a treatment option for conditions where drugs are ineffective or poorly tolerated, ranging from chronic pain to movement disorders. Brain-computer interfaces represent one of the most ambitious areas of medical technology, with developments moving beyond academic research and towards the first company-led clinical trials.
Closed-Loop Sensing & Intelligent Drug Delivery
What it covers: Three levels of intelligence in drug delivery. Closed-loop systems, such as automated insulin delivery, adjust therapy automatically based on continuous sensor readings. Programmable delivery devices, including wearable patch pumps, on-body injectors and implantable drug pumps, control the dose and timing of medication. Connected injection pens, autoinjectors and inhalers record and transmit dosing data. Continuous glucose monitoring is included as the sensing basis for closed-loop therapy.
For people with diabetes, sensors worn under the skin measure glucose levels every few minutes and transmit the readings to a smartphone or insulin pump. When connected through an algorithm, the system can adjust insulin delivery automatically, effectively creating an artificial pancreas. Connected pens and inhalers serve a different purpose: they do not adjust medication doses themselves, but provide patients and physicians with an objective record of when and how medication is taken.
Why it matters: Closed-loop systems shift chronic disease management away from periodic decisions made by patients towards continuous, automated control. In diabetes, this helps keep glucose levels within the target range for longer and reduces the risk of dangerous low blood sugar. Diabetes alone affects more than 500 million adults worldwide, and the continuous use of sensors and pumps creates recurring demand, making this one of the largest markets in medical technology.
Clinical Wearables & Remote Monitoring
What it covers: Ambulatory, patch-based and insertable ECG monitors, clinical-grade wearable vital-sign sensors, remote patient monitoring and telemetry, cuffless blood pressure measurement, and hearing aids with AI-based sound processing.
Clinical wearables are bringing increasingly sophisticated physiological monitoring into everyday life, allowing patients to be monitored continuously outside traditional healthcare settings. Adhesive patches can record heart rhythms for up to two weeks, while monitors smaller than a battery can be implanted under the skin and detect rare arrhythmias over several years. Remote monitoring platforms transmit these measurements to physicians, allowing them to identify potential problems and intervene before a patient’s condition deteriorates. Hearing aids are also included where they incorporate on-device AI. As regulated medical devices worn throughout the day, they increasingly use neural networks to distinguish speech from background noise and are beginning to incorporate health sensors of their own. Conventional amplifying hearing aids are excluded.
Why it matters: Continuous monitoring outside the hospital can help detect health problems earlier, such as atrial fibrillation, which is a major risk factor for stroke, and allows some patients to leave hospital earlier while remaining under medical supervision. These technologies address the needs of ageing populations and increasingly overstretched healthcare systems, while also generating valuable streams of long-term clinical data. Consumer fitness devices are included only where they serve a clinical purpose.
Advanced Radiotherapy & Energy-Based Tumour Therapy
What it covers: Two groups of tumour therapies. Radiation-based approaches include image-guided and MR-guided radiotherapy, adaptive radiotherapy, proton and particle therapy, boron neutron capture therapy (BNCT) and ultra-high dose rate (FLASH) irradiation. Non-radiation approaches include focused ultrasound and histotripsy, tumour-treating fields, and image-guided ablation using microwave, radiofrequency, cryoablation or irreversible electroporation.
Radiotherapy has traditionally involved balancing the destruction of tumour tissue against the need to protect surrounding healthy tissue. New systems combine radiation delivery with real-time imaging, allowing the beam to track tumours as they move with breathing and treatment plans to be adjusted between sessions. Proton beams deposit most of their energy at a specific depth, BNCT selectively destroys tumour cells that have absorbed a boron compound, and FLASH radiotherapy delivers radiation at ultra-high dose rates in fractions of a second. Other approaches target tumours without using ionising radiation, relying instead on focused sound waves, electric fields or extreme heat and cold delivered directly to the tumour.
Why it matters: Around half of all cancer patients receive radiotherapy at some point during their treatment. More precise radiation delivery and alternative energy-based therapies can help increase the dose delivered to tumours while limiting damage to surrounding tissue. They can also provide treatment options for tumours that cannot be removed surgically.
Advanced Orthopedics & Smart Implants
What it covers: Patient-specific and 3D-printed implants and surgical guides, including those used in spine surgery; implants with integrated sensors; powered and myoelectric prostheses controlled by muscle signals; and rehabilitation exoskeletons and soft exosuits. Robot-assisted orthopaedic surgery is covered under Surgical Robotics, while biomaterials and tissue-engineered implants are excluded.
Orthopaedics is moving beyond conventional, standardised implants towards patient-specific and sensor-enabled devices, alongside intelligent prosthetic and rehabilitation systems designed to actively restore mobility. CT scans can be used to plan procedures and design implants or surgical guides tailored to a patient’s anatomy. These are often produced using 3D printing, which also allows the creation of porous structures that encourage bone growth into the implant. Sensors integrated into implants can monitor loads, movement and healing after surgery. Powered prostheses and exoskeletons use motors and muscle signals to help restore movement following amputation, stroke or spinal cord injury.
Why it matters: Orthopaedics is one of the largest segments of the medtech industry, but much of the market is relatively mature. Personalised implants, sensor-based monitoring and motorised mobility aids represent important areas of further development, with the potential to reduce the need for revision surgery and improve outcomes, particularly in an ageing population.
Digital Dentistry
What it covers: Intraoral 3D scanning, computer-planned clear aligners, CAD/CAM design and 3D printing of crowns, bridges and dental appliances, dental image analysis, and robot-assisted and navigated dental implant surgery.
Dentistry is moving away from traditional physical impressions and manual craftsmanship towards increasingly digital workflows. Handheld scanners capture a three-dimensional image of the teeth within minutes, software is used to plan treatments and design restorations or aligner series, and milling machines or 3D printers produce the finished products, sometimes during the same visit. Clear aligners, which gradually shift teeth by fractions of a millimetre, have also become a widely used alternative to conventional fixed braces.
Why it matters: Digital dentistry illustrates how quickly an established medical field can change when digital data replace traditional manual processes. It brings together hardware, software and large-scale customisation, allowing treatments and dental products to be tailored to individual patients. Leading companies have also built strong market positions around integrated digital ecosystems.
Ophthalmic Interventions
What it covers: Minimally invasive glaucoma surgery (MIGS) and glaucoma drainage implants, laser eye surgery including femtosecond lasers, refractive surgery and corneal cross-linking, optical coherence tomography (OCT) including OCT angiography, retinal and visual prostheses, and accommodating and light-adjustable intraocular lenses. AI analysis of retinal images is covered under AI & Clinical Software.
The eye is a particularly well-suited area for precision optics and microdevices because of its small size and sensitivity. Microscopic stents implanted during cataract surgery can help lower eye pressure in patients with glaucoma, while femtosecond lasers cut corneal and lens tissue with micrometre precision. OCT produces detailed three-dimensional images of the retina within seconds, and newer intraocular lenses can be adjusted using light after surgery. Retinal prostheses, meanwhile, aim to restore partial vision in people who have lost their sight.
Why it matters: Cataract surgery is among the most frequently performed operations worldwide, while the prevalence of glaucoma and age-related eye diseases continues to rise as populations age. Premium intraocular lenses and minimally invasive procedures are creating opportunities for technologies that improve outcomes beyond those achievable with standard treatments. Spectacles, contact lenses and drugs are not included.
Global trends: sharp rise in Next-Generation Medtech patents
Indexed global development of patents in Next-Generation Medtech compared to established Medtech technologies
Active patent activity in Next-Generation Medtech has more than quadrupled since 2015
The number of active patent family publications in Next-Generation Medtech more than quadrupled between 2015 and 2026, reaching an index value of 411 (2015 = 100). This corresponds to an average annual growth rate of around 13.4%, almost twice the 7.6% recorded for the medtech sector as a whole. This highlights the growing importance of next-generation technologies within medical technology innovation.
Global development of patents in the twelve Next-Generation Medtech areas
Surgical Robotics is the largest patent area within Next-Generation Medtech
The number of active patent family publications in Surgical Robotics & Computer-Assisted Intervention reached more than 41,000 in 2026, making it the largest of the twelve technology areas. AI & Clinical Software is the second-largest area, with almost 30,000 active patent family publications, followed by Cardiovascular & Endovascular Therapies and Closed-Loop Sensing & Intelligent Drug Delivery, both with more than 11,000. AI & Clinical Software has experienced by far the fastest growth, increasing from just 536 patent family publications in 2015 to almost 30,000 in 2026. This corresponds to an average annual growth rate of around 44%, reflecting the rapid expansion of AI applications across medical technology.
Top research countries and companies in Next-Generation Medtech
Total Patents: Top 20 countries
China leads with more than 57,000 active patent family publications in Next-Generation Medtech in 2026, followed by the US with more than 41,000. South Korea ranks third with almost 10,800, followed by Germany and Japan with around 7,900 and 6,900, respectively. Israel and the Netherlands form the next tier, with more than 3,400 and 2,500 patent family publications. The UK, Canada and France each account for around 2,400, and Switzerland also ranks among the established innovation hubs, with almost 2,000 patent family publications.
Total Patents: Top 20 companies
The top 20 ranking is led by large medtech companies with broad technology portfolios. Medtronic ranks first with more than 3,700 active patent family publications in Next-Generation Medtech, followed by Johnson & Johnson with almost 3,500. Siemens Healthineers and Philips form the next tier, with around 2,400 and 2,000 patent family publications, respectively, followed by Boston Scientific and Abbott Laboratories with around 1,500 each. The ranking also includes specialised players such as Intuitive Surgical, Edwards Lifesciences and Align Technology, alongside diversified technology groups such as Canon, Fujifilm and Samsung.