PlainPatent

CPC technology class · A61

A61F - Filters Implantable Into Blood Vessels

Filters implantable into blood vessels; prostheses; devices providing patency to, or preventing collapsing of, tubular structures of the body, e.g. stents; orthopaedic, nursing or contraceptive devices; fomentation; treatment or protection of eyes or ears; bandages, dressings or absorbent pads; firs. 50,959 US utility patents granted 2015–2025, with the leading assignees and year-by-year grant trajectory.

50,959
US patents granted
#5/13
in A61
7.9%
A61 class share
+1%
5-yr velocity

The verdict

According to USPTO PatentsView, Filters Implantable Into Blood Vessels ranks #33 of 670 CPC technology areas - 50,959 US patents granted since 2015, with recorded grant volume up 1% over five years.

#33
of 670 CPC technology areas
50,959
US patents granted, 2015–2025
The Procter & Gamble
leading assignee (1,426)
+1%
grant velocity, last 5 yrs

How A61F's grant cadence moved

Between 2020–2024, A61F recorded 23,172 grants versus 22,963 in 2015–2019 (+1% equal-window velocity). Across complete years, output peaked in 2019 at 5,209 grants and bottomed in 2015 at 4,303 (+21% peak-over-trough). Lead assignee The Procter & Gamble Company holds 2.8% of the class ; the top three share 7.1%.

Leaderboard read

A61F concentration, lead at 2.8%

The Procter & Gamble Company leads this historical grant record at 2.8% of A61F - us corporation assignees hold 71% of class grants (29,648 of 41,575). Figures describe granted US utility patents in this CPC subclass, not current investment or legal strength.

Leader's share
2.8%

1,426 of 50,959 grants

Top three share
7.1%

of the class's recorded grants

Lead over #2
325

more grants than Boston Scientific Scimed, Inc.

Where A61F sits inside A61

Among 13 subclasses in A61 (Medical OR Veterinary SCIENCE; Hygiene), A61F ranks #5 and holds 7.9% of the parent class's 646,867 recorded grants. Sibling chips below are the other subclasses in the same parent class, not the nationwide volume/lead-share peers further down.

A61B 162,009 A61K 151,067 A61P 125,535 A61M 57,639 A61N 30,889 A61L 25,308 A61Q 14,001 A61C 8,164

Rising assignees active in A61F

Company-wide grant multiples (2022–2024 vs 2019–2021) among assignees with ≥5 patents in this subclass. Growth is company-wide; class patent counts are subclass-specific.

  1. #1 Therabody, Inc. 119x 1 → 119 company-wide · 11 in A61F
  2. #2 Solventum Intellectual Properties Company 88x 0 → 88 company-wide · 68 in A61F
  3. #3 Boston Scientific Medical Device Limited 66x 0 → 66 company-wide · 6 in A61F
  4. #4 IX Innovation LLC 55x 1 → 55 company-wide · 11 in A61F
  5. #5 Hytto PTE. Ltd. 33x 0 → 33 company-wide · 6 in A61F

A61F grants by year, peak 2019 (5,209)

US utility-patent grants per year in A61F, 2015–2025 - recent five years are up 1% versus 2015–2019.

3,0003,5004,0004,5005,0005,500 20152016201720182019202020212022202320242025 3,332

Who leads A61F?

The 12 most active assignees in Filters Implantable Into Blood VESSELS; PROSTHESES; Devices Providing Patency TO, OR Preventing Collapsing OF, Tubular Structures OF THE Body, e.g. STENTS; Orthopaedic, Nursing OR Contraceptive DEVICES; FOMENTATION; Treatment OR Protection OF Eyes OR EARS; Bandages, Dressings OR Absorbent PADS; Firs - wider bars mean more grants

patents

What this shows The Procter & Gamble is the most active filer in A61F, holding 1,426 of the 50,959 patents in this class. Concentration at the top signals how contestable this technology area is for new entrants.

Source USPTO PatentsView, granted utility patents As of 2015–2025 grant years
View data table
Top patent holders in CPC subclass A61F
Rank Company Patents in A61F
#1 The Procter & Gamble Company 1,426
#2 Boston Scientific Scimed, Inc. 1,101
#3 Edwards Lifesciences Corporation 1,101
#4 DePuy Synthes Products, Inc. 851
#5 Globus Medical, Inc. 752
#6 Cook Medical Technologies LLC 700
#7 Smith & Nephew, Inc. 541
#8 Covidien LP 528
#9 Alcon Inc. 489
#10 Kimberly-Clark Worldwide, Inc. 427
#11 W.L. Gore & Associates GmbH 420
#12 KCI Licensing, Inc. 417
#13 Warsaw Orthopedic, Inc. 415
#14 Howmedica Osteonics Corp. 392
#15 Abbott Cardiovascular Systems, Inc. 385
#16 Medtronic Vascular, Inc. 383
#17 Coloplast A/S 378
#18 Unicharm Corporation 369
#19 Zimmer, Inc. 363
#20 Medtronic, Inc. 318

Footprint here vs. claim strategy

Each dot is a leading A61F assignee, placed by how many patents it holds in this class (horizontal) against its company-wide average claims per patent (vertical) - a read on whether the class is led by broad-but-shallow filers or focused deep-claim players.

Top 14 A61F assignees by class footprint. Bubble size = patents in A61F. Source: USPTO PatentsView (claim depth is company-wide across all classes). Scatter plot of 14 data points (bubble-sized by third dimension). 121416182022 050010001500 Patents in A61F Avg claims / patent (company-wide) The Procter & GambleBoston Scientific…Edwards LifesciencesDepuy Synthes ProductsGlobus MedicalCook MedicalSmith & NephewCovidienAlconKimberly-clark…W L Gore & AssociatesKci LicensingWarsaw OrthopedicHowmedica Osteonics
Top 14 A61F assignees by class footprint. Bubble size = patents in A61F. Source: USPTO PatentsView (claim depth is company-wide across all classes).

Classes near A61F's 50,959-grant footprint

Nationwide nearest neighbors for A61F (#33 of 670 by volume ; lead share 2.8%) - not the A61 parent-class siblings above.

Nearest by grant volume

H10K 50,923 H02J 49,883 H04M 49,631 G01S 52,756

Nearest by lead-assignee share

B65G 2.8% B66D 2.8% G07B 2.8% C23F 2.8%

Questions about A61F

Which company holds the most patents in A61F?
The Procter & Gamble Company leads A61F with 1,426 patents (2.8% of the subclass). By PatentsView assignee type, us corporations account for 71% of class grants.
Which A61F assignees grew fastest recently?
Among assignees with ≥5 grants in A61F, Therabody, Inc. shows the highest company-wide grant multiple (119x: 1 grants in 2019–2021 → 119 in 2022–2024) while holding 11 patents in this subclass. Growth is company-wide, not class-only.
How does A61F compare inside parent class A61?
Inside A61 (Medical OR Veterinary SCIENCE; Hygiene), A61F ranks #5 of 13 subclasses by grant volume and holds 7.9% of the parent class total. The largest sibling is A61B (162,009 grants).

What to do with this data

A61F in context - here's where to go next.

  • The Procter & Gamble Company leads A61F with 1,426 grants in this class. See full portfolio
  • A61F ranks #33 of 670 by grant volume among all tracked CPC technology areas. See the ranking
  • Inside parent class A61, the largest sibling subclass is A61B with 162,009 grants. Explore A61B

Figures reflect USPTO PatentsView grant data through 2026-05-15; pending applications not yet granted are not counted.

Methodology - A61F figures are USPTO PatentsView granted-utility totals for this subclass (50,959 grants in the tracked window).

Every figure on PlainPatent is rendered directly from USPTO source data, no number is typed in by an editor. This page draws directly on USPTO source data, no figure is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error.