PlainPatent

CPC technology class · A61

A61H - Physical Therapy Apparatus

Physical therapy apparatus, e.g. devices for locating or stimulating reflex points in the body; artificial respiration; massage; bathing devices for special therapeutic or hygienic purposes or specific parts of the body. 6,990 US utility patents granted 2015–2025, with the leading assignees and year-by-year filing trajectory.

6,990
US patents granted
A61
Parent CPC class
20
Active assignees
+55%
5-yr velocity

The verdict

Physical Therapy Apparatus ranks #207 of 670 CPC technology areas - 6,990 US patents granted since 2015, with filing up 55% over five years.

#207
of 670 CPC technology areas
6,990
US patents granted, 2015–2025
Zoll Medical
leading assignee (205)
+55%
filing velocity, last 5 yrs
Top assignee: ZOLL Medical Corporation (205 patents)

CPC subclass A61H - PHYSICAL THERAPY APPARATUS, e.g. DEVICES FOR LOCATING OR STIMULATING REFLEX POINTS IN THE BODY; ARTIFICIAL RESPIRATION; MASSAGE; BATHING DEVICES FOR SPECIAL THERAPEUTIC OR HYGIENIC PURPOSES OR SPECIFIC PARTS OF THE BODY - covers 6,990 US utility patents granted between 2015 and 2025 according to USPTO PatentsView records, within the broader CPC class A61 (MEDICAL OR VETERINARY SCIENCE; HYGIENE). See our CPC classification guide for how the system works.

The competitive landscape in A61H is shaped by 20 distinct companies actively filing in this space. ZOLL Medical Corporation leads with 205 patents, followed by Physio-control, Inc. at 80 grants and ROM Technologies, Inc. at 54.

Filing activity in A61H is up 55% over the past five years versus 2015-2019, a sharp acceleration suggesting an emerging or fast-moving technology area. All counts come directly from USPTO PatentsView and reflect US granted utility patents only.

Is A61H innovation accelerating?

US utility-patent grants per year in A61H, 2015–2025 - recent five years are up 55% versus 2015–2019.

300400500600700800 20152016201720182019202020212022202320242025 553

Who leads A61H?

The 12 most active assignees in PHYSICAL THERAPY APPARATUS, e.g. DEVICES FOR LOCATING OR STIMULATING REFLEX POINTS IN THE BODY; ARTIFICIAL RESPIRATION; MASSAGE; BATHING DEVICES FOR SPECIAL THERAPEUTIC OR HYGIENIC PURPOSES OR SPECIFIC PARTS OF THE BODY - wider bars mean more grants

patents

What this shows Zoll Medical is the most active filer in A61H, holding 205 of the 6,990 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 A61H
Rank Company Patents in A61H
#1 ZOLL Medical Corporation 205
#2 Physio-control, Inc. 80
#3 ROM Technologies, Inc. 54
#4 KCI Licensing, Inc. 48
#5 Hytto PTE. Ltd. 46
#6 Ekso Bionics Holdings, Inc. 43
#7 Medline Industries, Lp 40
#8 ZOLL Circulation, Inc. 40
#9 Hill-rom Services, Inc. 38
#10 Therabody, Inc. 34
#11 L'oreal 33
#12 Kohler Co. 33
#13 Valencia Technologies Corporation 31
#14 Guided Therapy Systems, Llc 28
#15 Stryker Corporation 24
#16 Hayward Industries, Inc. 21
#17 Theragun, Inc. 20
#18 Dephy, Inc. 20
#19 Ceragem Co., Ltd. 19
#20 Bullfrog International, LC 18

About This Class

CPC subclass A61H belongs to class A61.

6,990 patents were granted in this class between 2015 and 2025.

20 companies actively patent in this space.

Classification System

Cooperative Patent Classification (CPC) is a hierarchical patent classification system used by the USPTO and EPO.

← All Technology Classes Technology Rankings →

Footprint here vs. claim strategy

Each dot is a leading A61H 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 A61H assignees by class footprint. Bubble size = patents in A61H. Source: USPTO PatentsView (claim depth is company-wide across all classes).

Top 14 A61H assignees by class footprint. Bubble size = patents in A61H. Source: USPTO PatentsView (claim depth is company-wide across all classes). Scatter plot of 14 data points (bubble-sized by third dimension). 51015202530 050100150200250 Patents in A61H Avg claims / patent (company-wide) Zoll MedicalPhysio-controlRomKci LicensingHytto PteEkso Bionics HoldingsMedline IndustriesZoll CirculationHill-rom ServicesTherabodyL'orealKohlerValenciaGuided Therapy Systems
Top 14 A61H assignees by class footprint. Bubble size = patents in A61H. Source: USPTO PatentsView (claim depth is company-wide across all classes).

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CPC class A61H?
CPC subclass A61H covers PHYSICAL THERAPY APPARATUS, e.g. DEVICES FOR LOCATING OR STIMULATING REFLEX POINTS IN THE BODY; ARTIFICIAL RESPIRATION; MASSAGE; BATHING DEVICES FOR SPECIAL THERAPEUTIC OR HYGIENIC PURPOSES OR SPECIFIC PARTS OF THE BODY. It belongs to CPC class A61 (MEDICAL OR VETERINARY SCIENCE; HYGIENE), with 6,990 US utility patents granted since 2015.
How many patents have been filed in A61H?
6,990 US utility patents were granted in CPC subclass A61H between 2015 and 2025, based on USPTO PatentsView data.
Which company holds the most patents in A61H?
ZOLL Medical Corporation leads A61H with 205 patents, making it the most active assignee in this technology area.
How is patent data for A61H collected?
Patent data comes from USPTO PatentsView, a public research dataset maintained by the United States Patent and Trademark Office. It covers all US granted utility patents and assigns CPC codes based on the technology described in each patent.
What is the difference between CPC class and subclass?
A CPC class (e.g., A61) is a broad technology category. Subclasses like A61H provide finer granularity within that category. PlainPatent organizes data at the subclass level (4-character codes) for the most useful view of technology domains.

Read our methodology - how this data is sourced, computed, and verified.

Data sourced from USPTO PatentsView - official U.S. government patent data. See our methodology for computation details. Retrieved and formatted by PlainPatent Editorial

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.