PlainPatent

CPC technology class · A61

A61M - Devices For Introducing Media Into

Devices for introducing media into, or onto, the body ; devices for transducing body media or for taking media from the body ; devices for producing or ending sleep or stupor. 57,639 US utility patents granted 2015–2025, with the leading assignees and year-by-year grant trajectory.

57,639
US patents granted
#4/13
in A61
8.9%
A61 class share
+19%
5-yr velocity

The verdict

According to USPTO PatentsView, Devices For Introducing Media Into ranks #26 of 670 CPC technology areas - 57,639 US patents granted since 2015, with recorded grant volume up 19% over five years.

#26
of 670 CPC technology areas
57,639
US patents granted, 2015–2025
Becton Dickinson and
leading assignee (1,249)
+19%
grant velocity, last 5 yrs

How A61M's grant cadence moved

Between 2020–2024, A61M recorded 28,094 grants versus 23,530 in 2015–2019 (+19% equal-window velocity). Across complete years, output peaked in 2019 at 5,911 grants and bottomed in 2015 at 4,038 (+46% peak-over-trough). Lead assignee Becton, Dickinson and Company holds 2.2% of the class ; the top three share 5.7%.

Leaderboard read

A61M concentration, lead at 2.2%

Becton, Dickinson and Company leads this historical grant record at 2.2% of A61M - us corporation assignees hold 60% of class grants (29,067 of 48,092). Figures describe granted US utility patents in this CPC subclass, not current investment or legal strength.

Leader's share
2.2%

1,249 of 57,639 grants

Top three share
5.7%

of the class's recorded grants

Lead over #2
90

more grants than Sanofi-Aventis Deutschland GMBH

Where A61M sits inside A61

Among 13 subclasses in A61 (Medical OR Veterinary SCIENCE; Hygiene), A61M ranks #4 and holds 8.9% 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 A61F 50,959 A61N 30,889 A61L 25,308 A61Q 14,001 A61C 8,164

Rising assignees active in A61M

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 Siemens Healthineers AG 222x 0 → 222 company-wide · 6 in A61M
  2. #2 Therabody, Inc. 119x 1 → 119 company-wide · 6 in A61M
  3. #3 Solventum Intellectual Properties Company 88x 0 → 88 company-wide · 67 in A61M
  4. #4 Korrus, Inc. 71x 0 → 71 company-wide · 6 in A61M
  5. #5 Boston Scientific Medical Device Limited 66x 0 → 66 company-wide · 43 in A61M

A61M grants by year, peak 2019 (5,911)

US utility-patent grants per year in A61M, 2015–2025 - recent five years are up 19% versus 2015–2019.

3,5004,0004,5005,0005,5006,0006,500 20152016201720182019202020212022202320242025 4,202

Who leads A61M?

The 12 most active assignees in Devices FOR Introducing Media Into, OR Onto, THE Body ; Devices FOR Transducing Body Media OR FOR Taking Media From THE Body ; Devices FOR Producing OR Ending Sleep OR Stupor - wider bars mean more grants

patents

What this shows Becton Dickinson and is the most active filer in A61M, holding 1,249 of the 57,639 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 A61M
Rank Company Patents in A61M
#1 Becton, Dickinson and Company 1,249
#2 Sanofi-Aventis Deutschland GMBH 1,159
#3 Boston Scientific Scimed, Inc. 901
#4 Koniniklijke Philips N.V. 836
#5 Fisher & Paykel Healthcare Limited 773
#6 Covidien LP 726
#7 Terumo Kabushiki Kaisha 724
#8 ResMed Pty Ltd 682
#9 Medtronic, Inc. 578
#10 Medtronic Minimed, Inc. 577
#11 KCI Licensing, Inc. 553
#12 Fresenius Medical Care Deutschland GmbH 539
#13 Deka Products Limited Parternship 518
#14 Fresenius Medical Care Holdings, Inc. 435
#15 Carefusion 303, Inc. 419
#16 Cook Medical Technologies LLC 409
#17 Baxter International Inc. 402
#18 Baxter Healthcare SA 384
#19 C.R. Bard, Inc. 376
#20 Biosense Webster (Israel) Ltd. 344

Footprint here vs. claim strategy

Each dot is a leading A61M 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 A61M assignees by class footprint. Bubble size = patents in A61M. Source: USPTO PatentsView (claim depth is company-wide across all classes). Scatter plot of 14 data points (bubble-sized by third dimension). 141618202224 200400600800100012001400 Patents in A61M Avg claims / patent (company-wide) Becton Dickinson andSanofi-aventis…Boston Scientific…Koniniklijke PhilipsFisher & Paykel…CovidienTerumoResmed PtyMedtronicMedtronic MinimedKci LicensingFresenius Medical…Deka Products…Fresenius Medical…
Top 14 A61M assignees by class footprint. Bubble size = patents in A61M. Source: USPTO PatentsView (claim depth is company-wide across all classes).

Classes near A61M's 57,639-grant footprint

Nationwide nearest neighbors for A61M (#26 of 670 by volume ; lead share 2.2%) - not the A61 parent-class siblings above.

Nearest by grant volume

C07K 58,046 C07D 54,914 G11C 53,783 G01R 53,716

Nearest by lead-assignee share

B65B 2.2% F41A 2.2% F27D 2.2% G01G 2.1%

Questions about A61M

Which company holds the most patents in A61M?
Becton, Dickinson and Company leads A61M with 1,249 patents (2.2% of the subclass). By PatentsView assignee type, us corporations account for 60% of class grants.
Which A61M assignees grew fastest recently?
Among assignees with ≥5 grants in A61M, Siemens Healthineers AG shows the highest company-wide grant multiple (222x: 0 grants in 2019–2021 → 222 in 2022–2024) while holding 6 patents in this subclass. Growth is company-wide, not class-only.
How does A61M compare inside parent class A61?
Inside A61 (Medical OR Veterinary SCIENCE; Hygiene), A61M ranks #4 of 13 subclasses by grant volume and holds 8.9% of the parent class total. The largest sibling is A61B (162,009 grants).

What to do with this data

A61M in context - here's where to go next.

  • Becton, Dickinson and Company leads A61M with 1,249 grants in this class. See full portfolio
  • A61M ranks #26 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 - A61M figures are USPTO PatentsView granted-utility totals for this subclass (57,639 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.