CPC technology class · A61

A61N - Electrotherapy

Electrotherapy; magnetotherapy; radiation therapy; ultrasound therapy. 30,889 US utility patents granted 2015–2025, with the leading assignees and year-by-year grant trajectory.

Compiled by PlainPatent · May 15, 2026

30,889
US patents granted: #6/13
in A61: 4.8%
A61 class share: +1%
5-yr velocity

The verdict

According to USPTO PatentsView, Electrotherapy ranks #61 of 670 CPC technology areas - 30,889 US patents granted since 2015, with recorded grant volume up 1% over five years.

#61
of 670 CPC technology areas: 30,889
US patents granted, 2015–2025: Medtronic
leading assignee (2,200): +1%
grant velocity, last 5 yrs

How A61N's grant cadence moved

Between 2020–2024, A61N recorded 13,647 grants versus 13,490 in 2015–2019 (+1% equal-window velocity). Across complete years, output peaked in 2019 at 3,013 grants and bottomed in 2018 at 2,467 (+22% peak-over-trough). Lead assignee Medtronic, Inc. holds 7.1% of the class ; the top three share 14.0%.

Leaderboard read

A61N concentration, lead at 7.1%

Medtronic, Inc. leads this historical grant record at 7.1% of A61N - us corporation assignees hold 68% of class grants (17,019 of 24,911). Figures describe granted US utility patents in this CPC subclass, not current investment or legal strength.

Leader's share: 7.1%
Top three share: 14.0%
Lead over #2: 1,120

Where A61N sits inside A61

Among 13 subclasses in A61 (Medical OR Veterinary SCIENCE; Hygiene), A61N ranks #6 and holds 4.8% 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 A61F 50,959 A61L 25,308 A61Q 14,001 A61C 8,164

Rising assignees active in A61N

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 Siemens Healthineers AG 222x 0 → 222 company-wide · 12 in A61N
#2 Therabody, Inc. 119x 1 → 119 company-wide · 12 in A61N
#3 Siemens Healthineers International AG 94x 0 → 94 company-wide · 116 in A61N
#4 West Affum Holdings DAC 73x 0 → 73 company-wide · 95 in A61N
#5 Korrus, Inc. 71x 0 → 71 company-wide · 11 in A61N

A61N grants by year, peak 2019 (3,013)

US utility-patent grants per year in A61N, 2015–2025 - recent five years are up 1% versus 2015–2019.

Medtronic

2,200
Boston Scientific…

1,080
Cardiac Pacemakers

1,037
Pacesetter

609
Zoll Medical

556
Koniniklijke Philips

534
Cochlear

449
Varian Medical Systems

296
Advanced Bionics

284
The Regents of the…

278
The Board of Trustees…

236
Biotronik Se & Kg

219

What this shows Medtronic is the most active filer in A61N, holding 2,200 of the 30,889 patents in this class. Concentration at the top signals how contestable this technology area is for new entrants.

View data table

Top patent holders in CPC subclass A61N
Rank	Company	Patents in A61N
#1	Medtronic, Inc.	2,200
#2	Boston Scientific Neuromodulation Corporation	1,080
#3	Cardiac Pacemakers, Inc.	1,037
#4	Pacesetter, Inc.	609
#5	Zoll Medical Corporation	556
#6	Koniniklijke Philips N.V.	534
#7	Cochlear Limited	449
#8	Varian Medical Systems, Inc.	296
#9	Advanced Bionics AG	284
#10	The Regents of the University of California	278
#11	The Board of Trustees of the Leland Stanford Junior University	236
#12	Biotronik SE & Co. KG	219
#13	Varian Medical Systems International AG	206
#14	Sorin CRM SAS	186
#15	Greatbatch Ltd.	185
#16	Boston Scientific Scimed, Inc.	183
#17	Med-el Elektromedizinische Geraete GmbH	172
#18	Elekta Limited	156
#19	Medtronic Ardian Luxembourg S.A.R.L.	155
#20	Covidien LP	152

Footprint here vs. claim strategy

Each dot is a leading A61N 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 A61N assignees by class footprint. Bubble size = patents in A61N. Source: USPTO PatentsView (claim depth is company-wide across all classes).

Classes near A61N's 30,889-grant footprint

Nationwide nearest neighbors for A61N (#61 of 670 by volume ; lead share 7.1%) - not the A61 parent-class siblings above.

Nearest by grant volume

H03K 30,872 H10F 31,010 F05D 30,682 B60L 29,944

Nearest by lead-assignee share

D06P 7.1% F24F 7.1% F23D 7.1% B60Q 7.1%

Questions about A61N

Which company holds the most patents in A61N?

Medtronic, Inc. leads A61N with 2,200 patents (7.1% of the subclass). By PatentsView assignee type, us corporations account for 68% of class grants.

Which A61N assignees grew fastest recently?

Among assignees with ≥5 grants in A61N, Siemens Healthineers AG shows the highest company-wide grant multiple (222x: 0 grants in 2019–2021 → 222 in 2022–2024) while holding 12 patents in this subclass. Growth is company-wide, not class-only.

How does A61N compare inside parent class A61?

Inside A61 (Medical OR Veterinary SCIENCE; Hygiene), A61N ranks #6 of 13 subclasses by grant volume and holds 4.8% of the parent class total. The largest sibling is A61B (162,009 grants).

What to do with this data

A61N in context - here's where to go next.

Medtronic, Inc. leads A61N with 2,200 grants in this class. See full portfolio
A61N ranks #61 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 - A61N figures are USPTO PatentsView granted-utility totals for this subclass (30,889 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.