Biomedical Photoacoustic Imaging Patent Landscape report published by Yole Developpement

Biomedical Photoacoustic Imaging - Patent Landscape - 2015

© 2015

Copyrights © Knowmade SARL. All rights reserved.

Biomedical Photoacoustic

Imaging Patent Landscape

Patent and Scientific Information

University of Texas

University of Arizona

ENDRA Life Sciences

VisualSonics

Seno Medical Instruments

Canon

Volcano

Biomedical Photoacoustic Imaging - Patent Landscape - 2015© 2015• 2


Table of Contents

Introduction 3

Authors 4

Scope of the Report 5

Key Features of the Report 6

Objectives of the Report 8

Terminology for Patent Analysis 9

Methodology 12

Patent Search Strategy 14

Assignees Mentioned in this Report 15

Executive Summary 21

Photoacoustic Imaging Patent Landscape Overview 29

Time Evolution of Patent Publications 30

Countries of Patent Filings 31

Time Evolution by Country of Filing 32

Current Legal Status of Patents 33

Main Industrial Patent Applicants Ranking 34

Main Academic Patent Applicants Ranking 35

Time Evolution of Patent Applicants 36

Countries of Filing for Main Patent Applicants 37

Mapping of Main Current IP Holders 38

Mapping of Main Current IP Applicants 39

Main IPC Classes 40

Time Evolution by IPC 41

Matrix Applicants / Main IPC 42

Patented Technology by Products 43

Patented Technology by Applications 44

Summary of Applicant’s Patent Portfolio 45

Leadership of Patent Applicants 47

Degree of Specialization in Photoacoustic imaging 49

Impact Factor of Patent Portfolios 50

IP Blocking Potential of Applicants 52

Patent Applicant IP Network 53

Key Patent Families 54

Granted Patents Near Expiration 57

Potential Future Plaintiffs 58

Summary of Key Players 59

Canon 60

Fujifilm 62

Fujifilm VisualSonics 64

Seno Medical Instruments 65

Philips 68

Volcano 70

Covidien 72

Mallinckrodt Pharmaceuticals 74

Samsung 76

ENDRA Life Sciences 78

TomoWave Laboratories 80

National Institutes of Health 82

University of Texas 84

Helmholtz Zentrum München 86

South China Normal University 88

Jiangxi Sciences & Technic Normal University 90

Shenzhen Institute of Advanced Technology 92

Conclusions 94

Annexes 100

Methodology for Key Patent Identification 101

KNOWMADE Company presentation 103

Contact 111



Authors

KnowMade is specialized in analysis of patents and scientific research findings. We provide patent search,

IP landscape, patent valuation, IP due diligence, freedom to operate search, scientific literature landscape,

identification of technologies available for transfer/licensing/sale, alerts and updates. Our service offer

consists of custom studies, analysis reports, on-demand tracking and strategy consulting. KnowMade

combines information search services, scientific expertise, powerful analytics and visualization tools, and

proprietary methodologies for analyzing patents and scientific information. With a solid focus on

Microelectronics, Nanotechnology and Biotechnology, KnowMade supports research laboratories, industrial

companies and investors in their business development.

Dr. Brice Sagot

COO and co-founder of Knowmade. He

leads the Biotechnology and Life

Sciences department. He holds a PhD

in Molecular Biology from the University

of Nice Sophia-Antipolis, France.

Contact: [email protected]

Dr. Coralie Le Greneur

Coralie works for Knowmade in the field of

Biotechnology and Life Sciences. She

holds a PhD in Molecular Biology from the

University of Nice Sophia-Antipolis

(France). She also holds the International

Industrial Studies Diploma in Patents from

the CEIPI, Strasbourg (France).

Contact: [email protected]



Scope of the Report

This report provides a detailed picture of the patent landscape for photoacoustic imaging in the biomedical domain.

Only patents related to photo- or thermo-acoustic imaging were considered. This report does not include patents

related to spectroscopy, blood-sugar detection or other medical imaging technique. This report covers patents

published worldwide up to January 2015. More than 900 patent families relevant to the scope of this report have

been selected.

Included

in the study

Not included

in the study

University of Texas

Canon

Seno Medical Instruments

Mallinckrodt

Fujifilm VisualSonics

General Electric Philips

PanasonicCanon

Hitachi Medical

Blood-sugar detection,

analytes detection,…

Spectroscopy,… X-rays

MRI

Ultrasound and X-raysPhotoacoustic systems

Contrast agents, dyes

Photoacoustic devices

Photoacoustic devicesProbes, catheters, endoscopes,…



Key Features of the Report (1/2)

• The report provides essential patent data for photoacoustic imaging.

• It identifies more than 15+ major holders of photoacoustic imaging related intellectual property. It

provides in-depth IP analysis and industrial key players including:

– Time evolution of patent publications and countries of patent filings.

– Current legal status of patents.

– Ranking of main patent applicants.

– Joint developments and IP collaboration network of main patent applicants.

– Key patents.

– Granted patents near expiration.

– Relative strength of main companies IP portfolio.

– Overview of patent litigations.

– Matrix applicants/technology issues for more than 15 companies.

• The “photoacoustic imaging IP” profiles of 15+ major companies is presented, with key patents,

technological issues, litigations, licenses, partnerships, and IP strength and strategy.



Key Features of the Report (2/2)

• The report also provides an extensive Excel database with all patents analyzed in the report.

• This database allows multi-criteria searches:

Patent information

- Patent publication number

- Hyperlinks to the original documents

- Priority date

- Title

- Abstract

- Patent Assignees

- Legal status for each member of the patent family

• This report does not provide any insight analyses or counsel regarding legal aspects or the validity of any

individual patent: KnowMade is research firm that provide market and technical analysis and opinions. The

research, technical analysis and/or work contained herein is not a legal opinion and should not be construed as

such.



Objectives of the Report

Objectives of this patent landscape is to:

Understand the IP landscape for biomedical photoacoustic imaging.

Identify key patents.

Understand trends in biomedical photoacoustic imaging IP.

Identify the major IP players in biomedical photoacoustic imaging and the relative strength of their patent

portfolio.

Identify new IP players in biomedical photoacoustic imaging.

Identify IP collaboration networks between key players.



•The data were extracted from the FamPat worldwide database (Questel-ORBIT) which provides 90+ million patent documents from 95

offices.

•The patents search was performed in January 2015, hence patents published after this date will not be available in this report.

•The patent selection was done manually.

•The statistical analysis was performed with Questel Orbit IP Business Intelligence software.

•The patents were manually categorized using keyword analysis of patent title, abstract and claims, in conjunction with expert review of

the subject-matter of inventions.

•The patents were organized according to FamPat’s family rules (variation of EPO strict family): A Patent Family comprises patents

linked by exactly same priority numbers (strict family), plus comparison of priority and application numbers, specific rules by country and

information gathered from other sources (national files, legal status …).

Disclaimer: KnowMade are research firms that provides technical analysis and technical opinions. The research, technical analysis

and/or work contained herein is not a legal opinion and should not be construed as such.

Methodology (1/2)

Number of selected patent families for the photoacoustic imaging IP Investigation:

921 over a number of returned results > 5,000



Methodology (2/2)



Patent Search Strategy

• + Truncation replacing any number of characters

• ? Truncation replacing zero or one character

• # Truncation replacing one character

• _ Truncation for word that may have a space (ex: semiconductor, semi conductor)

• OR Finds references containing at least one of the words

• AND Finds references containing all words

• S Finds references containing the terms in the same sentence

• nD Finds references containing adjacent terms, regardless of the order, and may be

separated by a maximum of n words

• nW Finds references containing adjacent terms, in the order specified, and

may be separated by a maximum of n words

• ( ) Parentheses are necessary to combine different operators

• /TI/OTI Search in Title

• /BI Search in Title and Abstract

• /CLMS Search in Claims

• /DESC/ODES Search in Description

• /PA.FLD Search in Patent Assignees

• /IC Search in International Patent Classification (IPC)

STEP SEARCH EQUATION RESULT

Patents related to photoacoustic imaging

Step-1((XXX+ OR XXX+ OR XXX+ OR XXX OR XXX+)/BI/CLMS AND (XXX+ OR XXX+ OR XXX+ OR XXX+ OR XXX+ OR XXX+)/BI/CLMS AND XXX+/IC

> 1,500

Key firms Step-2(XXX OR XXX OR XXX OR XXX OR XXX OR XXX OR XXX OR XXX OR XXX OR XXX OR XXX OR XXX ORXXX)/PA.FLD

> 570,000

Citing and cited patents

Step-3 CITING AND CITED PATENTS OF SELECTED PATENTS FROM STEP-1 AND STEP-2 > 4,000

Manual selection Step-4 Selected patent families 921



Assignees Mentioned in this Report

CANON, FUJIFILM, SONOSITE, VISUALSONICS, SENO MEDICAL INSTRUMENTS, PHILIPS,

VOLCANO, COVIDIEN, MALLINCKRODT PHARMACEUTICALS, SAMSUNG ELECTRONICS,

SAMSUNG MEDISON, INTELLIDX (GLUCON), OPTOSONICS, ENDRA LIFE SCIENCES,

TOMOWAVE LABORATORIES

NATIONAL INSTITUTES OF HEALTH, SOUTH CHINA NORMAL UNIVERSITY, UNIVERSITY OF

TEXAS, HELMHOLTZ ZENTRUM MUENCHEN, JIANGXI NORMAL UNIVERSITY SCIENTIFIC

TECHNOLOGY, SHENZHEN INSTITUTE OF ADVANCED TECH. (CAS), LELAND STANFORD

JUNIOR UNIVERSITY, NANJING UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY, UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA,

INSTITUTE OF AUTOMATION (CAS), WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY IN ST. LOUIS



Time Evolution of Patent Publications

Note: The patent search was done in January 2015, the data corresponding to the year 2015 are not represented here. At the time of the patent

search, 7 patent families had been published in January 2015.

In 1982, the 1st patent disclosing an imaging system using photoacoustic approach was published by COMPANY XXX (WOxxxxxxx).

The 2nd patent application was published almost 10 years later, in 1991. The number of new patent publications then slowly increased

from 1997 to 2009. However, a take off is observed since 2010/2011 : the applications made between 2010 and 2014 represent over

80% of all applications in the domain. This recent take off is partly due to a great increase of the number of new applications made by

COMPANY XXX, as well as COMPANY XXX. By January 2015, more than 900 patent families related to biomedical photoacoustic

imaging have been published.

Photoacoustic Imaging Patent Publications

0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 4 3 3 5 92

10 10 12 1724 20

31

66

88

140

230238

0

50

100

150

200

250

No

. of

Pat

ent

Fam

ilie

s

Earliest publication year of each patent family

Knowmade 2015

Radiation…

XXX

WOxxxxxxx

Optical acoustic…

XXX

JPHxxxxxxxx



Time Evolution of Patent Applicants

Dates are defined from the

earliest publication date for

each patent family. Bubble

size represents the

number of published

patent families. The data

corresponding to the year

2014 may not be complete

since the patent search

was done early July 2014.

1st publication year

From 1982 and the publication of the 1st patent in the domain, innovation in the photoacoustic imaging technologies have been slow and

only really took off in the late 90s. Both industries and universities filed applications from the beginning. Lately COMPANY XXX has

significantly increased its patenting activity in the domain. COMPANY XXX has also filed more applications in 2012 and 2013. To a lesser

extent, American companies COMPANY XXX and COMPANY XXX have shown an interest in the photoacoustic imaging technology in the

last couple of years. Nowadays, if academic applicants are still filling new applications, industrial applicants are getting the upper hand

and this should increase with the commercialization of new devices.



Mapping of Main Current IP Holders

Number of patent families

containing granted patents in

the corresponding country.

US PATENTS

COMPANY XXX 23

COMPANY XXX 9

COMPANY XXX 8

COMPANY XXX 5

COMPANY XXX 4

COMPANY XXX 3

COMPANY XXX 3

COMPANY XXX 2

COMPANY XXX 2

COMPANY XXX 2

COMPANY XXX 2

EP PATENTS

COMPANY XXX 5

COMPANY XXX 4

COMPANY XXX 3

COMPANY XXX 3

COMPANY XXX 2

COMPANY XXX 2

JP PATENTS

COMPANY XXX 66

COMPANY XXX 22

COMPANY XXX 3

COMPANY XXX 1

COMPANY XXX 1

COMPANY XXX 1

CN PATENTS

COMPANY XXX 21

COMPANY XXX 13

COMPANY XXX 7

COMPANY XXX 5

COMPANY XXX 2

COMPANY XXX 2

The company XXX is the main current IP holder in the USA, China and in Japan, where the company holds most of its granted patents

(66 granted patents). Its compatriot COMPANY XXX is the 2nd current IP holder in Japan with 22 granted patents. However, despite

having the 2nd largest portfolio, COMPANY XXX is only significantly present in Japan in term of granted patents. In China, among the 6

main current IP holders, 4 are Chinese universities. In the USA, COMPANY XXX and COMPANY XXX, both academic applicants, are

2nd and 3rd current IP holders behind COMPANY XXX. In Europe, the main current IP holder is the Irish COMPANY XXX (5 granted

patents), before COMPANY XXX, COMPANY XXX and COMPANY XXX.

Knowmade 2015



Patented Technology by Products

Portfolio Contrast agentsDevices & Apparatus

All Devices Handheld Probes Catheters

TOTAL 921 xx xx 49 xx

COMPANY XXX 278 31 xx 4 xx

COMPANY XXX xx 4 xx 15 3

COMPANY XXX xx 6 xx xx xx

COMPANY XXX 27 7 16 xx 5

COMPANY XXX xx xx xx xx 14

COMPANY XXX xx xx 12 xx 3

COMPANY XXX 20 xx 16 xx xx

COMPANY XXX xx 9 6 1 2

COMPANY XXX xx 1 1 xx 1

COMPANY XXX xx 3 xx xx 1


COMPANY XXX 11 xx 6 xx xx

COMPANY XXX 11 3 xx 2 xx

COMPANY XXX 11 1 7 3 xx

Patents have been manually categorized based on review of title, abstract, claims and description. Note that a patent can be found in several categories.

Patents related to photoacoustic imaging address different technology issues. The most addressed issues concern imaging means and 2 main

categories can be highlighted : contrast agents and devices. Indeed, even if the photoacoustic imaging technology doesn’t require dyes or contrast

agents, molecules are still designed in order to enhanced contrast and get a better image. COMPANY XXX, COMPANY XXX and COMPANY XXX

are the most active in this technology. COMPANY XXX is a pharmaceutical company and its photoacoustic imaging patent portfolio is dedicated to

contrast agents. Many devices are claims by applicants in their patent portfolios (653 families out of 921). COMPANY XXX and COMPANY XXX

dedicate an important part of their portfolios to devices and apparatus, as well as most of the main patent applicants. Among the various devices,

handheld probes and catheters are especially developed. COMPANY XXX is particularly focused on handheld probes, while COMPANY XXX

concentrates on developing catheter associated with photoacoustic imaging.



Patented Technology by Applications

PortfolioCancers & Tumors Vascular

PathologiesAll Types Breast Prostate

TOTAL 921 130 xx xx 124

COMPANY XXX 278 xx 6 xx 5

COMPANY XXX xx xx 1 xx xx

COMPANY XXX xx 5 3 1 1

COMPANY XXX 27 4 1 1 xx

COMPANY XXX xx xx xx xx xx

COMPANY XXX xx xx 3 1 6

COMPANY XXX 20 4 3 xx xx

COMPANY XXX xx xx 4 3 8

COMPANY XXX xx xx xx xx 6



COMPANY XXX 11 8 xx xx xx

COMPANY XXX 11 xx xx xx xx


Patents have been manually categorized based on review of title, abstract, claims and description. Note that a patent can be found in several categories.

Different applications are also claimed by applicants in the domain of photoacoustic imaging. Photoacoustic imaging is a biomedical technology

and the most targeted applications are the diagnosis and treatment of cancers and vascular pathologies (blood vessel damages, cardiac

pathologies, vascular brain damages,…). Those applications represent respectively 130 and 124 patent families of the whole photoacoustic

imaging domain. COMPANY XXX, COMPANY XXX and COMPANY XXX are the most active in the cancer domain among the main applicants.

The most targeted cancers are breast and prostate cancers. In cancer applications, patents disclose imaging means but also therapeutic agents.

Those agents are coupled with a dye or a contrast agent. Photoacoustic also allows a good imaging of blood vessels either via external means or

intravascular means and thus the technology is suitable for studying various vascular pathologies. Among the main applicants, COMPANY XXX,

COMPANY XXX, COMPANY XXX and COMPANY XXX own the most patent families in this particular domain. In vascular pathologies,

photoacoustic is used to get an image of the pathology and/or to perform live imaging during biopsy or surgery.



Summary of Applicant’s Patent Portfolio (1/2)

Patent ApplicantsNo. of patent

families

Oldest priority date of the

portfolio

No. of families filed / yr(average)

No. of patent

documents

No. of patents /

Family(average)

Patent average

age(yr)

%granted

% pending

% dead(revoked

lapsedexpired)

No. of alive patents /

Family (granted, pending)

No. of granted family patents by country

US EP JP CN

COMPANY XXX 278 20xx xx xx xx 2 xx% xx% xx% 3,1 23 xx 66 xx

COMPANY XXX xx 20xx 13 xx 2,7 xx 7% xx% xx% xx 1 xx 22 xx

COMPANY XXX xx 1996 xx 138 xx xx xx% xx% xx% 3,4 xx 2 xx xx

COMPANY XXX 27 20xx xx xx xx 4 xx% xx% xx% 4,9 5 xx xx 5

COMPANY XXX xx 2011 xx 52 xx xx 8% 88% 4% 1,9 2 xx xx xx

COMPANY XXX xx 19xx xx xx 1 5 xx% xx% xx% xx 9 xx xx xx

COMPANY XXX 20 20xx xx xx 1 xx 65% xx% xx% 0,8 xx xx xx 13

COMPANY XXX xx 1996 1 xx 4,7 xx xx% xx% xx% 2,8 xx 2 xx xx

COMPANY XXX xx 20xx xx 31 xx 1 xx% xx% xx% xx 3 xx xx xx

COMPANY XXX xx 20xx xx 136 9,7 xx xx% xx% xx% 5,1 xx xx 1 xx

COMPANY XXX xx 19xx 1 xx 19,2 12 10% 2% 88% 2,2 xx 5 xx xx

COMPANY XXX 11 20xx xx 11 1 xx xx% xx% xx% xx xx xx xx 7

COMPANY XXX 11 2011 xx 39 xx <1 xx% xx% xx% xx 1 1 xx xx

COMPANY XXX 11 2011 xx xx xx 1 xx% xx% xx% xx xx xx xx 2

Knowmade 2015

highest value in column

lowest value in column



Summary of Applicant’s Patent Portfolio (2/2)

Globally, the activity of the main applicants in the photoacoustic imaging domain is quite recent and the portfolio of

almost all of them is composed of more pending patents than granted patents, indicating a current general interest

for the photoacoustic imaging technology.

Two companies, COMPANY XXX and especially COMPANY XXX, stand out by the size of their portfolio.

COMPANY XXX filed its first application in 20xx but the company already owns a very high number of patent

families which are composed of many patent documents. In average, COMPANY XXX filed xx patent families per

year since 20xx. The company already holds granted patents in several countries, especially in Japan, the USA and

China. Taking into account the number of pending patents the company filed across the world, the size of

COMPANY XXX’s granted portfolio should increase greatly in the coming years. To a lesser extent, COMPANY

XXX is showing the same profile.

COMPANY XXX holds one of the oldest portfolio in the photoacoustic imaging technology (oldest priority date :

19xx, average age of patents : 12 years). The pharmaceutical company owns xx patent documents split in xx

families, which gives COMPANY XXX the highest average of patents per family (19,2), revealing a worldwide IP

strategy. However, many of those patents are dead (88%) and the company has the lowest level of pending patents

(2%). COMPANY XXX has reduced its activity in the photoacoustic imaging domain, the company hasn’t made any

new application in the field since 20xx.

The American company COMPANY XXX started its patent activity in the photoacoustic imaging field in 2011 and

already owns xx patent families composed of 52 patent documents, the company is ranked 5th of the main

applicants. COMPANY XXX also shows the highest ratio of pending patents in a portfolio (88%). Noteworthy,

COMPANY XXX was acquired by COMPANY XXX (xth of the main applicants) in February 2015 for $1,2 billion.

The Chinese COMPANY XXX and COMPANY XXX have the highest level of granted patents (65% and xx%

respectively), but all applications were only filed in China. Among academic applicants, the German COMPANY

XXX has the most international strategy with granted and/or pending patents in many countries, especially Europe,

USA, Japan and China.



-50

0

50

100

150

200

-50 50 150 250 350 450 550 650 750

Leadership of Patent Applicants (1/2)

Patenting Activity

Pa

ten

t R

igh

ts R

ein

forc

em

en

t

Bubble size represents the

number of patent families

selected for the study

See following slide

Knowmade 2015

Nu

mb

er

of

Gra

nte

d P

ate

nts

Number of Pending Patents

COMPANY XXX

COMPANY XXX really stands out as the leader of patent applicants. COMPANY XXX is the main IP holder (patent rights

reinforcement) and also the main current applicant (patenting activity) giving the company a very strong and significant leadership in

term of patents in the photoacoustic imaging domain. COMPANY XXX also has a significant leadership, expanding greatly its portfolio

with many new applications (strong patenting activity with xx patents currently pending). The leadership status of the other main

applicants is analyzed in the following slide in a zoom in chart (dotted frame).

COMPANY XXX



-10

0

10

20

30

40

50

-20 0 20 40 60 80 100 120 140 160 180 200 220 240 260

Leadership of Patent Applicants (2/2)

Bubble size represents the

number of patent families

selected for the study

Knowmade 2015

Patenting Activity

Pa

ten

t R

igh

ts R

ein

forc

em

en

t

Nu

mb

er

of

Gra

nte

d P

ate

nts

Number of Pending Patents

COMPANY XXXCOMPANY XXXCOMPANY XXX COMPANY XXX

The companies COMPANY XXX and COMPANY XXX have a significant patenting activity associated with already granted patents

giving them a sizeable IP significance. Among the main academic applicants, COMPANY XXX and COMPANY XXX are the most

active. Thus, COMPANY XXX is showing a great superiority but the other patent applicants are also pretty active in the photoacoustic

imaging domain.

XXX

XXX

XXXXXX

XXX

XXX

XXX

XXX

XXX



Degree of Specialization

in Photoacoustic Imaging

0,01

0,1

1

10

100

0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%Very low Low Medium High Very high

No

of

Pa

ten

t F

am

ilie

s in

the w

ho

le p

ate

nt

po

rtfo

lio

(n

orm

alize

d)

Specialization degree

Knowmade 2015

COMPANY XXX

COMPANY XXX

COMPANY XXX

COMPANY XXX

Specialization degree: The specialization degree of a company represents the percentage of patents filed in a specific field over the whole patent

portfolio of the company. It is an indicator of the patenting activity on a specific field.

Companies like COMPANY XXX, COMPANY XXX, COMPANY XXX or COMPANY XXX cover a wide range of technologies with their

patent portfolios and therefore have a very low specialization degree. COMPANY XXX, COMPANY XXX and COMPANY XXX have a

slightly higher specialization degree. COMPANY XXX stands out with a very high specialization degree, its portfolio is mainly dedicated

to photoacoustic imaging. COMPANY XXX is an IP pure player in photoacoustic imaging technology, working especially on imaging

probes and systems.

XXXXXX

XXX

XXX

XXX

XXX

XXXXXX

XXX

XXX



Impact Factor of Patent Portfolios (1/2)

highest value in column

lowest value in column

*921 patent families are cited by the whole of the 1,773 patent families, thus corresponding to an average of 1,93 citing patent families per patentfamily. A relative impact factor of 1 indicates that the portfolio is in the average range of citations. A relative factor of 2 indicates that the portfoliohas two times more citations than the average, while a relative impact factor of 0.5 indicates that the portfolio is half that of the average.

A B C D E

Patent ApplicantsNo. of patent

families No. of citing patent families

(excluding self-citations)

No. of citing patent families / patent family

= B/A

Relative Impact Factor of the patent

families

= C /1,93 *

Strength index of the patent

portfolio

= A x D

COMPANY XXX 278 xx xx xx 55,4


COMPANY XXX xx xx 5,5 2,8 xx






COMPANY XXX xx xx 0,2 0,1 1,6




COMPANY XXX 11 0 0 0 0

COMPANY XXX 11 0 0 0 0

Knowmade 2015



Patent Applicant IP Network

Number in black on each link between applicants is the number of co-assigned patent families in the data set of the study.

Number up right to each bubble is the number of patent families for this applicant in the data set of the study.

Bubble size is proportional to the number of patent families selected for the study.



Key Patent Families (1/2)

The selection of key patent families is based on the family size, current legal status of patents, citations analysis and impact on the technological segment. See annexes for methodology for key patent

identification. Patent numbers correspond to representative member of the families, assignee names take into account original applicants and reassignments.

1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 20141982

COMPANY XXX

WOxxxxxxx

Laser opto-acoustic …

COMPANY XXX

WOxxxxxxx

Radiation…

COMPANY XXX

USxxxxxxx

Photoacoustic…

COMPANY XXX

Woxxxxxxx

Light imaging…

COMPANY XXX

WOxxxxxxx

Optoacoustic contrast agents

…

COMPANY XXX

WOxxxxxxxxx

Real time…

COMPANY XXX

Usxxxxxxx

High resolution device …

COMPANY XXX

Usxxxxxxx

Tunable indocyanine …

COMPANY XXX

USxxxxxxxxxxx

Sentinel lymph node

detecting…

COMPANY XXX

CAxxxxxxx

Method and apparatus

for …

COMPANY XXX

WOxxxxxxxxxx

Timing controller …

COMPANY XXX

USxxxxxxxxxxx

Systems and methods …

COMPANY XXX

WOxxxxxxxxx

High contrast… COMPANY XXX

Usxxxxxxxxxxx

Photoacoustic

apparatus…

COMPANY XXX

WOxxxxxxxxx

Opto-acoustic imaging …

COMPANY XXX

WOxxxxxxxxxx

Biological information …

COMPANY XXX

WOxxxxxxxxxx

Photoacoustic …

COMPANY XXX

USxxxxxxxxxx

Dual modality imaging…

COMPANY XXX

US2014275951Guidewire…

COMPANY XXX

WOxxxxxxxxxx

A photoacoustic …

COMPANY XXX

USxxxxxxxxxx

Laser Optoacoustic …

COMPANY XXX

Usxxxxxxxxxx

Extended interior …

COMPANY XXX

WOxxxxxxxxxxPhoto-acoustic signal …

COMPANY XXXWO2009154244

Photoacoustic…



Granted Patents Near Expiration (1/2)

Assignee TitlePublication

NumberPDF

Expected

Expiration

Date *

COMPANY XXX Time-resolved… USxxxxxxx Open 2016-01-31

COMPANY XXX Real time.. USxxxxxxx Open 2016-01-31

COMPANY XXX Optoacoustic imaging… USxxxxxxx Open 2016-01-31

COMPANY XXX Photoacoustic… USxxxxxxx Open 2016-10-04

COMPANY XXX Photoacoustic… USxxxxxxx Open 2016-10-04

COMPANY XXX Photoacoustic… CAxxxxxxx Open 2016-10-11

COMPANY XXX Laser opto-acoustic… AUxxxxxxx Open 2017-01-31

COMPANY XXX Laser opto-acoustic… EPxxxxxxx Open 2017-01-31

COMPANY XXX Opto akustische laser… DExxxxxxxx Open 2017-01-31

COMPANY XXX Laser opto-acoustic… CAxxxxxxx Open 2017-01-31

COMPANY XXX Method and system for… AUxxxxxxx Open 2017-03-21

COMPANY XXX Photoacoustic… AUxxxxxxx Open 2017-10-01

COMPANY XXX Photoacoustic… EPxxxxxxx Open 2017-10-01

COMPANY XXX Photoakustische… DExxxxxxxx Open 2017-10-01

COMPANY XXX Optical acoustic… JPxxxxxxx Open 2017-10-01

COMPANY XXX Compounds USxxxxxxx Open 2018-04-28

COMPANY XXX Light imaging… EPxxxxxxx Open 2018-04-28

COMPANY XXX Agentes de contraste… ESxxxxxxx Open 2018-04-28

* Expected Expiration Date is dependent on the accuracy and timeliness of the information provided by the patent offices. This indicator may change at any time

without notice based on new information received from the patent offices. No decision should be made based solely on this indicators.

Knowmade 2015



Granted Patents Near Expiration (2/2)

COMPANY XXX

COMPANY XXX

COMPANY XXX

COMPANY XXX

COMPANY XXX

COMPANY XXX

COMPANY XXX

COMPANY XXX

COMPANY XXX

COMPANY XXX

COMPANY XXX

COMPANY XXX

COMPANY XXX

COMPANY XXX

Expected expiration date*

20

16

20

17

20

18

20

19

20

20

20

21

20

22

20

23

20

24

20

25

20

26

20

27

20

28

20

29

20

30

20

31

20

32

20

33

20

34

* Expected Expiration Date is dependent on the accuracy and timeliness of the information provided by the patent offices. This indicator may change at any time without notice

based on new information received from the patent offices. No decision should be made based solely on this indicators.

Knowmade 2015

Expected Expiration Period for Current Granted Portfolio

For example, the oldest patents of COMPANY XXX’s current granted portfolio are expected to expire early-2028 and the latest patents

currently granted should expire mid-2034.



Potential Future Plaintiffs

-50

0

50

100

150

200

-50 0 50 100 150 200

Nu

mb

er o

f p

aten

t fa

mili

es in

volv

ed in

law

suit

s(U

S ca

ses

in a

ll se

cto

rs)

Number of granted patents (Photoacoustic Imaging)

Pro

pe

ns

ity

to L

itig

ate

Pa

ten

ts

Patent Rights Reinforcement

Knowmade 2015

Bubble size represents the number of

patent families selected for the study

To this date, no litigation case related to

photoacoustic imaging has been filed in the

US. COMPANY XXX, COMPANY XXX and

COMPANY XXX have a certain propensity to

litigate their patents. But only a few of

COMPANY XXX’s patents in the photoacoustic

imaging field are granted as the company

arrived recently in the domain. COMPANY

XXX and mostly COMPANY XXX have a

significant IP Enforcement Potential. The IP

Enforcement Potential of COMPANY XXX may

increase with the acquisition of COMPANY

XXX in February 2015. COMPANY XXX is the

leader of the photoacoustic imaging domain by

the size of its portfolio, however, the company

has filed lawsuits in the US only a few times

and its IP Enforcement Potential is thus rather

low.

The photoacoustic imaging domain emerged in

term of patents less than 20 years ago and the

number of new patents has been increasing

greatly only recently. Photoacoustic imaging

devices are already available (COMPANY

XXX, COMPANY XXX) for pre-clinical

research. And COMPANY XXX’s device just

received the CE Mark in Europe in late 2014

and is currently undergoing FDA approval in

the USA. Thus, the technology is just

appearing in the clinical field and patent

litigation cases can be expected in the future.

XXX

XXX

XXX

XXX

XXX

XXX

XXX



COMPANY XXX

Patenting activity

•Very XXXX patent portfolio (xxx patents

within xxx patent families)

•Oldest priority date: 20xx

•Patent average age: xx years

•Main countries of patent filings: XX, XX

•xxx granted patents (main country : XX)

•xxx pending patents

Impact of Patent Portfolio

•XXXX IP Blocking Potential (xxx forward

citations by xxx patent applicants)

•XXXX IP Enforcement Potential (XXX

propensity to litigate patents, and xxx patents

in-force mainly in XX)

Title of Granted Patents Near ExpirationPublication

NumberPDF

Expected

Expiration Date*

Organism information… JPxxxxxxxxxx Open 2028-04-01



Suffering inspection body… JPxxxxxxxxxx Open 2028-04-01

Biological information… EPxxxxxxx Open 2028-05-12

Biological information… USxxxxxxx Open 2028-05-12

Biological information.. CNxxxxxxxxx Open 2028-05-12


The survey instrument … JPxxxxxxxxxx Open 2028-06-04

Biological information… USxxxxxxxxxxx Open 2028-06-20

Ultrasonic probe… USxxxxxxxxxxx Open 2028-06-24


Imaging device and… JPxxxxxxxxxx Open 2028-08-20

Biological information… USxxxxxxxxxxx Open 2028-08-27

Knowmade 2015

* Expected Expiration Date is dependent on the accuracy and timeliness of the information provided by the patent offices. This indicator may change at any

time without notice based on new information received from the patent offices. No decision should be made based solely on this indicators.

Note that the average of main patent assignee is set at 1 and

the company values are normalized by the average of main

patent assignees.

COMPANY XXXAverage of Main

Patent Assignees



COMPANY XXX

Main Key Patent Families

Patent Family Distinctive Features

WOxxxxxxxxxx

Biological information…

(2008)

• Mutual use of…

• Extended family via a PCT procedure, with patents pending

in EP and JP and patents granted in US (2), JP (3), CN

• 27 forward citations

USxxxxxxxxxxx

Photoacoustic…

(2010)

• Photoacoustic apparatus and…

• Granted patents in US (2) and JP (2)


WOxxxxxxxxxx

Photoacoustic…

(2009)

• Bioinformation acquisition apparatus…

• PCT procedure. Granted patents in JP (3), US and CN (3),

pending patents in EP and US.


WOxxxxxxxxxx

Device for…

(2010)

• Obtaining an image…

• PCT procedure. Granted patents in JP and CN, pending

patents in JP, EP and US.




Excel Database with all patents analyzed in the report with technology segmentation

This database allows multi-criteria searches and includes patent publication number, hyperlinks to the

original documents, priority date, title, abstract, patent assignees, and legal status for each member of the

patent family.


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Patent Landscape

Biomedical Photoacoustic Imaging Patent Landscape

REPORT OUTLINE• Biomedical Photoacoustic Imaging.• Patent Landscape.• March 2015.• PDF & Excel file.• €3,990 (corporate license).

KEY FEATURES OF THE REPORTThe report provides essential patentdata for biomedical photoacousticimaging including:

• Time evolution of patentpublications and countries ofpatent filings.

• Current legal status of patents.• Ranking of main patent applicants.• Joint developments and IP

collaboration network of mainpatent applicants.

• Key patents.• Granted patents near expiration.• Relative strength of main

companies IP portfolio.• Photoacoustic imaging IP profiles

of 15 major companies with keypatents, partnerships, and IPstrength and strategy.

The report also provides anextensive Excel database with allpatents analyzed in the study.

OBJECTIVE OF THE REPORT• Understand the IP landscape for

biomedical photoacoustic imaging.• Identify key patents.• Understand trends in biomedical

photoacoustic imaging IP.• Classify the major players in

biomedical photoacoustic imaging IPand the relative strength of theirpatent portfolio.

• Identify new players in biomedicalphotoacoustic imaging IP.

• Identify IP collaboration networksbetween key players.

Photoacoustic imaging technologies in the biomedical domain are in full growth from an IPpoint of view, and have began to move in the clinical field. If Japanese companies Canon andFujifilm are the main IP holder, the market is held by US actors : ENDRA Life Sciences,VisualSonics, Seno Medical Instruments, OptoSonics or TomoWave Laboratories.

This patent landscape focuses on photoacoustic imaging in biomedicine. Photoacousticimaging is a safe, non-invasive, non-ionizing imaging technique. The technique offers severaladvantages and represents a great alternative to traditional medical imaging approaches. Theinnovation of photoacoustic imaging for biomedical purposes is mainly driven by the need toenhance the efficiency of the detection and diagnostic of cancer.

The photoacoustic imaging technologies involve more than 100 different applicants andmore than 900 patent families related to photoacoustic imaging have been publishedworldwide up to January 2015. In the early 80s, the University of Arizona published the 1st

patent transposing photoacoustic technology to biomedical imaging. But the technology onlyreally emerged in 1997, especially after the publication of the patent introducing a time factorto the technology and thus allowing a three dimensional image reconstruction. Since 2010, atake off in the number of new applications is observed, indicating a strong and growinginterest for the use of photoacoustic in imaging techniques. Photoacoustic imaging is a verypromising technique for the medical field, especially for diagnostic and treatment cancers,and offers many advantages such as safety, great resolution, easy-to-use and low cost. Thusthe number of new patent applications in the domain is expected to keep rising.

PHOTOACOUSTIC : A NEW TECHNOLOGICAL REVOLUTION IN MEDICAL IMAGING?

Japanese companies show strong interest recently in biomedical photoacoustic imagingbut US academics own key patents and US companies are already on the market

Key patents have been identified based on several indicators, including family size, legalstatus, citations analysis and impact on photoacoustic biomedical imaging technology. Ifindustrial applicants are the main IP holder, academic applicants hold key patents and theimportance of their portfolios is significant. In particular, the NIH and the University of Texasstand out as important actors as they own strong portfolios with key technologies.

Key Patent Families

Kn

ow

mad

e2

01

5

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PATENTED TECHNOLOGY AND APPLICATIONS

The 900+ patent families selected for thisstudy have been manually segmented byproducts and applications. Products includecontrast agents and imaging devices, such ashandheld probes or catheter including animaging mean while the most targetedapplications are the diagnosis and treatmentof cancers and vascular pathologies.Photoacoustic imaging is a very promisingtechnique for the medical domain and severalimaging devices have been developed frompatented technologies included in this patentlandscape. Devices for pre-clinical researchare already available on the market andmedical devices are currently in clinical trials.

The impact factor of patent portfolios and theIP blocking potential of the applicants havebeen analyzed. The most influent portfoliosbelong to US academic applicants. Theportfolio of company Seno Medical Intr., whois also present on the market, has a significantimpact as well.

Our report also includes an Excel databasecontaining all of the analyzed patents. Thisdatabase allows for multi-criteria searchesand includes patent publication number,hyperlinks to the original documents, prioritydate, title, abstract, patent assignees,technological segments and legal status foreach member of the patent family.


IMPACT OF PATENT PORTFOLIOS

Many American, Japanese and Chineseassignees feature among the main patentapplicants. Key players include academic andindustrial actors. In term of filing activity,industrial applicants are getting the upperhand, especially Canon and Fujifilm. Thereport provides a ranking and analysis of therelative strength of the top patent holdersderived from their portfolio size, patentcitations networks, countries of patents filings,current legal status of patents. Through thisthorough analysis, we have identified 15+major players, each of which is profiled in thisreport. Each profile includes a detailedportfolio analysis with patent activities, keypatents, impact of portfolio, granted patentsnear expiration and IP strategies.

IDENTIFY KEY PLAYERS

IP Blocking Potential of ApplicantsBubble size represents the number of patent families selected for the study

Mapping of Main Current IP Holders

Knowmade 2015

Number of patentfamilies containinggranted patents inthe correspondingcountry

Knowmade 2015

Technology Issues

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TABLE OF CONTENT

ABOUT KNOWMADEKnowmade is a Patent, Technology and Strategy consulting company involved in Microelectronics, Nanotechnology, Biotechnology andLife Sciences. We provide Patent Search, Patent Landscape, Patent Analysis, Scientific Landscape, State of the Art, Technology Scouting,Technology Tracking, Alerts and Updates. Our service offer consists of standard reports, custom studies & on-demand tracking, strategyconsulting and training. We combine information search services, scientific expertise, powerful analytics and visualization tools, andproprietary methodologies for analyzing patents and scientific information. Knowmade supports research laboratories, industrialcompanies and investors in their business development.

Dr. Coralie Le GreneurCoralie works for Knowmade in the fieldof Biotechnology and Life Sciences. Sheholds a PhD in Molecular Biology from theUniversity of Nice Sophia-Antipolis(France). She also holds the InternationalIndustrial Studies Diploma in Patents fromthe CEIPI, Strasbourg (France).

ASSIGNEES CITED IN THE REPORT (NON-EXHAUSTIVE)Canon, Fujifilm, VisualSonics, Seno Medical Instruments, Volcano, Philips, Covidien, Mallinckrodt, Samsung, OptoSonics, ENDRA LifeSciences, TomoWave Laboratories, NIH, University of Texas, Helmholtz Zentrum München, South China Normal University, JiangxiSciences & Technic Normal University, Shenzhen Institute of Advanced Technology …

AUTHORS

Dr. Brice SagotBrice is COO and co-founder ofKnowmade. He is leading theBiotechnology and Life Sciencesdepartment. He holds a PhD inmolecular biology from the Universityof Nice Sophia-Antipolis, France.

Introduction 3

Authors 4

Scope of the Report 5

Key Features of the Report 6

Objectives of the Report 8

Terminology for Patent Analysis 9

Methodology 12

Patent Search Strategy 14

Assignees Mentioned in this Report 15

Executive Summary 21

Photoacoustic Imaging Patent Landscape Overview 29

Time Evolution of Patent Publications 30

Countries of Patent Filings 31

Time Evolution by Country of Filing 32

Current Legal Status of Patents 33

Main Industrial Patent Applicants Ranking 34

Main Academic Patent Applicants Ranking 35

Time Evolution of Patent Applicants 36

Countries of Filing for Main Patent Applicants 37

Mapping of Main Current IP Holders 38

Mapping of Main Current IP Applicants 39

Main IPC Classes 40

Time Evolution by IPC 41

Matrix Applicants / Main IPC 42

Patented Technology by Products 43

Patented Technology by Applications 44

Summary of Applicant’s Patent Portfolio 45

Leadership of Patent Applicants 47

Degree of Specialization in Photoacoustic imaging 49

Impact Factor of Patent Portfolios 50

IP Blocking Potential of Applicants 52

Patent Applicant IP Network 53

Key Patent Families 55

Granted Patents Near Expiration 57

Potential Future Plaintiffs 58

Summary of Key Players 59

Canon 60

Fujifilm 62

Fujifilm VisualSonics 64

Seno Medical Instruments 65

Philips 68

Volcano 70

Covidien 72

Mallinckrodt Pharmaceuticals 74

Samsung 76

ENDRA Life Sciences 78

TomoWave Laboratories 80

National Institutes of Health 82

University of Texas 84

Helmholtz Zentrum München 86

South China Normal University 88

Jiangxi Sciences & Technic Normal University 90

Shenzhen Institute of Advanced Technology 92

Conclusions 94

Annexes 100

Methodology for Key Patent Identification 101

KNOWMADE Company presentation 103

Contact 111


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6.5 In the context of annual subscriptions, the person of contact shall decide who within the Buyer, shall be entitled to access on line the reports on I-micronews.com. In this respect, the Seller will give the Buyer a maximum of 10

password, unless the multiple sites organization of the Buyer requires more passwords. The Seller reserves the right to check from time to time the correct use of this password.

6.6 In the case of a multisite, multi license, only the employee of the buyer can access the report or the employee of the companies in which the buyer have 100% shares. As a matter of fact the investor of a company, the joint

venture done with a third party etc..cannot access the report and should pay a full license price.

7. Termination

7.1 If the Buyer cancels the order in whole or in part or postpones the date of mailing, the Buyer shall indemnify the Seller for the entire costs that have been incurred as at the date of notification by the Buyer of such delay or

cancellation. This may also apply for any other direct or indirect consequential loss that may be borne by the Seller, follow ing this decision.

7.2 In the event of breach by one Party under these conditions or the order, the non-breaching Party may send a notification to the other by recorded delivery letter upon which, after a period of thirty (30) days without solving the

problem, the non-breaching Party shall be entitled to terminate all the pending orders, without being liable for any compensation.

8. Miscellaneous

All the provisions of these Terms and Conditions are for the benefit of the Seller itself, but also for its licensors, employees and agents. Each of them is entitled to assert and enforce those provisions against the Buyer.

Any notices under these Terms and Conditions shall be given in writing. They shall be effective upon receipt by the other Party.

The Seller may, from time to time, update these Terms and Conditions and the Buyer, is deemed to have accepted the latest version of these terms and conditions, provided they have been communicated to him in due time.

9. Governing law and jurisdiction

9.1 Any dispute arising out or linked to these Terms and Conditions or to any contract (orders) entered into in application of these Terms and Conditions shall be settled by the French Commercial Courts of Lyon, which shall have

exclusive jurisdiction upon such issues.

9.2 French law shall govern the relation between the Buyer and the Seller, in accordance with these Terms and Conditions.