Heating or cooling appliances for medical or therapeutic treatment of the human body

Introduced: September 1968

Last revised: January 2006

Classification Context

Section:: HUMAN NECESSITIES
Class:: MEDICAL OR VETERINARY SCIENCE; HYGIENE
Subclass:: 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; FIRST-AID KITS

Filing statistics

IPC A61F 7/00 belongs to the parent subclass A61F, which recorded 447,357 patent applications worldwide between 2013 and 2023. Annual filings grew from 30,362 in 2013 to 39,227 in 2023 (+29%), peaking at 56,342 applications in 2020. The most active applicants in class A61 are PHILIPS ELECTRONICS (18,523 applications), NOVARTIS (14,253 applications) and COVIDIEN (13,953 applications).

Source: EPO PATSTAT, worldwide filings

Additional Content

Hyperthermia using electric or magnetic fields or ultrasound

Related Keywords

COMPRESSESCOOLING of beds or sheetsHEATING of the human body for medical treatmentNURSING appliancesPAD(S) for medical or orthopaedic treatment

4 direct subcodes

Child Classifications

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A61F 7/02 Compresses or poultices for effecting heating or cooling
A61F 7/08 Warming pads, pans or mats; Hot-water bottles
A61F 7/1 Cooling bags, e.g. ice-bags
A61F 7/12 Devices for heating or cooling internal body cavities

Top Applicants

Top 10 applicants by patent filingsfor class A61, 2013–2023, worldwide · Source: EPO PATSTAT

PHILIPS ELECTRONICS NL 18,523
NOVARTIS CH 14,253
COVIDIEN US 13,953
ROCHE CH 12,005
CHINESE ACADEMY OF SCIENCES 11,955
UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA US 11,692
HARVARD UNIVERSITY US 11,596
L'OREAL FR 11,593
P&G (PROCTER & GAMBLE COMPANY) US 11,297
OLYMPUS CORPORATION JP 9,594