ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: Tissue engineering is the best way to repair or replace organ failure or tissue defects. From the theoretical point of view to the research in many fields, tissue engineering has developed very rapidly. As cardiovascular disease has become one of the most dangerous factors that endanger human health, research on cardiac tissue engineering has made tremendous progress. OBJECTIVE: To provide advices and references for the development and innovation of cardiac tissue engineering based on patent analysis in the field of cardiac tissue engineering that reveals the global competitive situation of cardiac tissue engineering. METHODS: We qualitatively and quantitatively analyze the number and development tendency, technology birthplaces, target markets, applicants, inventors and technical fields of patents in the field of liver tissue engineering in nearly 20 years. The data visualization method is used to present the current status and tendency of global cardiac tissue engineering technology development and China's development status. RESULTS AND CONCLUSION: The technology for cardiac tissue engineering has been evolved rapidly and highly innovative, with invention patents accounting for 93.91%. The scale of technological development in the field of cardiac tissue engineering in China is not expanded as large as that in the United States, but the growth rate is far faster than that in the United States, and it has accumulated a certain number of high-quality technological achievements, becoming the second largest source of technology in the world. The United States is the most concerned target market in the field of cardiac tissue engineering, and the Chinese market currently ranks fourth. Chinese cardiac tissue engineering has developed rapidly in recent years, growing much faster than that in the United States. There are three institutions in China that has mounted to the front of the world in terms of technology development. Due to a lack of technological achievements with high potential market value, there is still a certain gap between China and the United States. Chinese inventors have achieved certain results in this field, mainly in enterprises. The main fields of technological innovation in this field are heart valve covering materials and cell scaffolds. Through an in-depth and comprehensive analysis of patents in the field of cardiac tissue engineering, it can be found that the global development of cardiac tissue engineering is active and innovative, but generally lacks high-quality results. The United States is the most concerned target market in this field and the most important technology birthplace, whereas China is at a stage of rapid development in this field. In order to improve technological competitiveness, enterprises and universities should strengthen cooperation and focus on research hot spots.
ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: Patent is the most effective carrier of technological information. Preliminary study evaluates the strength of technology development in this field from the angle of patent quantity and quality, regional distribution of patent applicants, countries/regions of patent acceptance, patent applicants, inventors, and technical fields OBJECTIVE: To identify the hot sub-fields of tissue engineering through patent analysis, show their technological strength, reveal China’s level globally, and also clarify the competition between China and United States on the basis of previous research. METHODS: Combining qualitative analysis with quantitative analysis, the hot sub-fields of tissue engineering were identified based on the patsnap patent database. It analyzes from three perspectives: patent application, invention patent grant, and tripartite patent application, and demonstrates the scale and growth rate of technology development in the hot sub-fields from the perspective of the patent number and quality. RESULTS AND CONCLUSION: (1) There are four hot sub-fields in the field of tissue engineering: bone, skin, nerve, and cornea; each has its own characteristics. Bone tissue engineering is relatively large-scale. (2) The scale in the skin and nerve sub-fields is limited; corneal tissue engineering has not yet reached a certain amount of scale, but the output of technological achievements with high-quality and high-market value is high. (3) The technological scale and growth rate in the field of bone tissue engineering in China are much bigger and faster than those in the United States, and it also has accumulated a certain number of high-quality technological achievements. The technological scales of skin and nerve sub-fields in China exceed those in United States, and high-quality technological outputs are about twice that in United States. The technological scale and high-quality achievements in the corneal tissue engineering in China are far beyond those in the United States. (4) China’s high-market-value achievements in the hot sub-fields of tissue engineering are still far behind the United States.
ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: China is a country with high incidence of liver disease. Liver tissue engineering, which is still in the stage of exploration, has brought a new hope for treatment. OBJECTIVE: To provide advices and references for the development and innovation of liver tissue engineering based on patent analysis. METHODS: The number and development tendency, as well as the technology birthplace, target market, applicants, inventors and technical fields of patents in the field of liver tissue engineering in nearly 20 years were analyzed in this study. The keywords for full-text search included tissue engineering, tissue regenerate/repair, and hepatic/liver. The retrieval deadline was December 28, 2018. RESULTS AND CONCLUSION: There is a rapid development in the field of the global liver tissue engineering. The compound growth rate in the past 10 years is 8.64%, of which invention patents account for 84.93%. China is the main technology birthplace; however, the number of tripartite patents of China is far less than that of the United States and Japan. China and the United States are the two most high-profile target markets in the field of liver tissue engineering, but the applicants are mostly from native instead of international. Meanwhile, there are 8 Chinese application institutions and 14 Chinese inventors ranking among the top 20 in the world in this field. In conclusion, liver tissue engineering has developed rapidly in China, but the lack of core technology is still an important issue. Therefore, we must improve our innovation capabilities and explore core technologies continuously to enhance our international competitiveness.