{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,5,4]],"date-time":"2026-05-04T00:04:50Z","timestamp":1777853090043,"version":"3.51.4"},"reference-count":26,"publisher":"SAGE Publications","issue":"4","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,2,19]],"date-time":"2026-02-19T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1771459200000},"content-version":"tdm","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/journals.sagepub.com\/page\/policies\/text-and-data-mining-license"}],"content-domain":{"domain":["journals.sagepub.com"],"crossmark-restriction":true},"short-container-title":["J Hand Surg Eur Vol"],"published-print":{"date-parts":[[2026,4]]},"abstract":"<jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Introduction:<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>Innovation drives progress in hand surgery, yet long-term technological trends are rarely quantified. Patent filings provide a record of commercial and research activity and can be used to examine how innovation evolves over time. This study aims to provide a overview of long-term overview of innovation patterns in hand surgery and highlight areas of growing technological interest.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Methods:<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>A retrospective review of patent records from 1970 to 2023 was conducted using the Lens.org global database. Search terms were derived from British Society for Surgery of the Hand patient resources and refined using Cooperative Patent Classification codes for Medical Science (A61). Patents were categorized into technological clusters based on abstract review, and longitudinal trends were analysed.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Results:<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>\n                      A total of 3222 relevant patents were identified. Activity increased substantially over the study period, with the highest volumes in the last two decades. The largest technological clusters were prosthetics and implants (\n                      <jats:italic toggle=\"yes\">n<\/jats:italic>\n                      \u2009=\u2009739), surgical techniques (\n                      <jats:italic toggle=\"yes\">n<\/jats:italic>\n                      \u2009=\u2009689) and fracture management (\n                      <jats:italic toggle=\"yes\">n<\/jats:italic>\n                      \u2009=\u2009384). While core surgical tools remain dominant, recent years showed rapid growth in robotics, sensor-based devices and advanced imaging. Geographically, the USA accounted for the majority of filings, although the numbers of contributions from China and South Korea have risen markedly in recent years.\n                    <\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Conclusions:<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>Patent activity in hand surgery over the last five decades has expanded both in volume and scope, reflecting the influence of emerging technologies. While the majority consist of prosthetics and fracture fixation innovations, there is a more recent increase in patents for digitally based technologies. These trends highlight the diversification of technology and globalization of the research landscape.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>","DOI":"10.1177\/17531934261422554","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,2,19]],"date-time":"2026-02-19T09:50:01Z","timestamp":1771494601000},"page":"532-537","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1177\/sage-journals-update-policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Innovation in hand surgery \u2013 analysing fifty years of patent data"],"prefix":"10.1177","volume":"51","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-3746-6691","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Chiraag Thakrar","family":"Karia","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust, UK"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Gurchandar","family":"Singh","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust, UK"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Gr\u00e1inne","family":"Bourke","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust, UK"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]}],"member":"179","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,2,19]]},"reference":[{"key":"e_1_3_2_2_1","unstructured":"American Bar Association. What is a patent? 4th edn. Chicago IL. American Bar Association 2010."},{"key":"e_1_3_2_3_1","article-title":"Ten inventions that shaped modern orthopedics","volume":"13","author":"Baig M","year":"2021","unstructured":"Baig M, Kearns S, Shannon FJ, Devitt A. Ten inventions that shaped modern orthopedics. Cureus. 2021, 13: e12819.","journal-title":"Cureus"},{"key":"e_1_3_2_4_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"B\u0103z\u0103van A. China\u2019s national innovation system: industrial policy funding mechanisms and foreign investment. Cham Switzerland. Springer Nature 2024.","DOI":"10.1007\/978-981-97-3266-1"},{"key":"e_1_3_2_5_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1001\/archsurg.1977.01370090076016"},{"key":"e_1_3_2_6_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1097\/ACM.0b013e3182a32fc2"},{"key":"e_1_3_2_7_1","unstructured":"European Patent Office. Cooperative Patent Classification (CPC). Munich Germany European Patent Office 2025. https:\/\/www.epo.org\/en\/searching-for-patents\/helpful-resources\/first-time-here\/classification\/cpc [accessed 6 February 2026]."},{"key":"e_1_3_2_8_1","article-title":"Medical device amendments of 1976","volume":"33","author":"Greenberg RB.","year":"1976","unstructured":"Greenberg RB. Medical device amendments of 1976. Am J Hosp Pharm. 1976, 33: 1308\u201311.","journal-title":"Am J Hosp Pharm"},{"key":"e_1_3_2_9_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1080\/13543776.2018.1494155"},{"key":"e_1_3_2_10_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1016\/j.joms.2022.11.008"},{"key":"e_1_3_2_11_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1097\/SLA.0000000000000662"},{"key":"e_1_3_2_12_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1002\/bjs.9706"},{"key":"e_1_3_2_13_1","unstructured":"Kenny K Rene H. Variable angle compression plate. US 2011\/0224671 A1 2010. https:\/\/www.lens.org\/lens\/patent\/097-017-703-363-845 [accessed 6 February 2026]."},{"key":"e_1_3_2_14_1","article-title":"Fifty years of innovation in plastic surgery","volume":"43","author":"Kwasnicki RM","year":"2016","unstructured":"Kwasnicki RM, Hughes-Hallett A, Marcus HJ, Yang GZ, Darzi A, Hettiaratchy S. Fifty years of innovation in plastic surgery. Arch Plast Surg. 2016, 43: 145\u201352.","journal-title":"Arch Plast Surg"},{"key":"e_1_3_2_15_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1136\/bmj.307.6902.459"},{"key":"e_1_3_2_16_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.2174\/1874325001408010415"},{"key":"e_1_3_2_17_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.3171\/2014.12.JNS141422"},{"key":"e_1_3_2_18_1","unstructured":"Martin A Stefan P E RM. Osteosynthetic pressure plate construction. US Patent 3552389 A 1967. https:\/\/www.lens.org\/lens\/patent\/032-666-864-835-585 [accessed 6 February 2026]."},{"key":"e_1_3_2_19_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1038\/s41746-023-00846-3"},{"key":"e_1_3_2_20_1","unstructured":"Orbay JL Javier C Ernesto H. Fracture fixation system. US Patent 6200321 B1 1998. https:\/\/www.lens.org\/lens\/patent\/100-141-209-081-249 [accessed 6 February 2026]."},{"key":"e_1_3_2_21_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.5435\/JAAOS-D-23-00237"},{"key":"e_1_3_2_22_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1097\/SLA.0000000000005032"},{"key":"e_1_3_2_23_1","unstructured":"The British Society for Surgery of the Hand. Hand disorders. London The British Society for Surgery of the Hand 2025. https:\/\/www.bssh.ac.uk\/patients\/conditions\/hand_disorders [accessed 6 February 2026]."},{"key":"e_1_3_2_24_1","unstructured":"US National Science Foundation. Global competitors outpace U.S. in patents. Alexandria (VA): National Science Board 2024. https:\/\/www.nsf.gov\/nsb\/updates\/global-competitors-outpace-us-patents [accessed 6 February 2026]."},{"key":"e_1_3_2_25_1","unstructured":"US Patent and Trademark Office. Milestones in U.S. patenting. Alexandria (VA): US Patent and Trademark Office 2021. https:\/\/www.uspto.gov\/patents\/milestones [accessed 6 February 2026]."},{"key":"e_1_3_2_26_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1016\/j.wpi.2022.102107"},{"key":"e_1_3_2_27_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1016\/j.hcl.2012.08.014"}],"container-title":["Journal of Hand Surgery (European Volume)"],"original-title":[],"language":"en","link":[{"URL":"https:\/\/journals.sagepub.com\/doi\/pdf\/10.1177\/17531934261422554","content-type":"application\/pdf","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"text-mining"},{"URL":"https:\/\/journals.sagepub.com\/doi\/full-xml\/10.1177\/17531934261422554","content-type":"application\/xml","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"text-mining"},{"URL":"https:\/\/journals.sagepub.com\/doi\/pdf\/10.1177\/17531934261422554","content-type":"unspecified","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"similarity-checking"}],"deposited":{"date-parts":[[2026,4,29]],"date-time":"2026-04-29T22:47:50Z","timestamp":1777502870000},"score":1,"resource":{"primary":{"URL":"https:\/\/journals.sagepub.com\/doi\/10.1177\/17531934261422554"}},"subtitle":[],"short-title":[],"issued":{"date-parts":[[2026,2,19]]},"references-count":26,"journal-issue":{"issue":"4","published-print":{"date-parts":[[2026,4]]}},"alternative-id":["10.1177\/17531934261422554"],"URL":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1177\/17531934261422554","relation":{},"ISSN":["1753-1934","2043-6289"],"issn-type":[{"value":"1753-1934","type":"print"},{"value":"2043-6289","type":"electronic"}],"subject":[],"published":{"date-parts":[[2026,2,19]]}}}