An analysis of the key drivers of the Japanese digital therapeutics patents: A cross‐sectional study

BACKGROUND: Digital therapeutics (DTx) are software or other tools that support or implement medical practices such as disease prevention, diagnosis, and treatment using digital technology. DTx has been approved in Japan, and it is anticipated that the number of approvals will increase in the future. DTx differs from conventional medical devices in that its primary purpose is treatment. AIM: This study aims to identify the key drivers of DTx in Japan by analyzing patents in the field of medical information, including DTx. METHODOLOGY: This study visualizes the results of patent analyses for DTx and examines patent applications that feature applied technology and indications in the medical information field as the key drivers. The study will also employ patent citation analysis. It can be argued that the more citations a patent receives, the more similar research and development activities are being conducted, and the greater the competition. The number of citations per patent application will also be calculated to help identify areas where the value per patent application is high and competition intensifies. A patent citation matrix analysis will be conducted for notable Japanese companies in the DTx field. The citation matrix analysis consists of the number of citations and the company's selfcitation ratio to visualize the patent value. This study investigates the key drivers of DTx by analyzing patent technologies, focusing on patent applications with a high number of citations or a high selfcitation ratio. RESULTS: Key drivers of digital therapeutics were examined by analyzing patents in the fields of healthcare informatics and diagnostics. In terms of the number of patent applications and citations in Japan, numerous patents were related to “applications,” “sensors,” “medical imaging,” “central nervous system/psychiatry,” and “heart.” As a result, Japanese companies are expected to conduct R&D with an eye toward overseas expansion.