Review: Patent Bibliometrics in Scoliosis Surgery: The First Bibliometric Analysis of Spinal Neurosurgery’s Technological Literature

Introduction: Bibliometric analyses of the scientific literature have been popular in academic neuro- and orthopedic spine surgery for the past few decades. However, patent bibliometric studies – evaluation of the technological literature have not yet been performed in spine surgery. Herein, we perform a pilot patent bibliometric analysis of the top 100 most-cited patents in surgery for scoliosis and spinal deformity surgery.

Methods: The Lens was used to query multiple databases, to select the top 100 scoliosis surgery patents based on forward patent citations. These were organized into several categories based on technological descriptors and were evaluated based on the earliest priority date, year issued, and expiration status, among others.

Results: The top 100 most cited patents included technology underlying implants like rods, fixating devices, screw adjuncts, and spine stabilizers (n=55), instruments such as reducers and screwdrivers (n=17), external adjuncts such as wearable body braces and positioning tables, (n=11), prostheses such as spinal cages and intervertebral spacers (n=7), and surgical techniques such as anterolateral interbody fusion and scoliosis correction procedures (n=4). 86 patents were filed in the United States, 77 were expired, 19 are still active, and 4 were listed as inactive. The highest number of patents were applied for from 1995 to 2010. Demonstrated trends showed no meaningful correlation between patent rank and earliest priority date (R=0.065, p=0.52).

Conclusion : Patent bibliometrics allows for the evaluation of advancements from the past and enable subsequent development of cutting-edge technology in the future. The described method is a reproducible and reliable technique for evaluating patent literature in the field of scoliosis surgery.