Bodyfriend, Ranked No.1 in Massage Chair Patent Applications

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Cheol-hyun] Bodyfriend (CEO Park Sang-hyun) announced on the 17th that it ranked first in the number of patent applications in the 'therapeutic assistive device field.' According to the '2019 Medical Device Patent Trend Analysis' published by the Korean Intellectual Property Office, Bodyfriend filed a total of 132 patents from 2010 to 2019, surpassing large corporations and prestigious universities to take first place.

Bodyfriend explained that its patent application ranking has been rising every year recently, and it has maintained the top position since becoming number one in 2018. In fact, Bodyfriend has increased its research and development expenses by about 30% annually, spending 9.6 billion KRW in 2017, 13 billion KRW in 2018, and 16.7 billion KRW last year, investing a total of 52.9 billion KRW over the past five years to focus on R&D.

In particular, patents such as 'sleep massage program' and 'brain massage' have not only been acquired but also proven effective through joint clinical trials with leading university hospitals. Recently, it also obtained patents for mental massage that helps heal depression and anxiety, as well as massage chairs for treating cervical disc and stenosis.

Through bold investment and research and development in technology fields such as the Internet of Things (IoT) and Artificial Intelligence (AI), Bodyfriend is developing various patented technologies. A Bodyfriend official stated, "With the efforts of about 200 researchers working at the Technology Research Institute, Design Research Institute, and Medical R&D Center, we will continue to introduce patented massage technologies and medical devices, as well as healthcare products and services never seen before in the world."

Meanwhile, as of April this year, Bodyfriend has filed 2,413 intellectual property rights including patents and designs (1,689 domestic and 724 overseas), of which 1,354 have been registered (976 domestic and 378 overseas).

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.