The strategic importance of the real world: Connectivity analysis of the artificial disc

The aim of the study is to validate the results of a recent methodology, namely connectivity analysis of networks of patent citations. We check if the most important patents in the technological evolution of a surgical prosthesis, the artificial spinal disc, are emphasized by connectivity analysis. In our framework, these important patents are 'real world' patents, i.e., patents related to products that have been effectively introduced in clinical practice. We also try to validate structural claims about the importance of the junctions in the network of patent citations (the so-called strategic patents) previously reported in connectivity analysis literature.