DETAILED ACTION
This office action is in response to the communication received on June 22, 2026 concerning application No. 16/938,515 filed on July 24, 2020.
Claims 1-17 and 28-34 are currently pending.
Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status
The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA .
Continued Examination Under 37 CFR 1.114
A request for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, including the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e), was filed in this application after final rejection. Since this application is eligible for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114. Applicant's submission filed on June 22, 2026 has been entered.
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments filed 06/22/2026 regarding the 35 USC 112 rejection have been fully considered. The amendments to the claims have been entered and overcome the 35 USC 112b rejection of claims 28, 31, and 33 previously set forth.
Applicant's arguments filed 06/22/2026 regarding the prior art rejection have been fully considered. The amendments to the claims have been entered and overcome the prior art rejection previously set forth.
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement filed 06/25/2026 fails to comply with 37 CFR 1.98(a)(2), which requires a legible copy of each cited foreign patent document; each non-patent literature publication or that portion which caused it to be listed; and all other information or that portion which caused it to be listed. It has been placed in the application file, but the information referred to therein has not been considered.
Priority
Applicant’s claim for the benefit of a prior-filed application under 35 U.S.C. 119(e) or under 35 U.S.C. 120, 121, 365(c), or 386(c) is acknowledged. Applicant has not complied with one or more conditions for receiving the benefit of an earlier filing date under 35 U.S.C. 119(e) or under 35 U.S.C. 120, 121, 365(c), or 386(c) as follows:
The later-filed application must be an application for a patent for an invention which is also disclosed in the prior application (the parent or original nonprovisional application or provisional application). The disclosure of the invention in the parent application and in the later-filed application must be sufficient to comply with the requirements of 35 U.S.C. 112(a) or the first paragraph of pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, except for the best mode requirement. See Transco Products, Inc. v. Performance Contracting, Inc., 38 F.3d 551, 32 USPQ2d 1077 (Fed. Cir. 1994)
The disclosure of the prior-filed application, Application No. 16/414,215, fails to provide adequate support or enablement in the manner provided by 35 U.S.C. 112(a) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, first paragraph for one or more claims of this application. The prior application does not disclose “a tilt control device to adjust a tilt angle of the biplane transducer array within the transducer probe housing, the tilt control device configured to orient the biplane transducer array to simultaneously image a parasternal long axis view and a parasternal short axis view of the heart” as recited in claim 1 of the present application. Accordingly, claims 1-17 and 28-30 are not entitled to the benefit of the prior application and the effective filing date of the present application is July 24, 2019.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(b):
(b) CONCLUSION.—The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor regards as the invention.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph:
The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the applicant regards as his invention.
Claims 1-17 and 28-34 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph, as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor (or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the applicant), regards as the invention.
Claim 1 recites the limitation “a graphical user interface (GUI) configured to display a menu including a selectable touch actuated tilt control…the graphical user interface includes a touch-actuated menu enabling a user selection of one of a plurality of machine learning programs that control a beam direction of the biplane transducer array”, which is considered indefinite. It is not clear to the examiner whether the touch-actuated menu is the same as or different from a menu including a selectable touch control. For the purpose of examination and this office action it is being interpreted that the menus are different from one another but are both being displayed at the same time.
Claims dependent upon the rejected claims above, but not directly addressed, are also rejected because they inherit the indefiniteness of the claim(s) they respectively depend upon.
Examiner’s Note
Claim 1 would be allowable if rewritten or amended to overcome the rejection(s) under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), 2nd paragraph, set forth in this Office action.
The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter: the prior art of record fails to reasonably teach or in combination render obvious the following limitations when the claims taken as a whole include, “a portable ultrasound device housing having a computer in the portable ultrasound device housing, the computer including at least one processor and at least one memory, a touchscreen display configured to display an ultrasound image of the heart, the touchscreen display positioned on the portable ultrasound device housing wherein the at least three actuator elements are configured to extend to different distances relative to the wearable transducer probe housing, and wherein the touchscreen display provides a graphical user interface (GUI) configured to display a menu including a selectable touch actuated tilt control such that a user adjusts the tilt angle of the biplane transducer array within the wearable transducer probe housing with at least one of a motion gesture or tap on the touchscreen display while displaying one or more ultrasound images of the heart generated by the biplane transducer array, and wherein the graphical user interface includes a touch-actuated menu enabling a user selection of one of a plurality of machine learning programs that control a beam direction of the biplane transducer array”.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to ANDREW BEGEMAN whose telephone number is (571)272-4744. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Thursday 8:30-5:00.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Keith Raymond can be reached at 5712701790. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/ANDREW W BEGEMAN/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3798
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