DETAILED ACTION
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and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114.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 10 October 2025 has been entered. Claim 25 is now 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 .
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
In the event the determination of the status of the application as subject to AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103 (or as subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103) is incorrect, any correction of the statutory basis (i.e., changing from AIA to pre-AIA ) for the rejection will not be considered a new ground of rejection if the prior art relied upon, and the rationale supporting the rejection, would be the same under either status.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 103 which forms the basis for all obviousness rejections set forth in this Office action:
A patent for a claimed invention may not be obtained, notwithstanding that the claimed invention is not identically disclosed as set forth in section 102, if the differences between the claimed invention and the prior art are such that the claimed invention as a whole would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art to which the claimed invention pertains. Patentability shall not be negated by the manner in which the invention was made.
Claim 25 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Simon et al. (U.S. Pub. No. 2015/0165226) in view of Becker (U.S. Pub. No. 2010/0298624) and further in view of Ghiron et al. (U.S. Pub. No. 2008/0224808). Regarding claim 25, Simon et al. (hereinafter Simon) teaches a device for treating a living tissue with magnetic fields ([0027]-[0030]), the device comprising:
a coil applicator having a face (Figs. 3A-3D and 5) and a stimulating coil 35 (Figs. 3A-4F) housed therein ([0095]-[0097], [0103]-[0104]), a reflector plate (interface of the housing 30 which is positioned adjacent patient’s skin [0098] and Fig. 6) adjacent to the stimulating coil (Figs. 3A-3D and [0045]-[0049], [0098]), and
a generator 38 configured to drive the stimulating coil (Fig. 5 and [0103],
wherein the device is configured to provide a magnetic field in a range of 0.1T to 3T [0030] at a distance of 20mm or less from the face of the coil applicator [0027]; and
wherein the device is sized to fit within an orbit of a human eye (Figs. 5-7 demonstrate the entire device is of dimensions which could fit in the orbit of a human eye) and is configured to induce a circular electric field ([0075] - circumscribing of regions).
However, Simon fails to disclose explicitly that the reflector plate is ferromagnetic. Becker discloses a device for generating electromagnetic fields to be used in healing, as likewise disclosed by Simon, wherein a reflector plate is adjacent the coil and likewise will be placed adjacent a user, as suggested by Simon, wherein the reflector plate is ferromagnetic ([(0116] and [0117] and Fig. 10A-C of Becker). Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to construct a reflector plate held between a stimulating coil and a user as taught by Simon, of a ferromagnetic material as suggested by Becker, as Simon recognizes the need to focus a magnetic field on a given treatment surface ([0003] and [0078]) and Becker discloses that a ferromagnetic plate wraps the magnetic field around to a given treatment surface, thereby enhancing the field gradient in the tissues being treated [0116].
However, the combination of Simon and Becker fails to disclose that the device further comprises a heat sink. Ghiron et al. (hereinafter Ghiron) teaches a magnetic stimulator for positioning adjacent the tissue of a patient 52 (Figs. 5-6 and [0047]), wherein the device further comprises a heat sink in the event that heating should take place during operation over longer periods of time ([0040]-[0042] and [0004]). Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to incorporate a heat skin as suggested by Ghiron, into the device for applying magnetic stimulation as taught by Simon and Becker as Simon recognizes that reduction of heat in the device may be appropriate for longer time periods of use [0020] and Ghiron teaches that overheating may occur ([0004]-[0005]) and incorporating a heat exchange/cooling mechanism in the device would prevent overheating when the device is used for longer periods of time ([0040]-[0042] and [0004]).
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments filed 10 October 2025 with respect to the rejection of claim 25 under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) have been fully considered and are persuasive in light of the amendments. However, new grounds of rejection are presented above under 35 U.S.C. 103 in light of such amendments.
Conclusion
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/CHRISTINE H MATTHEWS/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3791