DETAILED ACTION
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 .
Response to Amendment
This office action is responsive to the amendment filed on October 9, 2025. As directed by the amendment: claims 19-20 have been amended, claims 14-18 have been cancelled, and claims 21-25 have been added. Thus, claims 1-13 and 19-25 are presently pending in this application, with claims 1-13 withdrawn. Applicant’s amendments are sufficient to overcome the §112(b) rejections of the previous action.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments, see Remarks, filed October 9, 2025, with respect to newly amended independent claim 19 have been fully considered and are persuasive. The rejection of claim 19 and claims depending therefrom has been withdrawn.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
The following is a quotation of the first paragraph of 35 U.S.C. 112(a):
(a) IN GENERAL.—The specification shall contain a written description of the invention, and of the manner and process of making and using it, in such full, clear, concise, and exact terms as to enable any person skilled in the art to which it pertains, or with which it is most nearly connected, to make and use the same, and shall set forth the best mode contemplated by the inventor or joint inventor of carrying out the invention.
The following is a quotation of the first paragraph of pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112:
The specification shall contain a written description of the invention, and of the manner and process of making and using it, in such full, clear, concise, and exact terms as to enable any person skilled in the art to which it pertains, or with which it is most nearly connected, to make and use the same, and shall set forth the best mode contemplated by the inventor of carrying out his invention.
Claims 19-25 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(a) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), first paragraph, as failing to comply with the written description requirement. The claim(s) contains subject matter which was not described in the specification in such a way as to reasonably convey to one skilled in the relevant art that the inventor or a joint inventor, or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the inventor(s), at the time the application was filed, had possession of the claimed invention. Newly amended claim 19 lines 8-9 recite “…each of the at least two undulating wires…being independently actuatable…”. P27-28 of the written description teach the elected embodiment of Figs. 4A-B, but do not teach independent actuation of the at least two undulating wires as claimed. Instead, P28 recites “…in embodiments where the wires are coupled to the sheath on the one end and extend out of the catheter, they may be coupled together at the proximal end so that they are capable of collapsing and expanding together.”. Claims 20-25 are rejected at least because they depend from claim 19.
Potentially Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 19-25 are potentially allowable, subject to the §112(a) rejections above.
Reasons for Potential Allowance
The following is an Examiner's statement of reasons for potential allowance: the claims in this application are potentially allowable because the prior art of record fails to disclose either singularly or in combination the claimed device for removing a blood clot.
The closest prior art is Imran US 5,947,985.
Regarding claim 19, Imran fails to teach among all the limitations or render obvious a device for removing a blood clot as claimed, which includes independently actuatable undulating wires, in combination with the total structure and function of the device for removing a blood clot as claimed.
Any comments considered necessary by applicant must be submitted no later than the payment of the issue fee and, to avoid processing delays, should preferably accompany the issue fee. Such submissions should be clearly labeled “Comments on Statement of Reasons for Allowance.”
Conclusion
Applicant's amendment necessitated the new ground(s) of rejection presented in this Office action. Accordingly, THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. See MPEP § 706.07(a). Applicant is reminded of the extension of time policy as set forth in 37 CFR 1.136(a).
A shortened statutory period for reply to this final action is set to expire THREE MONTHS from the mailing date of this action. In the event a first reply is filed within TWO MONTHS of the mailing date of this final action and the advisory action is not mailed until after the end of the THREE-MONTH shortened statutory period, then the shortened statutory period will expire on the date the advisory action is mailed, and any nonprovisional extension fee (37 CFR 1.17(a)) pursuant to 37 CFR 1.136(a) will be calculated from the mailing date of the advisory action. In no event, however, will the statutory period for reply expire later than SIX MONTHS from the mailing date of this final action.
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/J.A.D./Examiner, Art Unit 3783 /James D Ponton/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3783