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 .
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and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114.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 October 24, 2025 has been entered.
Response to Amendment
The amendment filed October 24, 2025 has been entered. Claims 1-14 and 16-31 are pending in the application.
Examiner notes that Applicant solely amends dependent claim 29.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
Claims 1-4, 11, 14, 16, 17, 21, 22, 25, 27, 30, 31 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being clearly anticipated by:
Park et al. (KR 20190059135 A) (hereinafter – Park) (citing updated machine translation) in view of
Quinn et al. (US 5720293) (hereinafter – Quinn).
Re. Claim 1: Park teaches a cannula sensing system (Abstract: “… the biosensor comprises: a needle…”) comprising:
a cannula having a distal end defining an opening (Fig. 2: needle 100 having an opening); and
one or more biosensors arranged on and/or within an outer wall of the cannula (Fig. 2: sensor 102 comprising electrodes 1022 arranged on outer wall of needle 100; Fig. 5: outer wall of needle may be interpreted as the combination of layers 530, 520, and 54 disposed on needle 52);
wherein the one or more biosensors are configured to generate biosensor data based on a detected level of one or more biomarkers in blood (Page 4: “In addition, the sensor 102 can measure a biological signal, which is an electrical signal generated by the biological material”).
Park does not teach the invention comprising a memory storage device embedded in the cannula.
Quinn teaches analogous art in the technology of catheters having sensing functions and memory (Abstract; Title). Quinn further teaches a memory storage device embedded in the cannula (Col. 4, lines 35-42: “The memory of the invention may be disposed at different locations within the catheter assembly. For example, the memory may be disposed within the body of the catheter, in an area adjacent one of the transducers or in a connector connected to a proximal end of the catheter assembly for allowing at least one transducer of the catheter to communicate with the processing system, which may be a conventional external”).
It would have been obvious to one having skill in the art before the effective filing date to have modified the memory location of Park to be within the body of the cannula, i.e., “embedded,” as taught by Quinn, the motivation being that such placement of the memory prevents disconnection from an external system to cause patient-specific information to be lost, improves ease of use, and prevents easy replication of the device containing the memory by a competing manufacturer (Abstract).
Park as modified by Quinn further teaches the invention:
wherein the cannula is configured to deliver intravenous medication and/or fluid materials into a blood vessel simultaneously while the one or more biosensors are detecting the detected level of the one or more biomarkers in blood (Title: “Biosensor capable of measuring biological signals and delivering drugs simultaneously;” Abstract); and
wherein the biosensor data is configured to be stored in the memory storage device of the cannula (Page 5: “The calculated concentration values can be stored in a memory;” see modification by Quinn).
Re. Claim 2: Park as modified by Quinn teaches the invention according to claim 1. Park further teaches the invention wherein the cannula is flexible (Abstract: “… a needle having a flexible shape…”).
Re. Claim 3: Park as modified by Quinn teaches the invention according to claim 1. Park further teaches the invention wherein the one or more biomarkers comprises glucose (Page 4: “For example, biomaterials such as blood glucose… are detected or electrical signals are measured by biomaterials”).
Re. Claim 4: Park as modified by Quinn teaches the invention according to claim 1. Park further teaches the invention wherein the one or more biomarkers comprises an electrolyte (Page 4: “For example, biomaterials such as… electrolytes are detected or electrical signals are measured by biomaterials”).
Re. Claim 11: Park as modified by Quinn teaches the invention according to claim 1. Park further teaches the invention wherein the one or more biosensors comprise a metallic direct blood contact sensing point (Fig. 5: electrodes 520; Page 7: “… a metal layer for electrodes…”).
Re. Claim 14: Park as modified by Quinn teaches the invention according to claim 1. Park further teaches the invention wherein the one or more biosensors utilize an electrochemical sensed biomarker reagent sensing detector to detect the level of the one or more biomarkers (Page 6: “The biosensor 1 can use an electrochemical method”).
Re. Claim 16: Park as modified by Quinn teaches the invention according to claim 1. Park further teaches the invention wherein the outer wall of the cannula defines a groove extending in a longitudinal direction of the cannula (Fig. 2: outer wall of cannula possesses a groove in the longitudinal direction containing electrodes 1022), and
wherein the one or more biosensors are arranged within the groove which allows for free blood flow past each sensor (Fig. 2: electrodes 1022 disposed in a groove of outer wall; Fig. 5: electrodes 520 disposed at a lower depth than protective layer 54; Examiner notes that Page 6 states that the “plurality of electrodes 1022 of the sensor 102 may form an enzyme… or the like to measure concentrations of substances in the body…;” enzymatic sensors require direct a substance to directly contact an enzymatic layer disposed on top of an electrode, such as when the needle is inserted in “a blood vessel or the like” as described in page 4).
Re. Claim 17: Park as modified by Quinn teaches the invention according to claim 16. Park further teaches the invention wherein one or more parts of the groove comprises an intermediate portion having a larger width and/or depth than areas of the groove outside of the intermediate portion, and wherein the one or more biosensors are arranged in the intermediate portion (Fig. 5, last two figures: electrodes 520 disposed at a lower depth than outermost layers, and partially disposed within layer 530; Page 7: “As the coating layer 530 is partially coated on only a part of the upper portion of the electrode 520, a part of the electrode may be exposed to the outside”).
Re. Claim 21: Park teaches a method of using a cannula sensing system comprising:
inserting a distal end of a cannula into a blood vessel of a patient (Page 4: “The medical IV catheter remains on the skin after the guide needle is removed with the guide needle inserted into the blood vessel and the like”),
the cannula including a biosensor arranged on and/or within an outer wall of the cannula configured to detect a biomarker in blood (Fig. 2: sensor 102 surrounding needle 100);
delivering intravenous medication and/or fluid materials into the blood vessel through the cannula (Abstract: “… a needle… capable of measuring biological signals through a sensor and delivering drugs to the body simultaneously…”);
detecting, with a biosensor, a biomarker in blood within the blood vessel (Page 4: “In addition, the sensor 102 can measure a biological signal, which is an electrical signal generated by the biological material”).
Park does not teach storing biosensor data in a memory storage device embedded in the cannula.
Quinn teaches such an aspect (see rejection of claim 1).
Park as modified by Quinn further teaches the invention wherein the delivering and the detecting occur simultaneously (Title; Abstract).
Re. Claim 22: Park as modified by Quinn teaches the invention according to claim 21. Park further teaches the invention wherein the biosensor is arranged at or near the distal end of the cannula (Fig. 2: biosensor 102 comprising electrodes 1022 arranged at end of distal end of needle 100).
Re. Claim 25: Park as modified by Quinn teaches the invention according to claim 1. Park further teaches the invention wherein the one or more biosensors include a plurality of biosensors arranged longitudinally at a distal end of the cannula (Fig. 2: electrodes 1022 arranged longitudinally at a distal end of needle 100).
Re. Claim 27: Park as modified by Quinn teaches the invention according to claim 1. Park further teaches the invention further comprising a data reader configured for receiving data from the one or more biosensors (Page 5: “The ADC receives current values and converts them to digital values. The operation unit outputs the concentration value of the target substance using the digital current value output from the ADC”).
Re. Claim 30: Park as modified by Quinn teaches the invention according to claim 1. Park further teaches the invention wherein the one or more biosensors are configured to generate the biosensor data based on the detected level of the one or more biomarkers in blood that comes into contact with an exterior surface of the outer wall of the cannula (Page 4: biomaterial detected includes “blood sugar,” and needle and sensor are integrated and can be inserted into “the blood vessel and the like,” thus indicating that the device contacts a blood stream; Page 6: “electrodes 1022 of the sensor 102 may form an enzyme…;” Examiner notes that sensing via enzymatic sensing via electrodes requires a biomaterial to directly contact an enzyme layer disposed on an electrode; since the configuration of electrodes in Park is solely exterior to the lumen of the needle (Figs. 2, 5), inserting a needle (having enzymatic sensing electrodes on an exterior surface thereof) into a blood vessel would necessarily require blood to be in direct contact with the enzymatic layer disposed on the surface of electrodes; Examiner further emphasizes that enzymatic detection of blood constituents cannot be performed via the inside of the needle since Park shows no structure allowing for direct contact between an electrode and enzymatic surfaces thereon and fluid within the needle (for instance, Fig. 5 of Park shows a clear separation between the inside cavity of needle 52 and electrodes 520)).
Re. Claim 31: Park as modified by Quinn teaches the invention according to claim 1. Park further teaches the invention wherein the outer wall of the cannula defines a groove having a bottom depressed from the outer most portion of the outer wall of the cannula, and wherein the one or more biosensors are arranged within the groove (Fig. 5: electrodes 520 formed in grooves defined by coating layer 530, as well as within groove of protective layer 54).
Claims 5-10, 12, 13, and 26 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over:
Park et al. (KR 20190059135 A) (hereinafter – Park) (citing updated machine translation) in view of
Quinn et al. (US 5720293) (hereinafter – Quinn) in further view of
Bickoff et al. (CA 2768106 A1) (hereinafter – Bickoff).
Re. Claim 5: Park as modified by Quinn teaches the invention according to claim 1. While Park teaches the use of “electrode line” and “electrode connection line” (Page 7), Park is not explicit regarding the relative placement of such lines, nor their connections.
Bickoff teaches analogous art in the technology of catheter-located sensing elements (Fig. 11). Bickoff further teaches the invention further comprising a wire arranged on and/or within the outer wall of the cannula, wherein the wire is connected to the one or more biosensors (Paragraph 0020: Various techniques may be used to electrically couple the electrical contacts/electrical connector pads to a connector board. These include wire bonding, direct wire soldering and the like;” Paragraph 0080: Internal channel 141 of sheath 140 communicates with a hub port 149 in a hub surface 148”: wires are a method of the communication).
It would have been obvious to one having skill in the art before the effective filing date to have modified Park as modified by Quinn to include the wire configuration as taught by Bickoff, the motivation being that doing so allows for a compact configuration and secure coupling of electrical communication lines (Paragraphs 0020; Paragraph 0081: proximal end including shank connector board, as shown in Fig. 24), pertinent to connecting the fixing portion 106 of Park containing the cannula and the control unit 124 at a proximal end thereof.
Additionally or alternatively, such a component may be implicit in the recitation of “electrode connection line” and “electrode line” as recited by Park since it would be understood by the skilled artisan that such lines are utilized for the purpose of transmitting electrical signals generated by the sensor to the analysis components in housing 126 of Park.
Re. Claim 6: Park as modified by Quinn and Bickoff teach the invention according to claim 5. Bickoff, in teaching further detail regarding the wire structure as used in the combination of claim 5, further teaches wherein the one or more biosensors are configured to send the biosensor data through the wire (Paragraph 0069: “Sensor 60 has a shank proximal end 60b that is received within hub 46 against hub surface 48 along with a sensor cable proximal end” and Paragraph 0017: “Either hard wiring or a radio link communicates the sensor signals”).
Re. Claim 7: Park as modified by Quinn and Bickoff teach the invention according to claim 5. Park further teaches the invention wherein the one or more biosensors are arranged at or near the distal end of the cannula (Fig. 2: biosensor 102 comprising electrodes 1022 arranged at end of distal end of needle 100).
Re. Claim 8: Park as modified by Quinn and Bickoff teach the invention according to claim 5. Bickoff, in teaching further detail regarding the wire structure as used in the combination of claim 5, further teaches wherein the wire extends to a proximal end of the cannula (Fig. 5-7 and Paragraph 0069: “Sensor 60 has a shank proximal end 60b that is received within hub 46 against hub surface 48 along with a sensor cable proximal end”).
Re. Claim 9: Park as modified by Quinn and Bickoff teach the invention according to claim 5. While Park states that “The body part 12 is connected to the sensor part 10 and the sensor part 10 is removably attachable to the body part 12” (Page 5), Park is not explicit regarding a connector arranged at a proximal end of the cannula.
Bickoff further teaches the invention wherein the wire is configured to be connected to a connector arranged at a proximal end of the cannula (Figs. 5-7 and Paragraph 0069: “Sensor 60 has a shank proximal end 60b that is received within hub 46 against hub surface 48 along with a sensor cable proximal end”: Contact pads 65 connect cable to 50 (connector)).
It would have been obvious to one having skill in the art before the effective filing date to have modified Park as modified by Quinn and Bickoff to further include a connector located at the proximal portion end of a cannula, the motivation being that such a location of a connector facilitates the removable attachment of sensor part 10 and body part 12 while also allowing for space-efficient connection of wires located in the proximal end of the cannula of the modified Park to the control unit 124 (Park, Fig. 1: body component 10 containing cannula extending to proximal end detachably connectable to control unit 124).
Re. Claim 10: Park as modified by Quinn and Bickoff teach the invention according to claim 5. Bickoff further teaches wherein the wire is embedded within the cannula (Paragraph 0015: “The sensor shank is sealingly embedded within the sensor sheath where the sensor elements are exposed at or adjacent the sensor distal end” and Paragraph 0017: “Either hard wiring or a radio link communicates the sensor signals”: sensor shank connects sensor to the hub and allows for signal communication to monitors or other systems).
It would have been obvious to one having skill in the art before the effective filing date to have modified Park as modified by Quinn and Bickoff to include embedding the wire as taught by Bickoff in a sealed manner, the motivation that doing so protects the wire from the conditions of the measuring environment, e.g., fluids within the body.
Re. Claim 12: Park as modified by Quinn teaches the invention according to claim 1, but does not teach the invention further comprising
an additional biosensor arranged on and/or within the outer wall of the cannula,
wherein the additional biosensor is configured to generate additional biosensor data based on a detected level of one or more additional biomarkers.
Bickoff teaches the invention further comprising an additional biosensor arranged on and/or within the outer wall of the cannula (Paragraph 0096: “a plurality of sensors 60”),
wherein the additional biosensor is configured to generate additional biosensor data based on a detected level of one or more additional biomarkers (Paragraph 0075: particularly, “It should be noted that sensor sheath 40 may optionally include additional side openings or windows to accommodate additional sensor elements to measure a plurality of blood analytes”).
It would have been obvious to one having skill in the art before the effective filing date to have modified Park as modified by Quinn to include the use of a plurality of sensors configured to generate additional biosensor data as taught by Bickoff, the motivation being that Park considers detection of a wide arrangement of biomaterials (Page 4: “For example, biomaterials such as blood glucose, lactic acid, cholesterol, and electrolytes are detected or electrical signals are measured by biomaterials”), and providing an additional sensor to detect additional biosensor data allows for concurrent measurement of multiple types of biomaterial at the same time, improving efficiency of measurement.
Re. Claim 13: Park as modified by Quinn and Bickoff teaches the invention according to claim 12. Bickoff, in teaching further detail regarding the additional biosensors as used in the combination of claim 12, further teaches the invention wherein the one or more additional biomarkers are different than the one or more biomarkers (Paragraph 0075; Examiner notes that a “plurality of blood analytes” is indicative that the analytes detected are different from one another).
Re. Claim 26: Park as modified by Quinn and Bickoff teach the invention according to claim 5. In teaching further detail regarding the structure of the wires incorporated in the combination, Bickoff further teaches the invention wherein
a first and a second wire are arranged on and/or within the outer wall of the cannula (Fig. 6, Paragraph 0069: “Sensor 60 has a shank proximal end 60b that is received within hub 46 against hub surface 48 along with a sensor cable proximal end”, and Paragraph 0017: “Either hard wiring or a radio link communicates the sensor signals”: two wires are present and then merge down the shank to connect with the sensors), and
the first and the second wires are connected to one of the one or more biosensors to form a closed circuit (Figs. 4-8: closed circuit formed between contacts 65 and sensor).
Claims 18-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over:
Park et al. (KR 20190059135 A) (hereinafter – Park) (citing updated machine translation) in view of
Quinn et al. (US 5720293) (hereinafter – Quinn) in further view of
Windmiller (US 20200297997 A1) (hereinafter – Windmiller).
Re. Claim 18: Regarding claim 18, Park teaches
a cannula including a biosensor arranged on and/or within an outer wall of the cannula, and having a distal end defining an opening (Fig. 2: biosensor 102 comprising electrodes 1022 mounted on needle 100);
wherein the biosensor of the cannula is configured to generate biosensor data based on a detected level of one or more biomarkers in blood (Page 4: “In addition, the sensor 102 can measure a biological signal, which is an electrical signal generated by the biological material”).
Park does not teach a memory storage device embedded in the cannula.
Such an aspect is taught by Quinn (see citations of claim 1).
Park as modified by Quinn does not teach a plurality of cannulas, wherein the one or more biomarkers is different for each cannula of the plurality of cannulas.
Windmiller teaches analogous art in the technology of cannula-based analyte sensing systems (Abstract).
Windmiller further teaches a set of cannula sensing systems comprising the use of a plurality of cannulas (Paragraph 0101: “FIGS. 7A, 7B, 7C, 7D and 7E illustrate a microneedle-based analyte-selective sensor 20 with a microneedle array and excitation and measurement circuit, not shown”: microneedles are cannulas in an analyte system (i.e., needle/cannula-based systems in paragraph 0003 background); Figs. 20, 21: each cannula of the plurality of cannulas 20’ communicating with memory 2045 via electrical connection).
Windmiller also teaches wherein the one or more biomarkers is different for each cannula of the plurality of cannulas (Paragraph 0091: “The analyte or plurality of analytes preferably includes at least one of glucose, lactate, a ketone body, uric acid, ascorbic acid, alcohol, glutathione, hydrogen peroxide, a metabolite, an electrolyte, an ion, a drug, a pharmacologic, a biological, or a medicament” and Paragraph 0087: “The analyte-selective sensor is configured to penetrate the stratum corneum to access the viable epidermis or dermis and measure the presence of an analyte or plurality of analytes in a selective fashion”: selective fashion is choosing analytes of interest to focus on).
It would have been obvious to one having skill in the art before the effective filing date to have modify the construction and system of Park as modified by Quinn to include measuring multiple analytes by using the multiple cannula structure of Windmiller, particularly since Park indicates that their invention is not limited to sensing a single biomaterial (Page 4), and providing an differing cannulas to detect additional biosensor data allows for better determination of a therapy (e.g., a drug delivered by Park) with added data.
Park as modified by Quinn and Windmiller further teaches wherein each cannula is configured to deliver intravenous medication and/or fluid materials into a blood vessel simultaneously while the one or more biosensors for the respective cannula are detecting the detected level of the one or more biomarkers in blood (Park, Title; Abstract).
Re. Claim 19: Park as modified by Quinn and Windmiller teach the invention according to claim 18. Park further teaches wherein the biosensor of one cannula is configured to detect glucose (Page 4: “For example, biomaterials such as blood glucose… are detected or electrical signals are measured by biomaterials”). Alternatively or additionally, Windmiller also teaches the biosensor of one cannula of the plurality of cannulas is configured to detect a level of glucose (Paragraph 0091: “The analyte or plurality of analytes preferably includes at least one of glucose…”).
Re. Claim 20: Park as modified by Quinn and Windmiller teach the invention according to claim 18. Park further teaches wherein the biosensor of one cannula is configured to detect glucose (Page 4: “For example, biomaterials such as blood glucose… are detected or electrical signals are measured by biomaterials”). Alternatively or additionally, Windmiller also teaches the biosensor of one cannula of the plurality of cannulas is configured to detect a level of glucose (Paragraph 0091: “The analyte or plurality of analytes preferably includes at least one of… an electrolyte…”).
Claim 23 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over:
Park et al. (KR 20190059135 A) (hereinafter – Park) (citing updated machine translation) in view of
Quinn et al. (US 5720293) (hereinafter – Quinn) in further view of
Quinn (US 20210052218 A1) (hereinafter – Quinn ‘218).
Re. Claim 23: Park as modified by Quinn teaches the invention according to claim 1, but does not teach the invention wherein the one or more biosensors are configured for real-time, continuous, wireless communication with an external database.
Quinn ‘218 teaches wherein the one or more biosensors are configured for real-time, continuous, wireless communication with an external database (Paragraph 0013: “receiving, using a wireless transceiver of a mobile electronic device of the subject, health data from one or more sensors” and Paragraph 0058: “The collected and transmitted vital sign information may be aggregated, for example, by batching and uploading to a computer server (e.g., a secure cloud database), where artificially intelligent algorithms may analyze the data in a continuous or real-time manner”).
It would have been obvious to one having skill in the art before the effective filing date to have modified Park as modified by Quinn to include the database communication capabilities of Quinn ‘218, the motivation being that an external database allows for secure analysis of data continuously and in real-time (Paragraph 0058).
Claim 24 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over:
Park et al. (KR 20190059135 A) (hereinafter – Park) (citing updated machine translation)
Quinn et al. (US 5720293) (hereinafter – Quinn) in further view of
Bickoff et al. (CA 2768106 A1) (hereinafter – Bickoff) in further view of
Bobo et al. (US 20040243145 A1) (hereinafter – Bobo).
Re. Claim 24: Park as modified by Quinn and Bickoff teach the invention according to claim 5, but does not teach the invention further including a wire strain relief configured to transition the initial size wire to a heavier gauge wire.
Bobo teaches analogous art in the technology of catheter sensor systems (Abstract; Figs. 6a-6e). Bobo further teaches the invention further including a wire strain relief configured to transition the initial size wire to a heavier gauge wire (Fig. 6e: bifurcation structure can be considered a strain relief since such a structure reduces strain at that point in the wire; Paragraph 0078: “Referring to FIG. 6b, a sensor wire set 152 is placed in a U channel 89 that extends the length of the catheter to a bifurcation 154 shown in FIG. 6e. The wire set 152 is joined to a large diameter wire 156 within the bifurcation”).
It would have been obvious to one having skill in the art before the effective filing date to have modified Park as modified by Quinn and Bickoff to include the use of a structure which provides strain relief and transition to a heavier gauge wire as taught by Bobo, the motivation being that sensor cables in a catheter are typically smaller diameter, wherein allowing a transition to a larger diameter wire increases ruggedness of the system to allow for extension of catheter components to analysis instruments (Paragraph 0078).
Claims 28 and 29 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over:
Park et al. (KR 20190059135 A) (hereinafter – Park) (citing updated machine translation) in view of
Quinn et al. (US 5720293) (hereinafter – Quinn) in further view of
Biederman et al. (US 20180103882 A1) (hereinafter – Biederman).
Re. Claims 28 and 29: Park as modified by Quinn teaches the invention according to claim 1, but does not teach the invention wherein the data reader is further configured to associate the data received from the one or more biosensors with time stamp data.
Biederman teaches analogous art in the technology of electrode-based analyte sensors (Abstract). Biederman further teaches the invention wherein the data reader is further configured to associate the data received from the one or more biosensors with time stamp data (Paragraph 0034: “the processing device 220 may receive the glucose sensor data, generate a time stamp associated with the time the glucose sensor data is received, and store the glucose sensor data and the time stamp in the memory”).
With respect to claim 29, the citation above also reads on the requirements of claim 29: “… wherein the memory storage device is configured to store the biosensor data in a time-stamped configuration.”
It would have been obvious to one having skill in the art before the effective filing date to have modified Park as modified by Quinn to include the time stamp data association and memory storage as taught by Biederman, the motivation being that doing so allows for remote analysis and correlation with other types of data gathered concurrently, further providing additional context for data analysis (Paragraph 0034).
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments filed October 24, 2025 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive.
Regarding Applicant’s argument:
Applicant respectfully traverses the Examiner's assertion and respectfully submits that Quinn '293 does not teach a memory storage device embedded in a wall of a cannula. Rather, Quinn '293 explicitly shows and describes the memory 102 being located "on the connector 300." (See Quinn '293, col. 13, 11. 37-39 and FIGS. 3 and 4). Applicant previously amended claims 1, 18 and 21 to remove the alternative of the claimed memory storage device being embedded in an electrical connector of the cannula. (See Response filed December 5, 2024). Thus, it is not permissible to interpret a memory device that is part of an electrical connector as corresponding to the claimed memory storage device. In contrast, the claimed memory storage device of the present application is embedded in the cannula. (See e.g. FIG. 1C of the drawings, memory chip 101). Therefore, even if Park and Quinn '293 are combined, the combination thereof still fails to teach or suggest independent claims 1, 18 and 21 of the present application.
Applicant’s argument is directed to an embodiment of a prior art reference which is not cited by the rejection. Figs. 3 and 4 are not utilized in the rejection.
As utilized in the rejection, Quinn teaches (Col. 4, lines 35-42):
The memory of the invention may be disposed at different locations within the catheter assembly. For example, the memory may be disposed within the body of the catheter, in an area adjacent one of the transducers or in a connector connected to a proximal end of the catheter assembly for allowing at least one transducer of the catheter to communicate with the processing system, which may be a conventional external processing system or computer [emphasis added].
Examiner is interpreting “within the body of the catheter” recited by Quinn as within a sidewall of the catheter, particularly since Quinn recites the phrase “catheter body wall” (Col. 4, line 64). Thus, Quinn teaches a memory storage device embedded as Applicant shows in Fig. 1C.
Should Applicant be making the argument that the skilled artisan would not view a cannula and catheter as analogous devices, a cannula is defined as a “a small tube for insertion into a body cavity or into a duct or vessel” (https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/cannula). A catheter is defined as “a tubular medical device for insertion into canals, vessels, passageways, or body cavities usually to permit injection or withdrawal of fluids or to keep a passage open” (https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/catheter). Both definitions appear essentially analogous and/or overlapping.
Conclusion
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/JUSTIN XU/Examiner, Art Unit 3791