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and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114.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 11/13/25 has been entered.
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments filed 11/13/25 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive.
Applicant asserts Polak does not disclose a stimulating electrode and a recording electrode both on the same ABI electrode sheet, because of Polak disclosing a negative recording electrode on the ABI array together with a positive recording electrode on the forehead/scalp. Applicant's arguments fail to comply with 37 CFR 1.111(b) because they amount to a general allegation that the claims define a patentable invention without specifically pointing out how the language of the claims patentably distinguishes them from the references.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
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 the appropriate paragraphs of 35 U.S.C. 102 that form the basis for the rejections under this section made in this Office action:
A person shall be entitled to a patent unless –
(a)(1) the claimed invention was patented, described in a printed publication, or in public use, on sale, or otherwise available to the public before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claim(s) 10, 12, 16, 17 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Polak (US 2012/0029377).
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Regarding claim 10, Polak discloses the same invention as claimed (Figure 2 shown above for example), including an electrophysiological test method for an auditory brainstem implant based on cochlear nucleus action potentials (abstract: response recorded from stimulation array), comprising: implanting an ABI electrode sheet wherein the ABI electrode sheet comprises a plurality of ABI electrodes (Paragraph 7); selecting a first ABI electrode from the plurality of ABI electrodes on the ABI electrode sheet as a stimulating electrode to emit an electrical stimulation (abstract; Paragraph 37), selecting a second ABI electrode from the plurality of ABI electrodes on the same ABI electrode sheet as a recording electrode corresponding to the stimulating electrode, wherein the recording electrode is configured to receive an electrical stimulation signal from the stimulating electrode and record electrically-evoked cochlear nucleus action potentials(abstract; Paragraph 36); determining whether an electrically-evoked cochlear nucleus action potential target waveform is obtained: if an electrically-evoked cochlear nucleus action potential target waveform is obtained, determining that the stimulating electrode is correctly placed; and if an electrically-evoked cochlear nucleus action potential target waveform is not obtained, determining that the stimulating electrode is incorrectly placed, performing fine-tuning on a position of the stimulating electrode, and repeating operations S2 to S4 after the fine-tuning, until the electrically-evoked cochlear nucleus action potential target waveform is obtained (Paragraph 9); and determining whether all ABI electrodes on the ABI electrode sheet have been tested: if all ABI electrodes on the ABI electrode sheet have been tested, ending an electrophysiological test process; and if not, proceeding to operation S2, and testing a third ABI electrode selected from the plurality of ABI electrodes on the ABI electrode sheet until the rest of the plurality of ABI electrodes have been tested (Paragraph 9; see also Paragraph 46: testing typically concludes when all electrodes have been tested).
Regarding claim 12, Polak discloses standard placement of a standard ABI electrode as recited (Paragraph 9; Figure 2).
Regarding claims 16-17, Polak discloses automatically recognizing an evoked action potential target waveform as recited (Paragraph 9).
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
Grasso (US 2017/0224980) shows adjusting placement of ABI electrodes.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Eugene T Wu whose telephone number is (571)270-5053. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 8am-5pm.
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/Eugene T Wu/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3796
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