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and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114.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 23 September 2025, subsequent the RCE filed 21 October 2025, has been entered.
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments submitted 23 September 2025 with respect to claims 1-28 have been considered but are moot in view of the new ground(s) of rejection necessitated by amendment.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
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.
This application currently names joint inventors. In considering patentability of the claims the examiner presumes that the subject matter of the various claims was commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the claimed invention(s) absent any evidence to the contrary. Applicant is advised of the obligation under 37 CFR 1.56 to point out the inventor and effective filing dates of each claim that was not commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the later invention in order for the examiner to consider the applicability of 35 U.S.C. 102(b)(2)(C) for any potential 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) prior art against the later invention.
Claims 1-21 and 23-28 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Ziarno et al. (US 2013/0053657 A1, hereinafter Ziarno’657) in view of Hamid (US 2018/0015300 A1, hereinafter Hamid’300) and further in view of Planard-Luong et al. (US 2015/0297912 A1, hereinafter Planard-Luong’912).
Regarding claims 1 , 7, 9, 17, and 24, Ziarno’657 discloses an illumination device (e.g., abstract; Figs. 1, 36-42) for phototherapeutic delivery of light (e.g., paragraphs [0066]-[0072], [0177], [0272], [0277], [0287]), the illumination device comprising: a light source (ibid. – “light source emitters,” “light source assembly,” “therapeutic light sources”); a communication interface (e.g., Fig. 41, wired communication interface 4119 and wireless communication interface 4121; paragraphs [0270], [0293], [0299]); and a control system associated with the communication interface, the control system configured to a collect diagnostic information, implement a treatment protocol (e.g., paragraphs [0066], [0140], [0207], [0268], [0292], [0294]; Fig. 41, control circuitry 4107) and send the diagnostic information and administered light treatment information associated with implementing the treatment protocol to a server via the communication interface (e.g., [0096], [0177], [0214], [0262], [0294], [0305], [0316]-[0318], [0334]).
Further regarding claims 1, 7, 17, and 24, Ziarno’657 does not expressly disclose wherein the administered light treatment information comprises confirmation of actual dosing information received by a user. In the same field of endeavor, Hamid’300 teaches that it is known to log and report the actual doses of light therapy delivered and to wirelessly communicate that information to a user’s mobile device and/or a server in order to chart personal progress and allow a user or physician to discern and detect long-term effectiveness of the delivered therapy (e.g., paragraph [0161]). It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was made to modify the system as taught by Ziarno’657, with logging and reporting the actual doses of light therapy delivered as taught by Hamid’300, since such a modification would provide the predictable results of charting personal progress and allowing a user or physician to discern and detect long-term effectiveness of the delivered therapy.
Further regarding claims 1, 7, 17, and 24, Ziarno’657 discloses the invention substantially as claimed, but does not expressly disclose wherein the control system sends administered light treatment information which also comprises an actual distance from the light source to the treatment area of the user. In the same field of endeavor, Planard-Luong’912 teaches that it is known to use distance sensors that measure a distance between a reference surface (shown in, e.g., Fig. 5 as a surface 5 at the same distance from the target as light source 10) and a cosmetic treatment area of the skin (i.e., a treatment area as claimed) such that a control system can be used to adjust the emission power of each light source based on that actually measured distance from light source to target in order to ensure optimal intensity, cause the desired effects, and avoid damage (e.g., abstract; paragraphs [0005], [0013], [0014], [0020]). It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was made to modify the system as taught by Ziarno’657, with measurement of the actual distance from light source to tissue target as taught by Planard-Luong’912, since such a modification would provide the predictable results of ensuring optimal intensity, causing the desired therapeutic effects, and avoiding tissue damage.
Regarding claim 6, and further regarding claim 7, Ziarno’657 discloses where the control system is configured to determine location information associated with the treatment protocol, and send the location information to a server via the communication interface (e.g., paragraphs [0089], [0178], [0217], [0328], [0329]).
Further regarding claims 17 and 24, Ziarno’657 discloses, mutatis mutandis, the system comprising the server and a server-side application associated with the server, the server-side application configured to do perform as indicated above.
Regarding claim 2, Ziarno’657 discloses the illumination device further comprising one or more of a sensor and a camera associated with the control system, the one or more of the sensor and the camera being configured to collect at least a portion of the diagnostic information (e.g., Fig. 41, imager devices 4103 and supplemental sensors 4113; paragraphs [0128], [0293], [0295], [0297]).
Regarding claims 3 and 14, Ziarno’657 discloses wherein the control system is configured with a pre-configured treatment protocol, and the treatment protocol is modified from the pre-configured treatment protocol based on the diagnostic information (e.g., paragraphs [0277] – “the light therapy signaling can be automatically produced according to preprogrammed settings”; [0278]).
Regarding claim 4, Ziarno’657 discloses wherein the control system is configured to determine the treatment protocol based on the diagnostic information (e.g., paragraphs [0137], [0161], [0207], [0278]).
Regarding claim 5, Ziarno’657 discloses wherein the control system is further configured to receive the treatment protocol from the server based on the diagnostic information (e.g., paragraph [0101], [0116], [0176], [0277] read in light of [0274]).
Regarding claim 8, Ziarno’657 discloses wherein the location information comprises a global positioning system (GPS) location (e.g., paragraphs [0089], [0217], [0328], [0329]).
Regarding claims 10, 15, and 27, Ziarno’657 discloses wherein the control system is further configured to send the diagnostic information to a local device before sending the diagnostic information to the server (e.g., paragraphs [0101] and [0119] – “local external devices”; [0108] – “local personal computing devices”; [0247], [0262]).
Regarding claims 11 and 12, Ziarno’657 discloses wherein the control system is further configured to determine the location information after receiving the treatment protocol from the server and to determine the location information before sending the diagnostic information to the server (e.g., paragraphs [0089], [0178], [0217], [0328], [0329]).
Regarding claims 13, 21, and 28, Ziarno’657 discloses wherein at least one of the location information, the diagnostic information, and the treatment protocol comprises encrypted data (e.g., paragraphs [0101], [0144], [0179] – “communicatively links (with appropriate access authorization and security functionality)”; [0321] – “secure communication link”).
Regarding claims 16, 23, and 25, Ziarno’657 discloses wherein the control system is further configured to send administered light treatment information to the server, the administered light treatment information comprising one or more of a wavelength of light and a dose of light associated with administered light treatment (e.g., paragraphs [0177], [0278], [0289], [0290], [0302], [0303]).
Regarding claim 18, and further regarding claim 24, Ziarno’657 discloses wherein the server-side application is configured to compile geospatial information based on: a plurality of treatment protocols generated for a plurality of illumination devices; and location information associated with administered light treatment information received from the plurality of illumination devices (e.g., paragraphs [0089], [0178], [0217], [0328], [0329]).
Regarding claims 19, 20, and 26, Ziarno’657 discloses wherein the server-side application is further configured to receive, and associate with the diagnostic information, additional user information together with the diagnostic information, the additional user information comprising one or more of a medical history and demographics of a user (e.g., paragraphs [0075], [0101], [0157], [0172], [0188]).
Claim 22 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Ziarno’657 in view of Hamid’300 and further in view of Planard-Luong’912 as applied to claim 17 above, and further in view of Amir et al. (US 2018/0014777 A1, hereinafter Amir’777).
Regarding claim 22, Ziarno’657 as modified by Hamid’300 discloses the invention substantially as claimed, but does not expressly disclose an artificial intelligence library that is used to generate the treatment protocol based on the diagnostic information. In the same field of endeavor, Amir’777 teaches that it is known to use trained machine learning algorithms to calculate treatment plans based on historical records, scheduling records, input parameters, current sensed conditions, etc., in order to determine a customized treatment plan, including light therapy, most likely to succeed for the current patient (e.g., paragraphs [0031], [0032], [0043]-[0045]). It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was made to modify the system as taught by Ziarno’657, with use of machine learning to determine treatment parameters as taught by Amir’77, since such a modification would provide the predictable results of optimizing treatment to lead to a most successful outcome for the patient.
Conclusion
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/CHRISTOPHER A FLORY/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3792
26 November 2025