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and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114.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 3/23/2026 has been entered.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments with respect to the claim(s) have been considered but are moot because the new ground of rejection does not rely on any reference applied in the prior rejection of record for any teaching or matter specifically challenged in the argument.
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.
Claim(s) 1-4, 6, 28, and 29 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Mumaw (US 2019/0059877) in view of Kogasaka (US 5,797,928).
Mumaw discloses a system comprising a needle driver device comprising a shaft (62/150; figs. 2,3) having a proximal end portion (portion closest to 100; fig. 3) and a distal end portion (650; fig. 8), wherein the distal end portion is configured to be inserted at a worksite in a body, an arcuate shaped portion (690; noting esp. 687 in fig. 11) at a distal end of the distal end portion (650 receives 690; [0058]), the arcuate shaped portion defining a distally-facing aperture (space defined by arms 693A,693B) configured to receive material to be sutured, an arcuate-shaped needle track (shown in fig. 11-13; [0060] – needle track defines circular path) in which the needle moves in the arcuate-shaped portion, a curved needle (670) housed in the arcuate shaped portion (fig. 11-13) and rotatable along a closed curved path defined along the needle track and across the aperture ([0059]-[0060]). The device further comprises a force transmission mechanism (400) at the proximal end portion of the shaft, wherein the force transmission mechanism is operably coupled to drive movement of the curved needle along the path ([0045], [0054], [0057], [0066]). The system of Mumaw (fig. 2) also comprises a manipulator (robotic arm 55) comprising a drive assembly (motors 1000, 1002, 1004, 1006; [0045]; fig. 3) and an instrument mount portion (motor housing 56; [0044] and fig. 2) configured to mount the needle driver device (at its drive system housing 60) to the manipulator and mechanically couple the drive assembly to the force transmission assembly of the needle driver device, wherein, in a mounted state of the needle driver device at the instrument mount portion, the drive assembly is configured to transmit a force through the force transmission mechanism to drive movement of the curved needle along the path ([0044]-[0045], [0054], [0057], [0066]).
Mumaw fails to disclose a cutting element at an exterior surface of the distal end portion of the shaft and adjacent to the curved needle in a housed position in the arcuate shaped portion, the cutting element configured to cut suturing material.
Kogasaka discloses another needle driving device (figs. 32-39b) used to drive a needle through tissue in order to pass suture attached to the needle through the tissue (col. 19, ll. 40-col. 20, ll. 32). Kogasaka discloses a cutting element (105; figs. 33a, 33b) disposed at an exterior surface of the distal end portion (110) of the shaft (110/140, noting base section 112 of 110 is screwed into shaft 140; see fig. 38), the cutting element configured to cut suturing material. Regarding claims 2-4 and 6, the cutting element comprises a blade, the blade fixed in position relative to the distal end portion of the device, with cutting edge oriented in a generally proximal direction and oriented generally perpendicular to a longitudinal axis of the needle driver device (see figs. 33a, 33b). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to have modified the prior art of Mumaw to include a cutting element as claimed, the cutting element at an exterior surface of the distal end portion of the shaft as taught by Kogasaka in order to allow trimming of the tied suture close to the suture site, thereby obviating the need for delivery of a separate cutting tool. With such a modification, the cutting element of Mumaw in view of Kogasaka is considered adjacent to the curved needle in a housed position in the arcuate-shaped portion of Mumaw since the arcuate-shaped portion is at the distal end portion of the shaft of Mumaw where the cutting element is located as taught by Kogasaka.
Regarding claim 28, the curved needle of the needle driver device of Mumaw has a curvature matching a curvature of the arcuate-shaped needle track as understood in view of figs. 11-13, noting Mumaw discloses that “needle 670 orbits in a circular path defined by a needle track and the arms 693A,693B” in par. [0060]).
Regarding claim 29, the drive assembly of the manipulator is controllable by a controller (58) in response to input at a surgeon console ([0044] of Mumaw).
Claim(s) 7 and 8 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Mumaw in view of Kogasaka as applied to claim 4 above and further in view of Zung et al. (US 8,137,364). Mumaw in view of Kogasaka discloses the invention substantially as stated above including a cutting element comprising a blade (105) with a cutting edge as taught by Kogaska, but does not expressly disclose that the cutting edge forms an acute angle with a longitudinal axis of the needle drive device.
Zung discloses another needle driver device that includes a cutting element (690 or 691; figs. 48 and 50) at an exterior surface of the device, the cutting element configured to cut suture. As an alternative to a cutting edge oriented generally perpendicular to a longitudinal axis of the device (see 691; fig. 50), Zung discloses a cutting edge (see cutting edge of 690 in fig. 47, 48; each half of V-shaped cutting edge) that forms an acute angle with a longitudinal axis of the needle driver device. It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to have modified the prior art of Mumaw as modified by Kogasaka to construct the blade (105) to have a cutting edge that forms an acute angle with a longitudinal axis of the needle driver device in view of Zung’s teaching that such an angled cutting edge is a known alternative to a cutting edge oriented generally perpendicular to a longitudinal axis of the device, and either configuration is suitable for cutting suture.
Regarding claim 8, the cutting element further comprises a shroud as taught by Kogasaka (see material that partially covers blade 105 and defines groove 106 in figs. 33A, 33B of Kogasaka) at least partially covering the blade (note also that Zung discloses a shroud as shown in fig. 48 and 50).
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
US 9,883,858 to Martin et al. discloses a needle driver device having an arcuate needle track an arcuate shaped portion and a curved needle housed in the arcuate-shaped portion and rotatable about a closed curved path defined by the needle track (see figs. 1-18).
US 2014/0171970 to Martin et al. discloses a needle driver device having an arcuate needle track an arcuate shaped portion and a curved needle housed in the arcuate-shaped portion and rotatable about a closed curved path defined by the needle track (see figs. 10A-16D).
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to KATHLEEN SONNETT HOLWERDA whose telephone number is (571)272-5576. The examiner can normally be reached M-F, 8-5, with alternate Fridays off.
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KSH 9/10/2026
/KATHLEEN S HOLWERDA/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3771
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