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 . Claims 42-46 & 49-79 are pending and examined below.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments, see pages 2-6, filed 07/02/2025, with respect to the rejection(s) of claim(s) 42-26 under 35 U.S.C 102 and claims 47-56, 58-61, & 76-79 under 35 U.S.C 103 have been fully considered and are persuasive. Therefore, the rejection has been withdrawn. However, upon further consideration, a new ground(s) of rejection is made in view of Diamant. Please see the rejection below.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(b):
(b) CONCLUSION.—The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor regards as the invention.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph:
The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the applicant regards as his invention.
Claim 42-46 & 79 rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph, as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor (or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the applicant), regards as the invention.
Claim 42 recites the limitation "the plurality of wires" in line 13. It is unclear if this is the same or different from the “plurality of deployment wires” first introduced in line 3. For the purpose of examination, they are considered the same.
Claims 43-46 are likewise rejected as they depend from a rejected claim.
Claim 79 recites the limitations:
“the patch deployment device” in line 2,
“the plurality of deployment wires” in lines 2-3,
“the unexpanded state” in line 3,
“the catheter” in line 3,
“the distal end of the catheter” in lines 4-5,
“the pusher wire” in line 6, and
“the expanded state” in line 7.
There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim.
Claim 79 recites the limitations:
“a pusher wire” in line 15,
“a plurality of deployment wires” in line 16,
“an unexpanded state” in line 19,
“a catheter” in line 20,
“an expanded state” in line 20, and
“a distal end of the catheter” in line 21.
It is unclear if these are the same or different from above. For the purpose of examination, they are considered the same.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(d):
(d) REFERENCE IN DEPENDENT FORMS.—Subject to subsection (e), a claim in dependent form shall contain a reference to a claim previously set forth and then specify a further limitation of the subject matter claimed. A claim in dependent form shall be construed to incorporate by reference all the limitations of the claim to which it refers.
The following is a quotation of pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, fourth paragraph:
Subject to the following paragraph [i.e., the fifth paragraph of pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112], a claim in dependent form shall contain a reference to a claim previously set forth and then specify a further limitation of the subject matter claimed. A claim in dependent form shall be construed to incorporate by reference all the limitations of the claim to which it refers.
Claim 53 rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(d) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, 4th paragraph, as being of improper dependent form for failing to further limit the subject matter of the claim upon which it depends, or for failing to include all the limitations of the claim upon which it depends. Claim 53 does not further limit the subject matter of claim 49 from which it depends. It appears the limitation in claim 53 is the same limitation added to independent claim 49. Applicant may cancel the claim(s), amend the claim(s) to place the claim(s) in proper dependent form, rewrite the claim(s) in independent form, or present a sufficient showing that the dependent claim(s) complies with the statutory requirements.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
The text of those sections of Title 35, U.S. Code not included in this action can be found in a prior Office action.
Claim(s) 42-46, 49-56, 58-61, 63-65, & 69 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Diamant et al. (US 20080086149 A1) hereinafter, Diamant.
Regarding claim 42, Diamant teaches a patch deployment device (Fig. 1A), the device comprising:
a pusher wire (19, Fig. 1A) having a proximal end and a distal end (Fig. 1A);
a plurality of deployment wires (plurality of filaments that extend from an end 13 of the proximal portion 11 towards the distal portion 12, Fig. 1A, ¶0055), wherein each deployment wire:
has a first end and a second end (plurality of filaments that extend from an end 13 of the proximal portion 11 towards the distal portion 12, Fig. 1A, Fig. 1A, ¶0055), and the first end and the second end are connected to the distal end (17, Fig. 1A) of the pusher wire; and
is configured to be in an unexpanded state when positioned and constrained within a catheter (15, Fig. 3A), and configured to self-expand into an expanded state (Fig. 1A) when positioned beyond a distal end of the catheter (15, Fig. 1A) and not constrained, wherein in the expanded state at least a portion of the deployment wire is positioned substantially within a plane that is substantially perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the pusher wire (Fig. 1A) and each deployment wire has an asymmetric form when viewed along a direction parallel to the longitudinal axis of the pusher wire (Fig. 1A); wherein
the at least a portion of each of the plurality of wires collectively form a patch applicator (10, Fig. 1A), wherein
along a first direction that extends across the patch applicator when the plurality of deployment wires are in the expanded state, a distance of the patch applicator from a reference plane (see annotate Fig. 1A below), which is perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the pusher wire (19, Fig. 1A), is substantially constant (Fig. 1A); and
along a second direction that extends across the patch applicator when the plurality of deployment wires are in the expanded state, a distance of the patch applicator from the reference plane varies (see annotate Fig. 1A below); and wherein
the patch applicator (10, Fig. 1A) has a concave shape with respect to a point that is distal of the patch applicator (Fig. 1A).
Regarding claim 43, Diamant teaches
wherein the portion of the deployment wire having an asymmetric form comprises a first curved portion (first 14a portion. Fig. 1A) and a second curved portion (another 14a portion. Fig. 1A), wherein the first curved portion overlaps the second curved portion in a circumferential direction around the longitudinal axis of the pusher wire (Fig. 11 & 1B), and the first curved portion is convex (Fig. 1A) and the second curved portion is concave (Fig. 1A), the first curved portion and the second curved portion being connected via a connecting portion (portion near 142, Fig. 1A).
Regarding claim 44, Diamant teaches
wherein the first curved portion comprises a minimum radius of curvature that is less than the minimum radius of curvature of the second curved portion (Fig. 1A).
Regarding claim 45, Diamant teaches
wherein the first curved portion comprises a minimum radius of curvature that is more than the minimum radius of curvature of the second curved portion (Fig. 1A).
Regarding claim 46, Diamant teaches
wherein each deployment wire of the plurality of deployment wires is arranged such that the first curved portion of the deployment wire overlaps the second curved portion of an adjacent deployment wire in a direction substantially parallel to the longitudinal axis of the pusher wire (overlaps at 21, Fig. 1A).
Regarding claim 49, Diamant teaches a patch deployment device (Fig. 1A), the device comprising:
a pusher wire (19, Fig. 1A) having a proximal end and a distal end (Fig. 1A);
a plurality of deployment wires (plurality of filaments that extend from an end 13 of the proximal portion 11 towards the distal portion 12, Fig. 1A, ¶0055), wherein each deployment wire:
has a first end and a second end (plurality of filaments that extend from an end 13 of the proximal portion 11 towards the distal portion 12, Fig. 1A, ¶0055), and the first end and the second end are connected to the distal end (17, Fig. 1A) of the pusher wire; and
is configured to be in an unexpanded state when positioned and constrained within a catheter (15, Fig. 3A), and configured to self-expand into an expanded state (Fig. 1A) when positioned beyond a distal end of the catheter (15, Fig. 1A) and not constrained; wherein
at least a portion of each of the plurality of deployment wires collectively form a patch applicator (10, Fig. 1A), wherein
along a first direction that extends across the patch applicator when the plurality of deployment wires are in the expanded state, a distance of the patch applicator from a reference plane (see annotate Fig. 1A below), which is perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the pusher wire, is substantially constant (Fig. 1A); and
along a second direction that extends across the patch applicator when the plurality of deployment wires are in the expanded state, a distance of the patch applicator from the reference plane varies (see annotate Fig. 1A below); and, wherein
the patch applicator (10, Fig. 1A) has a concave shape with respect to a point that is distal of the patch applicator (Fig. 1A).
Regarding claim 50, Diamant teaches
wherein, in the expanded state, at least a portion of each of the plurality of deployment wires has an asymmetric form when viewed along a direction parallel to the longitudinal axis of the pusher wire (Fig. 1A).
Regarding claim 51, Diamant teaches
wherein the first direction is perpendicular to the second direction (see annotate Fig. 1A below).
Regarding claim 52, Diamant teaches
wherein, along the second direction, the distance of the patch applicator (10, Fig. 1A) from the reference plane when the plurality of deployment wires are in the expanded state increases with increasing distance from the longitudinal axis of the pusher wire direction (see annotate Fig. 1A below).
Regarding claim 53, Diamant teaches
wherein, when the plurality of deployment wires are in the expanded state, the patch applicator (10, Fig. 1A) has a concave shape with respect to a point distal of the patch applicator (Fig. 1A).
Regarding claim 54, Diamant teaches
wherein when the plurality of deployment wires are in the expanded state, the patch applicator (10, Fig. 1A) has a maximum diameter, D, and along the second direction, the distance of the patch applicator from the reference plane varies by more than 0.05D (Fig. 1A).
Regarding claim 55, Diamant teaches
wherein when the plurality of deployment wires are in the expanded state, the patch applicator (10, Fig. 1A) has a maximum diameter, D, and along the second direction, the distance of the patch applicator from the reference plane varies by less than 0.3D (Fig. 1A).
Regarding claim 56, Diamant teaches
wherein the plurality of deployment wires when in the expanded state are arranged such that they collectively form a ring (Fig. 1B).
Regarding claim 58, Diamant teaches
wherein the plurality of deployment wires is movable from the unexpanded state within a catheter to the expanded state beyond the distal end of the catheter by moving the pusher wire (Figs. 1A-3A).
Regarding claim 59, Diamant teaches
wherein each deployment wire of the plurality of deployment wires has the same form in the expanded state (Figs. 1A & 1B).
Regarding claim 60, Diamant teaches
wherein the plurality of deployment wires are arranged so as to be evenly distributed around the longitudinal axis of the pusher wire when in the expanded state (Fig. 1B).
Regarding claim 61, Diamant teaches
wherein the plurality of deployment wires comprises Nitinol (¶0073).
Regarding claim 63, Diamant teaches
wherein the plurality of deployment wires comprises 20 deployment wires or fewer (Figs 1A-1B, several filaments, ¶0087).
Regarding claim 64, Diamant teaches
wherein the plurality of deployment wires comprises 2 deployment wires or more (Figs 1A-1B, several filaments, ¶0087).
Regarding claim 65, Diamant teaches
wherein the plurality of deployment wires comprises 8 deployment wires (the filaments can be multiwire, so the 4 loops could comprise of 8 wires, ¶0019).
Regarding claim 69, Diamant teaches
wherein a further portion of each of the plurality of deployment wires is arranged along the longitudinal axis of the pusher wire such that at least 30% of the length of each of the plurality of deployment wires is arranged along the projection of the longitudinal axis of the pusher wire beyond the distal end of the pusher wire (filaments bound by 17, Fig. 1A, ¶0062).
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
The text of those sections of Title 35, U.S. Code not included in this action can be found in a prior Office action.
Claim(s) 57 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Diamant in view of Friedman et al. (US 20090216264) hereinafter, Friedman.
Regarding claim 57, Diamant teaches a ring but does not teach a further ring. However, Friedman teaches implantable closure apparatus and methods for sealing or closing openings at internal body locations (abstract, Friedman)
wherein the plurality of deployment wires (332, Fig. 21, Friedman) when in the expanded state are arranged such that they collectively form a further ring (330, Fig. 21, Friedman), wherein the ring (370, Fig. 21, Friedman) and the further ring are substantially concentric (Fig. 21, Friedman).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the teachings of Diamant by incorporating a further ring as taught by Friedman in order to provide more uniform energy delivery over the surface of the patch (¶0070, Friedman).
Claim(s) 62, & 70-71 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Diamant in view of Fahey et al. (US 20210085935 A1) hereinafter, Fahey.
Regarding claim 62, Diamant does not teach an austenite finish temperature. However, Fahey teaches implantable interatrial systems (¶0015, Fahey)
wherein the Nitinol has an austenite finish temperature of 28 °C or less (below 37 degrees C, ¶0279, Fahey).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the teachings of Diamant by incorporating an austenite finish as taught by Fahey in order to retain a relatively stable geometry (¶0279, Fahey).
Regarding claim 70, Diamant teaches a catheter but does not disclose the size. However, Fahey teaches
wherein the catheter has a size of 30 Fr or less (30 Fr or less, or about 20 Fr or less, ¶0154, Fahey).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the teachings of Diamant by incorporating a catheter size as taught by Fahey in order to facilitate delivery of the system (¶0154, Fahey).
Regarding claim 71, Diamant teaches a catheter but does not disclose the size. However, Fahey teaches
wherein the catheter has a size of 6 Fr or greater (30 Fr or less, or about 20 Fr or less, ¶0154, Fahey).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the teachings of Diamant by incorporating a catheter size as taught by Fahey in order to facilitate delivery of the system (¶0154, Fahey).
Claim(s) 66-68 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Diamant in view of Diamant et al. (US 20130261638 A1) hereinafter, Diamant ‘638.
Regarding claim 66, Diamant teaches wires but does not teach the diameter of the wire. However, Diamant ‘638 teaches a retrieval apparatus for entrapping and retaining an object located in a body (abstract, Diamant ‘638)
wherein the plurality of deployment wires have a diameter of 0.127 mm or more (0.05 mm to about 0.3 mm, ¶0103, Diamant ‘638).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the teachings of Diamant by incorporating the wire diameter as taught by Diamant ‘638 in order to reduce the diameter of the closed snare, and enables usage of a catheter with a smaller diameter (¶0102, Diamant ‘638).
Regarding claim 67, Diamant teaches wires but does not teach the diameter of the wire. However, Diamant ‘638 teaches
wherein the plurality of deployment wires have a diameter of 0.508 mm or less (0.05 mm to about 0.3 mm, ¶0103, Diamant ‘638).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the teachings of Diamant by incorporating the wire diameter as taught by Diamant ‘638 in order to reduce the diameter of the closed snare, and enables usage of a catheter with a smaller diameter (¶0102, Diamant ‘638).
Regarding claim 68, Diamant teaches a predetermined diameter but does not disclose the exact measurement. However, Diamant ‘638 teaches
wherein the plurality of deployment wires has a maximum diameter of 70 mm or less, when each deployment wire of the plurality of deployment wires is in the expanded state (5 cm, diameter of Do, Fig. 1A, ¶0089, Diamant ‘638).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the teachings of Diamant by incorporating the wire diameter as taught by Diamant ‘638 in order to reduce the diameter of the closed snare, and enables usage of a catheter with a smaller diameter (¶0102, Diamant ‘638).
Claim(s) 72-73, 76-77, & 79 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Diamant in view of Tovey (US 5333624 A).
Regarding claim 72, Diamant teaches deployment wires (plurality of filaments that extend from an end 13 of the proximal portion 11 towards the distal portion 12, ¶0055, Diamant) but does not disclose a patch. However, Tovey teaches an apparatus for positioning surgical implants adjacent to body tissue (abstract, Tovey)
further comprising a patch (9, Fig. 8, Tovey) releasably attached to the plurality of deployment wires (22, Fig. 8, Tovey).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the teachings of Diamant by incorporating a patch as taught by Tovey in order to act as a reinforcing agent for tissue regrowth in the area of the surgery (col. 2 lines 10-11, Tovey).
Regarding claim 73, Diamant does not teach a patch. However, Tovey teaches
wherein the patch (9, Fig. 9, Tovey) is attached to the plurality of deployment wires (22, Fig. 9, Tovey) by a single thread (19, Fig. 9, Tovey), wherein the single thread is threaded through a plurality of loops associated with the patch (Fig. 9, Tovey).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the teachings of Diamant by incorporating the thread as taught by Tovey in order to affix the surgical mesh to a delivery device (col. 5 lines 37-38, Tovey).
Regarding claim 76, Diamant teaches a patch deployment system (Fig. 1A, Diamant), the system comprising:
a pusher wire (19, Fig. 1A, Diamant) having a proximal end and a distal end (Fig. 1A, Diamant);
a plurality of deployment wires (plurality of filaments that extend from an end 13 of the proximal portion 11 towards the distal portion 12, Fig. 1A, ¶0055, Diamant), wherein each deployment wire:
has a first end and a second end (plurality of filaments that extend from an end 13 of the proximal portion 11 towards the distal portion 12, Fig. 1A, ¶0055, Diamant), and the first end and the second end are connected to the distal end (17, Fig. 1A, Diamant) of the pusher wire; and
is configured to be in an unexpanded state when positioned and constrained within a catheter (15, Fig. 3A, Diamant), and configured to self-expand into an expanded state (Fig. 1A, Diamant) when positioned beyond a distal end of the catheter (15, Fig. 3A, Diamant) and not constrained; wherein
at least a portion of each of the plurality of deployment wires collectively form a patch applicator (10, Fig. 1A, Diamant), wherein
along a first direction that extends across the patch applicator when the plurality of deployment wires are in the expanded state, a distance of the patch applicator from a reference plane (see annotate Fig. 1A below, Diamant), which is perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the pusher wire, is substantially constant (Fig. 1A, Diamant); and
along a second direction that extends across the patch applicator when the plurality of deployment wires are in the expanded state, a distance of the patch applicator from the reference plane varies (see annotate Fig. 1A below, Diamant); and, wherein
the patch applicator (10, Fig. 1A, Diamant) has a concave shape with respect to a point that is distal of the patch applicator (Fig. 1A, Diamant).
Diamant does not disclose a patch. However, Tovey teaches
a patch (9, Fig. 8, Tovey) releasably attached to the plurality of deployment wires (22, Fig. 8, Tovey).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the teachings of Diamant by incorporating a patch as taught by Tovey in order to act as a reinforcing agent for tissue regrowth in the area of the surgery (col. 2 lines 10-11, Tovey).
Regarding claim 77, Diamant teaches
wherein the pusher wire (19, Fig. 1A, Diamant) can be movably positioned within the catheter (Figs. 1A-3A. ¶0063, Diamant).
Regarding claim 79, Diamant teaches a method of applying a patch comprising the following steps:
providing the patch deployment device (Fig. 1A, Diamant) with the plurality of deployment wires (plurality of filaments that extend from an end 13 of the proximal portion 11 towards the distal portion 12, Fig. 1A, ¶0055, Diamant) in the unexpanded state within the catheter (15, Fig. 3A, Diamant);
inserting the catheter (15, Fig. 3A, Diamant) into a patient so as to position the distal end of the catheter at a patch application site (¶0064, Diamant);
moving the pusher wire (19, Fig. 1A, Diamant) to move the plurality of deployment wires (plurality of filaments that extend from an end 13 of the proximal portion 11 towards the distal portion 12, Fig. 1A, ¶0055, Diamant) from the unexpanded state within the catheter to the expanded state beyond the distal end of the catheter (¶0064, Diamant);
moving the pusher wire (19, Fig. 1A, Diamant) to move the plurality of deployment wires from the expanded state to the unexpanded state (¶0064, Diamant); and
removing the catheter from the patient (¶0064, Diamant); and wherein
the patch deployment device comprises:
a pusher wire (19, Fig. 1A, Diamant) having a proximal end and a distal end (Fig. 1A);
a plurality of deployment wires (plurality of filaments that extend from an end 13 of the proximal portion 11 towards the distal portion 12, Fig. 1A, ¶0055, Diamant), wherein each deployment wire:
has a first end and a second end (plurality of filaments that extend from an end 13 of the proximal portion 11 towards the distal portion 12, Fig. 1A, ¶0055, Diamant), and the first end and the second end are connected to the distal end (17, Fig. 1A, Diamant) of the pusher wire;
is configured to be in an unexpanded state when positioned and constrained within a catheter (15, Fig. 3A, Diamant), and configured to self-expand into an expanded state (Fig. 1A, Diamant) when positioned beyond a distal end of the catheter (15, Fig. 1A, Diamant) and not constrained; and wherein
at least a portion of each of the plurality of deployment wires collectively form a patch applicator (10, Fig. 1A, Diamant), wherein
along a first direction that extends across the patch applicator when the plurality of deployment wires are in the expanded state, a distance of the patch applicator from a reference plane (see annotate Fig. 1A below, Diamant), which is perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the pusher wire (19, Fig. 1A, Diamant), is substantially constant; and
along a second direction that extends across the patch applicator when the plurality of deployment wires are in the expanded state, a distance of the patch applicator from the reference plane varies (see annotate Fig. 1A below, Diamant); and, wherein
the patch applicator (10, Fig. 1A, Diamant) has a concave shape with respect to a point that is distal of the patch applicator (Fig. 1A, Diamant).
Diamant does not disclose a patch. However, Tovey teaches
a method (abstract, Tovey) of applying a patch (9, Fig. 9, Tovey) comprising the following steps:
applying a patch (9, Fig. 9, Tovey) to the patch application site (site formed by 22, Fig. 9, Tovey)
releasing the patch from the plurality of deployment wires (col. 7 lines 48-50, Tovey); and
the patch (9, Fig. 9, Tovey) releasably attached to the plurality of deployment wires (22, Fig. 9, Tovey).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the teachings of Diamant by incorporating a patch as taught by Tovey in order to act as a reinforcing agent for tissue regrowth in the area of the surgery (col. 2 lines 10-11, Tovey).
Claim(s) 74-75 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Diamant in view of Tovey and further in view of Jacinto et al. (US 20130317527 A1) hereinafter, Jacinto.
Regarding claim 74, Diamant in view of Tovey does not teach the patch is bioabsorbable. However, Jacinto teaches a single plane tissue repair patch (abstract, Jacinto)
wherein the patch is bioabsorbable (¶0057, Jacinto).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the teachings of Diamant and Tovey by incorporating the bioabsorbable patch as taught by Jacinto as it is a known material in the art.
Regarding claim 75, Diamant in view of Tovey does not specify a bioabsorbable adhesive. However, Jacinto teaches
wherein the patch further comprises a bioabsorbable adhesive (¶0068, Jacinto).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the teachings of Diamant and Tovey by incorporating the bioabsorbable adhesive as taught by Jacinto as it is a known material in the art.
Claim(s) 78 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Diamant in view of Tovey (US 5333624 A) and further in view of Dudai (US 20130035704 A1).
Regarding claim 78, Diamant in view of Tovey does not teach funnel. However, Dudai teaches a guide rod configured for remotely positioning the spreadable sheet within a body cavity (abstract, Dudai)
further comprising a funnel (210, Fig. 21b, Dudai) for use when drawing the plurality of deployment wires into the catheter from the expanded state into the unexpanded state.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the teachings of Diamant and Tovey by incorporating a funnel as taught by Dudai in order to introduce prepackaged mesh unit through operative channel (¶0204, Dudai).
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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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/K.X.W./Examiner, Art Unit 3774
/JERRAH EDWARDS/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 3774
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