Prosecution Insights
Last updated: April 17, 2026
Application No. 17/782,694

PROVIDING FEEDBACK ON A TREATMENT OPERATION PERFORMED ON A BODY PART OF A SUBJECT

Non-Final OA §102
Filed
Jun 06, 2022
Examiner
BOCKELMAN, MARK
Art Unit
3792
Tech Center
3700 — Mechanical Engineering & Manufacturing
Assignee
Koninklijke Philips N V
OA Round
1 (Non-Final)
75%
Grant Probability
Favorable
1-2
OA Rounds
3y 2m
To Grant
91%
With Interview

Examiner Intelligence

Grants 75% — above average
75%
Career Allow Rate
606 granted / 807 resolved
+5.1% vs TC avg
Strong +16% interview lift
Without
With
+15.6%
Interview Lift
resolved cases with interview
Typical timeline
3y 2m
Avg Prosecution
13 currently pending
Career history
820
Total Applications
across all art units

Statute-Specific Performance

§101
7.5%
-32.5% vs TC avg
§103
36.8%
-3.2% vs TC avg
§102
25.8%
-14.2% vs TC avg
§112
15.7%
-24.3% vs TC avg
Black line = Tech Center average estimate • Based on career data from 807 resolved cases

Office Action

§102
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 . Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102 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. (a)(2) the claimed invention was described in a patent issued under section 151, or in an application for patent published or deemed published under section 122(b), in which the patent or application, as the case may be, names another inventor and was effectively filed before the effective filing date of the claimed invention. Claim(s) 1-15 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) or (a)(2) as being anticipated by Sahraoui et al WO 2019/2242273. For claims 1, 12 and 15, Sahraoui discloses an apparatus, method and media instructions for use with a treatment device for providing feedback to a user on a treatment operation performed on a body part of a subject, wherein the treatment device is configured to apply light pulses to skin of the body part to perform the treatment operation, wherein a light pulse applied to the skin treats an area of the skin (p 1, lines 3-9; p 3, line 7; p 39, line 31 - p 32, line 4; p 48, line 26 - p 44, line 2; fig 4), the apparatus comprising a processing unit configured to: - receive a first measurement signal from a first sensor ("détecteur de mouvement" 34; cameras 12, 14), the first measurement signal comprising information about positions and/or movements of the treatment device over time (p 33, line 26 - p 34, line 6); - for a light pulse previously applied by the treatment device to the body part during the treatment operation, process the first measurement signal to estimate a previous treatment position as a position of the treatment device relative to the body part when the light pulse was generated; for the previously applied light pulse and based on the estimated previous treatment position, estimate a previous treatment area for the light pulse corresponding to the area of skin of the body part that the light pulse was applied to when the treatment device was at the previous treatment position (p 38, lines 2-27; p 39, line 19 - p 40, line 2; figs 4, 9); - process the first measurement signal to estimate a current position of the treatment device relative to the body part (p 35, lines 9-11; p 36, lines 19-26). The device is capable of generating feedback during the treatment operation. For claims 2-4, :13-14 see Sahraoui et al. (p 33, line 26 - p 36, line 5); For claims 5-7: see Sahraoui et al. (fig 4; p 11, line 31 - p 12, line 25; p 16, lines 10-24); For claim 8: see Sahraoui et al. (figs 3A-C; p 31, lines 11-15; p 32, lines 1-11); For claim 9: see Sahraoui et al (fig 3C; p 39, lines 10-24); For claim 10: see Sahraoui et al (figs 3A-C; p 35, lines 9-11) Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to MARK W. BOCKELMAN whose telephone number is (571)272-4941. The examiner can normally be reached Monday -Friday 8:00 am - 4:00 pm. Examiner interviews are available via telephone, in-person, and video conferencing using a USPTO supplied web-based collaboration tool. To schedule an interview, applicant is encouraged to use the USPTO Automated Interview Request (AIR) at http://www.uspto.gov/interviewpractice. If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, James Kish can be reached on 571-272-5554. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300. Information regarding the status of published or unpublished applications may be obtained from Patent Center. Unpublished application information in Patent Center is available to registered users. To file and manage patent submissions in Patent Center, visit: https://patentcenter.uspto.gov. Visit https://www.uspto.gov/patents/apply/patent-center for more information about Patent Center and https://www.uspto.gov/patents/docx for information about filing in DOCX format. For additional questions, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000. /MARK W. BOCKELMAN/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3792
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Prosecution Timeline

Jun 06, 2022
Application Filed
Feb 22, 2025
Non-Final Rejection — §102
Sep 27, 2025
Response after Non-Final Action

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Study what changed to get past this examiner. Based on 5 most recent grants.

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Prosecution Projections

1-2
Expected OA Rounds
75%
Grant Probability
91%
With Interview (+15.6%)
3y 2m
Median Time to Grant
Low
PTA Risk
Based on 807 resolved cases by this examiner. Grant probability derived from career allow rate.

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