DETAILED ACTION
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 .
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments and amendments filed 10/30/2025 have been fully considered.
Regarding the Specification, the amended abstract does not exceed 150 words and have removed the following terms: “means” and “said.” Therefore, the amended abstract has overcome the objection.
Regarding the Claim Objections, the canceled claim 6, as shown on amended claims filed on 10/30/2025, has overcome the objection.
Regarding the 35 USC 103 Rejection, regarding 35 USC 103 rejection, applicant’s amendments respect to the rejected claims 1, 4, 7-10 have overcome the 35 USC 103 rejection. However, upon further consideration, new grounds of rejection is made in view of Wang and Woo.
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.
The factual inquiries for establishing a background for determining obviousness under 35 U.S.C. 103 are summarized as follows:
1. Determining the scope and contents of the prior art.
2. Ascertaining the differences between the prior art and the claims at issue.
3. Resolving the level of ordinary skill in the pertinent art.
4. Considering objective evidence present in the application indicating obviousness or nonobviousness.
Claims 1, 4, 7, 9, 10 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Wang et al. (Chinese Patent Application 109864712 A) in view of Woo et al. (US 20190328268 A1).
Regarding Claim 1, Wang discloses an electrical impedance tomography based method for generating a three-dimensional blood perfusion image, comprising (Page 4 lines 157-163, a second aspect of the present invention provides an electrical impedance imaging method. The electrical impedance imaging method may include the following steps: applying a constant current excitation signal to a measured part of a human body, and measuring a complex voltage signal on the measured part; performing signal processing and image reconstruction on the complex voltage signal according to a control command; and displaying the calculation result of the signal processing on the complex voltage signal and the reconstructed image):
performing, by using an electrode array distributed in a three-dimensional space (Page 6 lines 243-244, The sensor module 101 is fixed to the measured part of the human body, such as the chest, brain, abdomen or around the limbs, and is in the form of an electrode array such as an impedance belt or an electrode vest), electrical impedance measurement on a human body region to be measured so as to obtain an electrical impedance measurement signal (Page 7 lines 262-263, The data acquisition module 102 is used to apply a constant current excitation signal to the sensor module 101 and measure a complex voltage signal on the electrode array in the sensor module 101);
reconstructing, on the basis of the electrical impedance measurement signal, a three-dimensional differential image by means of the image reconstruction algorithm (Page 8 lines 314-315, The module 104 has a three-dimensional image reconstruction function. Conventionally, the module 104 may perform differential imaging using time domain differentiation or frequency domain differentiation); and
extracting the three-dimensional blood perfusion image reflected from the three-dimensional differential image (Page 8 lines 316-319 and 327-329, The so-called differential imaging refers to reconstruction using the difference in measurement data at two moments or two frequency components, and the reconstructed image reflects the change in the conductivity or dielectric constant of the biological tissue between the above two moments or two frequency components…corresponding to the data processing module 104 having a three-dimensional image reconstruction function, the imaging display module 105 can display a three-dimensional reconstructed image; [Examiner’s note, data processing module 104 creates the three-dimensional differential image. Then, using the measurement data and differential image, the display module can display the reconstructed image, which is the three-dimensional blood perfusion image]).
Wang is silent in teaching the three-dimensional blood perfusion image reflects changes in electrical impedance in the human body region to be measured due to blood perfusion;
Woo teaches the three-dimensional blood perfusion image reflects changes in electrical impedance in the human body region to be measured due to blood perfusion (Woo | image and waveform output control module – element 131; Paragraphs 0060-0061, and 0069).
One having an ordinary skill in the art the time the invention was filed would have found it obvious to modify the method from Wang to incorporate the teachings of the image monitoring apparatus from Woo because the change in perfusion data allows for real-time monitoring of the patient to provide insight about their physiological status (Paragraph 0014 and 0043).
Regarding Claim 4, Wang in view of Woo teaches the method according to claim 1, wherein the electrodes of the electrode array are distributed on one or more impedance bands, an electrode vest (Wang | Page 6 lines 243-244, The sensor module 101 is fixed to the measured part of the human body, such as the chest, brain, abdomen or around the limbs, and is in the form of an electrode array such as an impedance belt or an electrode vest).
Regarding Claim 7, Wang in view of Woo teaches the method according to claim 1.
Wang is silent in teaching the extracting the three-dimensional blood perfusion image reflected by the blood perfusion signal in the electrical impedance measurement signal from the three-dimensional differential image further comprises: extracting the three-dimensional blood perfusion image by using a time-frequency characteristic of a pixel in the three-dimensional differential image;
Woo teaches the method according to claim 1, wherein the extracting the three-dimensional blood perfusion image reflected by the blood perfusion signal (Woo | impedance and biometric signal measurement control module – element 132; Paragraph 0076) in the electrical impedance measurement signal from the three-dimensional differential image (Woo | image processor – element 120; Paragraph 0059).
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Another embodiment of Woo teaches extracting the three-dimensional blood perfusion image by using a time-frequency characteristic of a pixel in the three-dimensional differential image (Woo | algorithm function – element 624; Paragraph 0138-0140; Figure 11A; [Examiner’s note, the reference from Woo does not have the figure labeled. Annotated figure 1 represents Figure 11A from the art.]).
Annotated Figure 1| Illustrates Figure 11A while is not labeled within Woo.
One having an ordinary skill in the art the time the invention was filed would have found it obvious to modify the first embodiment, system of 100, of Woo to incorporate another embodiment, system 600, of Woo because Paragraph 0209 discloses “although few embodiments are described with restricted examples and drawings, various modifications and changes can be made in the embodiments by a person having an ordinary skill in the art. For example, suitable results may be achieved even if the described techniques are performed in a different order, and/or if components in a described system, architecture, device, or circuit are combined in a different manner and/or replaced or supplemented by other components or their equivalents.”
One having an ordinary skill in the art the time the invention was filed would have found it obvious to modify the method from Wang to incorporate the teachings of the image monitoring apparatus from Woo because the perfusion data allows for real-time monitoring of the patient to provide insight about their physiological status (Woo | Paragraph 0014 and 0043).
Regarding Claim 9, Wang discloses an electrical impedance tomography based device (electrical impedance imaging device – element 100) for generating a three-dimensional blood perfusion image (Abstract, The electrical impedance imaging device (100) is applied to medical imaging, can utilize an in-vivo electrode to carry out simultaneous multi-frequency excitation and measurement on organism tissues to be measured, utilizes a measured complex voltage signal to carry out three-dimensional image reconstruction), comprising:
an electrode array, distributed in a three-dimensional space (Page 6 lines 243-244, The sensor module 101 is fixed to the measured part of the human body, such as the chest, brain, abdomen or around the limbs, and is in the form of an electrode array such as an impedance belt or an electrode vest), and configured to perform electrical impedance measurement on a human body region to be measured so as to obtain an electrical impedance measurement signal (Page 7 lines 262-263, The data acquisition module 102 is used to apply a constant current excitation signal to the sensor module 101 and measure a complex voltage signal on the electrode array in the sensor module 101); and
an image reconstruction processor (data processing module – element 104), configured to execute a program stored in a memory (Page 14, lines 582-586, the method of the above embodiment is executed by one or more programs, including instructions to enable a computer or processor to execute the algorithm described in conjunction with the drawings. These programs can be stored and provided to a computer or a processor using various types of non-transitory computer-readable media), so as to reconstructing, on the basis of the electrical impedance measurement signal, a three-dimensional differential image by means of an image reconstruction algorithm (Page 8 lines 314-315, The module 104 has a three-dimensional image reconstruction function. Conventionally, the module 104 may perform differential imaging using time domain differentiation or frequency domain differentiation), and extract the three-dimensional blood perfusion image reflected from the three-dimensional differential image (Page 8 lines 316-319 and 327-329, The so-called differential imaging refers to reconstruction using the difference in measurement data at two moments or two frequency components, and the reconstructed image reflects the change in the conductivity or dielectric constant of the biological tissue between the above two moments or two frequency components…corresponding to the data processing module 104 having a three-dimensional image reconstruction function, the imaging display module 105 can display a three-dimensional reconstructed image; [Examiner’s note, data processing module 104 creates the three-dimensional differential image. Then, using the measurement data and differential image, the display module can display the reconstructed image, which is the three-dimensional blood perfusion image]).
Wang is silent in teaching the three-dimensional blood perfusion image reflects changes in electrical impedance in the human body region to be measured due to blood perfusion;
Woo teaches the three-dimensional blood perfusion image reflects changes in electrical impedance in the human body region to be measured due to blood perfusion (Woo | image and waveform output control module – element 131; Paragraphs 0060-0061, and 0069).
One having an ordinary skill in the art the time the invention was filed would have found it obvious to modify the method from Wang to incorporate the teachings of the image monitoring apparatus from Woo because the change in perfusion data allows for real-time monitoring of the patient to provide insight about their physiological status (Paragraph 0014 and 0043).
Regarding Claim 10, Wang in view of Woo teaches the device according to claim 9, wherein electrodes of the electrode array are distributed on one or more impedance bands, an electrode vest (Wang | Page 6 lines 243-244, The sensor module 101 is fixed to the measured part of the human body, such as the chest, brain, abdomen or around the limbs, and is in the form of an electrode array such as an impedance belt or an electrode vest).
Claim 8 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Wang et al. (Chinese Patent Application 109864712 A) in view of Woo et al. (US 20190328268 A1) further in view of Leonhardt et al. (US 20040133123 A1).
Regarding Claim 8, Wang in view of Woo teaches the device according to claim 9.
Wang is silent in teaching the extracting the three-dimensional blood perfusion image by using the time-frequency characteristic of the pixel in the three-dimensional differential image further comprises: separating, by a band-pass filter, a signal of a specific frequency range from a time-domain signal of each pixel in the three-dimensional differential image, so as to form the time-domain signal of the corresponding pixel in the three-dimensional blood perfusion image;
Woo teaches the extracting the three-dimensional blood perfusion image by using the time-frequency characteristic of the pixel in the three-dimensional differential image further comprises: separating, a signal of a specific frequency range from a time-domain signal of each pixel in the three-dimensional differential image, so as to form the time-domain signal of the corresponding pixel in the three-dimensional blood perfusion image (Woo | Paragraph 0138). One having an ordinary skill in the art the time the invention was filed would have found it obvious to modify the method from Wang to incorporate the teachings of the image monitoring apparatus from Woo because the perfusion data allows for real-time monitoring of the patient to provide insight about their physiological status (Paragraph 0014 and 0043).
Wang in view of Woo is silent in separating a signal of a specific frequency range from a time-domain signal of each pixel in the three-dimensional differential image, so as to form the time-domain signal of the corresponding pixel in the three-dimensional blood perfusion image by a band-pass filter; Leonhardt teaches separating by a band-pass filter (Leonhardt | Paragraphs 0008 and 0025). One having an ordinary skill in the art the time the invention was filed would have found it obvious to modify the apparatus of Wang in view of Woo to incorporate the teachings of the band pass filter from Leonhardt because bandpass filters separate desired physiological signals from noise and interference. This signal isolation ensures the collection of accurate data, allowing for precise assessment of organ function and timely identification of potentially critical deviations from established limits that may warrant immediate medical attention (Leonhardt | Paragraph 0025).
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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/SRISTI DIVINA GOMES/ Examiner, Art Unit 3791 /TSE W CHEN/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 3791