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 .
DETAILED ACTION
This communication is in response to the application filed on 06/29/2026.
Group 1: Species 2 (Claims 6) are withdrawn from further consideration pursuant to 37 CFR 1.142(b) as being drawn to a nonelected species Group 1. Group 2: Species 1 (Claims 10), Species 2 (Claim 12); Species 4 (Claim 15); Species 5 (Claim 17); and Species 6 (Claim 18).are withdrawn from further consideration pursuant to 37 CFR 1.142(b) as being drawn to a nonelected species Group 2 (As in the restriction send on 01/29/2026 was mistyped as Species to all have species 3. As if the case is allowed all these species will be rejoined to the allowance’s claims. Election was made without traverse in the reply filed on 06/29/2026.
Applicant’s election without traverse of Species 1 (Claim 5) from Group I. Species 3 (claim 14) from Group 2 in the reply filed on 06/29/2026 is acknowledged.
Claims 1-5, 7-9, 14 and 19-20 are currently pending and have been examined.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 101
35 U.S.C. 101 reads as follows:
Whoever invents or discovers any new and useful process, machine, manufacture, or composition of matter, or any new and useful improvement thereof, may obtain a patent therefor, subject to the conditions and requirements of this title.
Claims 1-5, 7-9, 14 and 19-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 101 because the claimed invention is directed to non-statutory subject matter. Specifically, claims 1-5, 7-9, 14 and 19-20 are directed towards an abstract idea without additional elements amounting to significantly more than the abstract idea.
With respect to Step 2A Prong One of the frameworks, claim 1 recites an abstract idea. Claim 1 includes elements for all claims Limitations.
The limitations above recite an abstract idea. More particularly, the elements above recite certain methods of organizing human activity related to managing personal behavior or relationships or interactions between people because the elements describe a method for determining the biological age of a mammal. Further, the elements above recite mental processes because the elements describe mathematical concepts, observations or evaluations and law of nature or natural phenomenon that could be practically performed in the mind or by using pen and paper. As a result, claim 1 recites an abstract idea under Step 2A Prong One.
Claims 19-20 include substantially similar limitations to those included with respect to claim 1. As a result, claims 19-20 recite an abstract idea under Step 2A Prong One for the same reasons as stated above with respect to claim 1.
Claims 2–7, 9–14, and 16–21 further describe the process for selecting and viewing organizational information and further recite certain methods of organizing human activity and/ mental processes for the same reasons as stated above. As a result, claims 2–7, 9–14, and 16–21 recite an abstract idea under Step 2A Prong One.
With respect to Step 2A Prong Two of the framework, claim 1 does not include additional elements that integrate the abstract idea into a practical application. Claim 1 includes additional elements that do not recite an abstract idea under Step 2A Prong One. The additional elements include a computing device and a step for gathering information (devices recited in the claim). When considered in view of the claim as a whole, the additional elements do not integrate the abstract idea into a practical application because the computing device amounts to no more than a general computing component that is used as a tool to perform the recited abstract idea, and the step for gathering information is an insignificant extra solution activity to the recited abstract idea. As a result, claim 1 does not include any additional elements that integrate the abstract idea into a practical application under Step 2A Prong Two.
As noted above, claims 19-20 include substantially similar limitations to those included with respect to claim 1. Although claim 19 further includes a computer program product residing on a computer readable medium and a processor, and claim 20 further includes a processor and memory, the additional element, when considered in view of the claim as a whole, do not integrate the abstract idea into a practical application because the additional elements amount to no more than general computing components that are used as a tool to perform the recited abstract idea. As a result, claims 19-20 do not include any additional elements that integrate the abstract idea into a practical application under Step 2A Prong Two.
Claims 2-5, 7-9, 14 do not include any additional elements beyond those included with respect to the claims from which claims 2-5, 7-9, 14 depend. As a result, claims 2-5, 7-9, 14 do not include any additional elements that integrate the abstract idea into a practical application under Step 2A Prong Two for the same reasons as stated above.
With respect to Step 2B of the framework, claim 1 does not include additional elements amounting to significantly more than the abstract idea. As noted above, claim 1 includes additional elements that do not recite an abstract idea under Step 2A Prong One. The additional elements include CUP, memory, operating system, file system, database, user interface, network interface card, processor, input/output unit and non-transitory computer-readable medium and a step for gathering information. The additional elements do not amount to significantly more than the recited abstract idea because the additional elements the computing device amounts to no more than a general computing component that is used as a tool to perform the recited abstract idea, and the step for gathering information is a well-understood, routine, and conventional computer function in view of MPEP 2105.06(d)(II). Further, looking at the additional elements as an ordered combination adds nothing that is not already present when considering the additional elements individually. As a result, claim 1 does not include any additional elements that amount to significantly more than the recited abstract idea under Step 2B.
Therefore, the claims are directed at an abstract idea without additional elements amounting to significantly more than the abstract idea. Accordingly, claims 1-5, 7-9, 14 and 19-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 101 as being directed to non-statutory subject matter. The claim does not integrate the exceptions into a practical application under Step 2A, Prong 2, and the additional elements do not amount to significantly more under Step 2B.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
In the event the determination of the status of the application as subject to AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103 (or as subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103) is incorrect, any correction of the statutory basis (i.e., changing from AIA to pre-AIA ) for the rejection will not be considered a new ground of rejection if the prior art relied upon, and the rationale supporting the rejection, would be the same under either status.
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 text of those sections of Title 35, U.S. Code not included in this action can be found in a prior Office action.
Claim 1-5, 7-9, 14 and 19-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Salt (US 2022/0361455 A1) in view of Aliper (US 2019/0034581 A1).
Regarding Claims 1 and 19-20: A method for determining a biological age of a mammal, comprising:
inputting values of at least six health parameters from the mammal; and performing a set of further steps, wherein the set of further steps is selected from the following (at least see Salt Abstract; Figs. 1-9; [0009], [0033]):
set 1: determining the biological age of the mammal by calculating the biological age of the mammal using an algorithm comprising multiple mathematical operations, wherein the algorithm is defined by a Pearson correlation coefficient higher than 0.5, wherein the Pearson correlation coefficient is determined by: and C. determining the Pearson correlation coefficient between vectors X and Y (at least see Salt Abstract; [0037], [0052], [0110], [0129], [0137], [0241], [0297]);
set 2: wherein, such inputting values of at least six of health parameters of the mammals is done into computer, a calculation of biological age by application of algorithm comprising performance of multiple mathematical operations, at least multiplication by matrix and summation of vectors to inputted values of health parameters (those values of health parameters that were inputted according the previous step), wherein said biological age is a single number (score), and the said algorithm has at least the following features: 1) if one will use the said algorithm to determine scores using values of the same health parameters of at least 50 of mammals of the same phenotype, wherein each individual animal must have an unique identification label (for example: Al for animal 1 and A2 for animal 2), 2) repeat clause (a) with the same mammals but health parameters are obtained from the same individual animals not later than period of 10% of such mammals average lifespan after the date of obtaining health parameters from the same individual animal in clause (a), and 3) than a Pearson correlation coefficient between vectors and Y will have value higher than of 0.5, if Pearson correlation calculated in the following way: one should take values of the score for each animal from clause (a) and form a vector X, then take values of the score from clause (b) and form the vector Y, wherein to construct both vectors X and Y the scores should be placed to keep ordering of identification labels (for example, = [score¹¹ al, score¹¹ₐ₂ score¹¹a⁵⁰) and Y [scoret²ₐ₁, scoret²ₐ₂ scoret²a50); set 3: determining the biological age of the mammal by calculating the biological age of the mammal using an algorithm comprising multiple mathematical operations, wherein the algorithm predicts scores which order animals by their survival time, where in the spearman's rank-order correlation between such scores and real survival times should be negative number with the corresponding p-values lower than 0.05(at least see Salt Abstract; [0036], [0037], [0066]).
Salet disclose the claimed invention but fails to explicitly disclose a. calculating a first biological age of a plurality of mammals of the same phenotype at a first time represented by a first vector X; b. calculating a second biological age of the plurality of mammals of the same phenotype at a second time represented by a second vector Y. (at least see Aliper disclose this at least Abstract; Fig. 1; [0092]-[0098]).
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was made (Pre-AIA ) or before the effective filing date of the claimed invention (AIA FITF) to use Alipr’s teachings in Salt’s enabled, for the advantage of improved accuracy to predicting biological age from health data for improved model performance.
Regarding Claim 2: The method of claim 1, wherein the Pearson correlation coefficient is selected from the group: higher than of 0.55, higher than of 0.6, in the range from 0.5 to 0.7, in the range from 0.6 to 0.8, in the range from 0.5 to 0.9, in the range from 0.5 to 0.99, in the range from 0.55 to 0.99, higher than of 0.7, higher than of 0.8, higher than of 0.9, higher than of 0.95, higher than of 0.99 (at least see Salt [0017]–[0021], [0033], [0041]).
Regarding Claim 3: The method of claim 1, wherein Spearman's rank-order correlation p-values 1 is selected from the following group: lower than 0.03, lower than 0.01, lower than 0.005, lower than 0.003, lower than 0.001, lower than 0.0005, lower than 0.0003, lower than 0.0001, lower than 0.00005, lower than 0.00003, lower than 0.00001, lower than 0.000001, lower than 0.0000001, in the range from 0.05 to 0.0000001, in the range from 0.01 to 0.000001, in the range from 0.001 to 0.00001 (at least see Aliper, [0110], [0129], [0241], [0297]).
Regarding Claim 4: The method of claim 1, wherein the p-value is selected from the following group for a corresponding number of mammals: Np-value for 20 mammals - lower than 0.05, for 20 mammals - lower than 0.03, for 20 mammals - lower than 0.01, for 20 mammals - in the range from 0.04 to 0.01, for 20 mammals - in the range from 0.04 to 0.001, for 30 mammals - lower than 0.02, for 50 mammals - lower than 0.01, for 50 mammals - lower than 0.001, for 100 mammals - lower than 0.001 for 150 mammals - lower than IE-05, for >200 mammals- lower than 1E-6 (at least see Aliper, [0037], [0163], [0183]).
Regarding Claim 5: The method of claim 1, wherein the biological age is a score (at least see Aliper, [0258], [0259], [0260], [0262]).
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was made (Pre-AIA ) or before the effective filing date of the claimed invention (AIA FITF) to use Alipr’s teachings in Salt’s enabled, for the advantage of improved accuracy to predicting biological age from health data for improved model performance.
Regarding Claim 6: The method of claim 1, wherein the mathematical operations comprise multiplication of matrices and summation of vectors of inputted values of the health parameters (at least see Salt Abstract; [0010], [0013], [0033] and [0035]-[0036]).
Regarding Claim 8: The method of claim 1, further comprising determining the algorithm using a neural network architecture (at least see Salt ([0017], [0035], [0041]).
Regarding Claim 9: The method of claim 8, wherein determining the algorithm comprises: obtaining health parameters and corresponding ages from a plurality of mammals; and inputting the health parameters and the corresponding ages of the mammals into an autoencoder of the neural network architecture (at least see Salt Abstract; Figs. 7–28; [0041], [0042], [0122]–[0125]).
Regarding Claim 11: The method of claim 8, wherein the mammals are alive and selected from one of the following: mice, humans, dogs, cats, non-human primates, rats, guinea pigs, rabbits, hamsters, sheep, gerbils, bats, ferrets, chinchillas, goats, and horses (at least see Salt [0044]-[0046).
Regarding Claim 14: The method of claim 10, wherein the health parameters are selected from a complete blood count (at least see Salt Figs. 7–28).
Relevant Prior Art
The prior art made of record and not relied upon, which is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure, are cited in the Notice of Reference Cited form (PT0-892).
Contact Information
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to FATEH M OBAID whose telephone number is (571)270-7121. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday 8:00 A.M to 4:30 P.M.
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, Ryan Zeender can be reached at (571) 272-6790. 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.
/FATEH M OBAID/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3627
Prosecution Insights