DETAILED ACTION
Claims 1-20 are pending.
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, filed 04/01/2026, have been fully considered but are moot in view of the new ground(s) of rejection.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
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 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 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.
Claim(s) 1-3 and 5-19 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Godlevsky et al.,
GODLEVSKY, Leonid Semenovich, et al. "Application of mobile photography with smartphone cameras for monitoring of early caries appearance in the course of orthodontic correction with dental brackets." Applied Medical Informatics 33.4 (2013): 21-26 (hereinafter Godlevsky).
Regarding claims 1-20, Godlevsky discloses all the claimed limitations, as outlined below:
Claim 1. A method comprising: providing, to a smartphone of a customer, a smartphone application for an imaging system configured to acquire images of an intraoral cavity of the customer (Page 22 - - using a patient’s smartphone), the imaging system configured to be operable by the customer via the smartphone application by allowing the customer to visually monitor their own intraoral cavity while the images of the intraoral cavity are acquired (Page 22 - - the smartphone has an imaging/camera system and an imaging app), the imaging system comprising: an image acquisition device and a display screen within a same housing, the image acquisition device configured to acquire the images (Page 22 - - the smartphone imaging/camera system comprises a display) ; and an orientation element configured to orient the image acquisition device with respect to the intraoral cavity to facilitate acquisition of the images (Page 22 - - the smartphone is rotated and oriented to make sure the image/photo is what the user wants); and providing, via the smartphone of the customer and based on the acquired images, an output to the customer regarding at least one of a determined oral condition of the customer or providing feedback to the customer (Page 22 - - the smartphone provides instant feedback).
Claim 2. The method of claim 1, further comprising acquiring the images by or with the assistance of at least one of the customer, a dentist or orthodontist, or a technician operating the imaging system to acquire one or more of the images (Page 22 - - the smartphone allows anyone to take photos).
Claim 3. The method of claim 2, wherein only a portion of the images are acquired with the assistance of the dentist or orthodontist (Page 22 - - the smartphone allows anyone to take photos).
Claim 5. The method of claim 1, further comprising providing the images to a server system via the smartphone of the user (Page 25 “Discussion” - - step related to distant telemedical consulting of patients receiving orthodontic treatment).
Claim 6. The method of claim 1, wherein the feedback is provided to the customer on the display screen (Page 22 - - the smartphone allows the user to immediately see the images, thus providing a visual feedback. The user is able to determine if the images are suitable).
Claim 7. A method comprising: providing, to a smartphone of a customer, a smartphone application for an imaging system configured to acquire images of an intraoral cavity of the customer (Page 22 - - using a patient’s smartphone), the imaging system configured to be operable by the customer via the smartphone application by allowing the customer to visually monitor their own intraoral cavity while the images of the intraoral cavity are acquired (Page 22 - - the smartphone has an imaging/camera system and an imaging app), the imaging system comprising: an image acquisition device and a display screen within a same housing, the image acquisition device configured to acquire the images (Page 22 - - the smartphone imaging/camera system comprises a display) ; and an orientation element configured to orient the image acquisition device with respect to the intraoral cavity to facilitate acquisition of the images (Page 22 - - the smartphone is rotated and oriented to make sure the image/photo is what the user wants); acquiring the images at a location remote from a dentist or orthodontist; providing communication between the customer and the dentist or orthodontist or a technician during acquisition of the images (Page 25 “Discussion” - - step related to distant telemedical consulting of patients receiving orthodontic treatment); and providing, via the smartphone of the customer and based on the acquired images, an output to the customer regarding at least one of a determined oral condition of the customer or providing feedback to the customer based on at least one of the acquired images or the customer's operation of the imaging system (Page 22 - - the smartphone provides instant feedback).
Claim 8. The method of claim 7, wherein the images are acquired with the assistance of the dentist or orthodontist or the technician via the communication (Page 25 “Discussion” - - step related to distant telemedical consulting of patients receiving orthodontic treatment).
Claim 9. The method of claim 7, wherein only a portion of the images are acquired with the assistance of the dentist or orthodontist or the technician via the communication (Page 25 “Discussion” - - step related to distant telemedical consulting of patients receiving orthodontic treatment).
Claim 10. The method of claim 7, wherein the communication comprises at least one of an audio or video communication between the customer and the dentist or orthodontist or the technician (Page 25 “Discussion” - - step related to distant telemedical consulting of patients receiving orthodontic treatment).
Claim 11. The method of claim 7, further comprising providing the images to a server system via the smartphone of the customer (Page 25 “Discussion” - - step related to distant telemedical consulting of patients receiving orthodontic treatment).
Claim 12. The method of claim 11, wherein the images are accessible by the dentist or orthodontist or the technician via the server system (Page 25 “Discussion” - - step related to distant telemedical consulting of patients receiving orthodontic treatment).
Claim 13. The method of claim 11, further comprising generating a high-resolution reconstruction of the images after the images are provided to the server system (Page 25 “Discussion” - - step related to distant telemedical consulting of patients receiving orthodontic treatment).
Claim 14. A method comprising: providing, to a smartphone of a customer, a smartphone application for an imaging system configured to acquire images of an intraoral cavity of the customer (Page 22 - - using a patient’s smartphone), the imaging system configured to be operable by the customer via the
Claim 15. The method of claim 14, wherein the images are acquired at regular intervals (Page 22 - - smartphone capabilities).
Claim 16. The method of claim 14, further comprising: determining whether the
images of the intraoral cavity are suitable for determining the oral condition; and providing feedback to the customer regarding whether the images of the intraoral cavity are suitable for determining the oral condition (Page 22 - - the smartphone allows the user to immediately see the images, thus providing a visual feedback. The user is able to determine if the images are suitable).
Claim 17. The method of claim 14, further comprising: displaying, by the smartphone of the customer, a generic image of an intraoral cavity; and changing, by the smartphone of the customer, the generic image of the intraoral cavity to a model of the intraoral cavity of the customer in real time to reflect a progress of the imaging while the images are acquired (Page 22 – providing/generating calibrated images).
Claim 18. The method of claim 17, wherein an appearance of the model of the intraoral cavity of the customer is changed based on whether the images of the intraoral cavity are suitable for determining the oral condition (Page 22 – calibrating images if necessary or as desired).
Claim 19. The method of claim 17, further comprising: displaying, at a first time, a first model of the intraoral cavity, the first model of the intraoral cavity comprising a first portion that is suitable for determining the oral condition; notifying the customer, by the smartphone of the customer, to acquire additional images; and displaying, at a second time, a second model of the intraoral cavity, the second model of the intraoral cavity comprising the first portion and a second portion that is suitable for determining the oral condition (Page 22 - - displaying the calibrated images).
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 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.
Claims 4 and 20 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Godlevsky et al.,
GODLEVSKY, Leonid Semenovich, et al. "Application of mobile photography with smartphone cameras for monitoring of early caries appearance in the course of orthodontic correction with dental brackets." Applied Medical Informatics 33.4 (2013): 21-26 (hereinafter Godlevsky) in view of Boerjes et al., US Patent No. 8,454,365 (hereinafter Boerjes).
Regarding claims 4 and 20, Godlevsky discloses all the limitations of the base claims as outlined above.
Godlevsly fails to clearly specify:
Claim 4. The method of claim 1, further comprising displaying, on the smartphone/”device with a display”, a user interface including an indication referring the customer to meet with a dentist or orthodontist based on the acquired images.
Claim 20. The method of claim 14, further comprising: determining a confidence level associated with the images, the confidence level indicating a likelihood that the images are suitable for determining the oral condition; and displaying the confidence level to the customer, by the smartphone/ “device with a display” of the customer, as the images are acquired.
However, Boerjes teaches:
Claim 4. The method of claim 1, further comprising displaying, on the smartphone/”device with a display”, a user interface including an indication referring the customer to meet with a dentist or orthodontist based on the acquired images (C30 L33-67).
Claim 20. The method of claim 14, further comprising: determining a confidence level associated with the images, the confidence level indicating a likelihood that the images are suitable for determining the oral condition; and displaying the confidence level to the customer, by the smartphone/ “device with a display” of the customer, as the images are acquired (C27 L19-36 - - comparing images in real-time and determining if further images are required based on the quality of the image. A buzzer, speaker, light, visual signal, etc., are provided based on a pre-determined confidence level indicating a likelihood that the images are suitable for determining the oral condition; and visual displays and/or feedback are provided to the user as the images are acquired).
The applied prior art is considered analogous art to the claimed invention because they relate to same field of endeavor. They relate to digital dentistry.
Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to modify the above image capturing and feedback providing system, as taught by Godlevsky, and incorporating the concept of utilizing diverse notification features, as taught by Boerjes.
One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to do this modification in order to provide improve the experience between the patient and dentist by displaying relevant feedback information, as suggested by Boerjes (See C8 17-30).
Citation of Pertinent Prior Art
The following prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure:
Tod et al., US Patent Application Publication No. 2016/0228213 – relates to using smartphones for display and orientation of images related to patient’s teeth.
Park, Wonse, et al. "A portable dental image viewer using a mobile network to provide a tele-dental service." Journal of telemedicine and telecare 15.3 (2009): 145-149.
Coachman, Christian, et al. "Digital smile design concepts." The Technologist (2014): 1-35.
Estai, Mohamed, et al. "Comparison of a smartphone-based photographic method with face-to-face caries assessment: a mobile teledentistry model." Telemedicine and e-Health 23.5 (2017): 435-440.
Uthoff, Ross D., et al. "Point-of-care, smartphone-based, dual-modality, dual-view, oral cancer screening device with neural network classification for low-resource communities." PloS one 13.12 (2018): e0207493.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to CARLOS R ORTIZ RODRIGUEZ whose telephone number is (571)272-3766. The examiner can normally be reached on Mon-Fri 10:00 am- 6:30 pm.
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/CARLOS R ORTIZ RODRIGUEZ/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2119
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