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 .
Continued Examination Under 37 CFR 1.114
A request for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, including the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e), was filed in this application after final rejection. Since this application is eligible for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114. Applicant's submission filed on 12/29/2025 has been entered.
Response to Amendment
This action is in response to the RCE filed on 12/29/2025. The amendments and remarks filed on 11/24/2025 have been entered. Accordingly Claims 1,3-12 and 15-20 are pending. The previous rejections of claims 1,3-12 and 15-20 have been withdrawn in light of Applicant’s amendments and remarks in the claim set filed on 11/24/2025.
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.
Claims 1,3-12 and 15-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Rong et. al. “Cardiac sensing Exploiting an Ultra-Wideband Terahertz Sensing System.” 2020)(hereinafter, “Rong”) in view of Fung et. al. (U.S. 20150229341, August 13, 2015)(hereinafter, “Fung”).
Regarding Claim 1, Rong teaches: A method for non-contact vital sign measurement of a subject (Fig. 1, Section: Introduction), the method comprising:
receiving a terahertz (THz) radar return signal measuring a region of interest of the subject (“…a novel ultra-wideband (sub)Terahertz sensing system (UWTS) not only capable of high spatial resolution imaging but also capable of remote cardiac sensing.”, section: Introduction. See Fig. 1);
processing the radar return signal to generate micro-Doppler data and reflectance-based data of the region of interest wherein the reflectance-based data indicates an absorption level of a reflected THz radar return signal relative to a transmitted three-dimensional (3D) THz radar signal (“The SFMCW radar transmits a series of discrete narrow band pulses in a stepwise to achieve a larger effective bandwidth. As such, the modulated waveform consists of a group of N coherent pulses with pulse duration T…” Section II: Signal Model;“…with wider bandwidth, our UWTS system can perform time-domain based micromotion analysis and extract meaningful motion information in the temporal domain. Time-frequency methods, such as the popular micro-Doppler analysis [23], are utilized when using conventional RF devices for motion analysis, such gaits, hand gesture, head motion, heartbeat. The time-varying characteristics of motion pattern is analyzed with the help of spectral analysis.” Section III(A): Spatial/Range Resolvability; See Fig. 1);
with regards to limitation: and estimating vital sign information of the subject from the micro-Doppler data and changes in the reflectance-based data, wherein the changes in the reflectance-based data indicate changes in amounts of oxygenated and deoxygenated blood, which have different absorption levels, Rong further teaches: “…we exploit the spatial resolution and large signaling BW to enable precise pulse measurement by pointing a narrow-focused beam to the strategic body parts and, by doing so, significantly reducing the breathing artifacts and other random body movement interferences. Herein, we present results denoting that the vital signs can be extracted in the presence of breathing for various body parts…” Section I: Introduction; “To demonstrate the superior cardiac sensitivity of the proposed system we map the extracted phase variations (I/Q samples) due to heartbeat onto a unit circle in Fig. 4…” Section III(A): Spatial/Range Resolvability.
Rong does not explicitly teach the changes in the reflectance-based data indicate changes in amounts of oxygenated and deoxygenated blood.
Fung in the field of photoplethysmography systems teaches: “The sensor assembly sensors can provide various types of physiological data that can be evaluated by the computing device 104 to determine the physiological state of the driver 118. Various types of physiological data that can be received from the sensor assembly sensors include, but are not limited to, heart information, such as, heart rate, blood pressure, blood flow, oxygen content, blood alcohol content (BAC), brain information, such as, functional near infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS), respiration rate information, as well as other kinds of information related to the autonomic nervous system or other biological systems of the driver 118.” [0031]; “The one or more optical sensors 202 can each measure the amount of light that is reflected by the tissue in order to determine an amount of light that is absorbed by the driver's body. In other words, the optical sensors 202 can measure the pulsation change in the driver's blood volume with respect to oxygen saturation as more blood will absorb a higher amount of light, and less blood will absorb a lesser amount of light.” [0041].
Therefore, it would be obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to modify the reflectance-based data in Rong to indicate changes in amounts of oxygenated and deoxygenated blood as taught in Fung to “…provide various types of physiological data that can be evaluated…” (Fung, [0031]).
Regarding Claim 3, the combination of Rong and Fung teach the claim limitations as noted above.
Rong further teaches: further comprising transmitting the 3D THz radar signal using an ultra-wideband (UWB) radar emitter (“…a novel ultra-wideband (sub)Terahertz sensing system (UWTS) not only capable of high spatial resolution imaging but also capable of remote cardiac sensing.”, section: Introduction. See Fig. 1).
Regarding Claim 4, the combination of Rong and Fung teach the claim limitations as noted above.
Rong further teaches: wherein the 3D THz radar signal is between 100 gigahertz and 1OTHz (“…we increase the operating frequency to THz waves, ranging from 100 GHz to a few THz. These non-ionizing frequencies possess unique electromagnetic characteristics: sub-millimeter free space wavelength and availability of large frequency bandwidth.” (section: Introduction);“In this example three scenarios are considered, in which the center frequency varies from 300 GHz, 350 GHz, and 450 GHz while the BW is fixed at 30 GHz.” Section II (B): Advantage of Phase Sensitivity).
Regarding Claim 5, the combination of Rong and Fung teach the claim limitations as noted above.
Rong further teaches: further comprising transmitting the 3D THz radar signal using a stepped-frequency continuous-wave (SFCW) radar emitter (“Herein we use a stepped-FMCW (SFMCW) radar…The SFMCW radar transmits a series of discrete narrow band pulses in a stepwise to achieve a larger effective bandwidth.” Section II: Signal model. See Fig. 1).
Regarding Claim 6, the combination of Rong and Fung teach the claim limitations as noted above.
Rong further teaches: further comprising estimating a macro body motion of the subject using the micro-Doppler data (“The short wavelength of THz waves previously used for high resolution imaging radars are also exploited here to enhance cardiac sensing performance…we exploit the spatial resolution and large signaling BW to enable precise pulse measurement by pointing a narrow-focused beam to the strategic body parts and, by doing so, significantly reducing the breathing artifacts and other random body movement interferences. Herein, we present results denoting that the vital signs can be extracted in the presence of breathing for various body parts…” section I: Introduction).
Regarding Claim 7, the combination of Rong and Fung teach the claim limitations as noted above.
Rong further teaches: further comprising extracting activity information from the micro-Doppler data (“Moreover, with wider bandwidth, our UWTS system can perform time-domain based micromotion analysis and extract meaningful motion information in the temporal domain. Time-frequency methods, such as the popular micro-Doppler analysis [23], are utilized when using conventional RF devices for motion analysis, such gaits, hand gesture, head motion, heartbeat. The time-varying characteristics of motion pattern is analyzed with the help of spectral analysis.” Section III (A): Spatial/Range Resolvability).
Regarding Claim 8, the combination of Rong and Fung teach the claim limitations as noted above.
Rong further teaches: wherein the activity information comprises at least one of a gait of the subject or a type of activity engaged in by the subject (“Moreover, with wider bandwidth, our UWTS system can perform time-domain based micromotion analysis and extract meaningful motion information in the temporal domain. Time-frequency methods, such as the popular micro-Doppler analysis [23], are utilized when using conventional RF devices for motion analysis, such gaits, hand gesture, head motion, heartbeat. The time-varying characteristics of motion pattern is analyzed with the help of spectral analysis.” Section III (A): Spatial/Range Resolvability).
Regarding Claim 9, the combination of Rong and Fung teach the claim limitations as noted above.
Rong further teaches: wherein the vital sign information comprises at least one of a heart rate, a heartbeat waveform, a heart rate variability (HRV), vascular aging information, or artery stiffness information (“In Fig. 6(a), the radar measurement (in blue curve) is well aligned with the reference pulse waveform (in red curve). In Fig. 6(b)(c), more quantitative representation of the results are given. In Fig. 6(b), the R-peaks extracted from the reference pulse are plotted against the measurement results. R-R intervals indicates important heart health conditions when performing heart-variability analysis…Additionally, the heart rate estimates using UWTS are consistent with the reference heart rates. These results are summarized in Table II, where the heart rate is computed as the averaged R-R interval times 60 s. The unit is beats per minute.” Section IV(B): Cardiac Measurements of Peripheral Body Parts).
Regarding Claim 10, the combination of Rong and Fung teach the claim limitations as noted above.
Rong further teaches: wherein the micro-Doppler data is determined based on phase variation data associated with the radar return signal, and the reflectance-based data is based on magnitude variation data associated with the radar return signal (The range profile is obtained by performaing inverse Fourier transform of the N fast frequnecy samples with respect to n for every frame. Then, the normalized baseband slow-time (m) versus fast-time (k) data matrix is computed... The phase information directly related to motion of interest is perserved in the term ej2πf0τD(m) . To extract signal of interest with maximum SNR…” section II: Signal Model; “Our UWTS system can detect physical displacement as small as a few micrometers at short distance if the scattering field is able to generate enough backscattered energy. This ability is evident from Eqn. 5. Theoretically, the extracted phase variation is linearly related to the target motion…” section III(B): Advantage of Phase Sensitivity)
Regarding Claim 11, Rong teaches: A terahertz-wave-plethysmography (TPG) sensor, comprising: a terahertz (THz) radar sensor (“…a novel ultra-wideband (sub)Terahertz sensing system (UWTS) not only capable of high spatial resolution imaging but also capable of remote cardiac sensing.”, section: Introduction. See Fig. 1);
and a signal processor configured to: receive a radar return signal from the THz radar sensor (“The SFMCW radar transmits a series of discrete narrow band pulses in a stepwise to achieve a larger effective bandwidth. As such, the modulated waveform consists of a group of N coherent pulses with pulse duration T…” Section II: Signal Model);
measure an absorption level of the radar return signal relative to a transmitted three-dimensional (3D) THz radar signal and micro-Doppler data of a region of interest of one or more subjects (“…with wider bandwidth, our UWTS system can perform time-domain based micromotion analysis and extract meaningful motion information in the temporal domain. Time-frequency methods, such as the popular micro-Doppler analysis [23], are utilized when using conventional RF devices for motion analysis, such gaits, hand gesture, head motion, heartbeat. The time-varying characteristics of motion pattern is analyzed with the help of spectral analysis.” Section III(A): Spatial/Range Resolvability; See Fig. 1);
with regards to limitation: and extract vital sign information of the one or more subjects based on the micro- Doppler data and changes in absorption levels of the radar return signal indicating changes in amounts of oxygenated and deoxygenated blood, Rong further teaches: “…we exploit the spatial resolution and large signaling BW to enable precise pulse measurement by pointing a narrow-focused beam to the strategic body parts and, by doing so, significantly reducing the breathing artifacts and other random body movement interferences. Herein, we present results denoting that the vital signs can be extracted in the presence of breathing for various body parts…” Section I: Introduction; “To demonstrate the superior cardiac sensitivity of the proposed system we map the extracted phase variations (I/Q samples) due to heartbeat onto a unit circle in Fig. 4…” Section III(A): Spatial/Range Resolvability.
Rong does not explicitly teach the changes in the reflectance-based data indicate changes in amounts of oxygenated and deoxygenated blood.
Fung in the field of photoplethysmography systems teaches: “The sensor assembly sensors can provide various types of physiological data that can be evaluated by the computing device 104 to determine the physiological state of the driver 118. Various types of physiological data that can be received from the sensor assembly sensors include, but are not limited to, heart information, such as, heart rate, blood pressure, blood flow, oxygen content, blood alcohol content (BAC), brain information, such as, functional near infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS), respiration rate information, as well as other kinds of information related to the autonomic nervous system or other biological systems of the driver 118.” [0031]; “The one or more optical sensors 202 can each measure the amount of light that is reflected by the tissue in order to determine an amount of light that is absorbed by the driver's body. In other words, the optical sensors 202 can measure the pulsation change in the driver's blood volume with respect to oxygen saturation as more blood will absorb a higher amount of light, and less blood will absorb a lesser amount of light.” [0041]
Therefore, it would be obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to modify the reflectance-based data in Rong to indicate changes in amounts of oxygenated and deoxygenated blood as taught in Fung to “…provide various types of physiological data that can be evaluated…” (Fung, [0031]).
Regarding Claim 12, the combination of Rong and Fung teach the claim limitations as noted above.
Rong further teaches: wherein the vital sign information comprises at least one of a heart rate, a heart signal, a heart rate variability (HRV), or inter-beat interval data of the one or more subjects (“In Fig. 6(a), the radar measurement (in blue curve) is well aligned with the reference pulse waveform (in red curve). In Fig. 6(b)(c), more quantitative representation of the results are given. In Fig. 6(b), the R-peaks extracted from the reference pulse are plotted against the measurement results. R-R intervals indicates important heart health conditions when performing heart-variability analysis…Additionally, the heart rate estimates using UWTS are consistent with the reference heart rates. These results are summarized in Table II, where the heart rate is computed as the averaged R-R interval times 60 s. The unit is beats per minute.” Section IV(B): Cardiac Measurements of Peripheral Body Parts).
Regarding Claim 15, the combination of Rong and Fung teach the claim limitations as noted above.
Rong further teaches: wherein the micro-Doppler data comprises a set of micro-Doppler images of the region of interest (“…a novel ultra-wideband (sub)Terahertz sensing system (UWTS) not only capable of high spatial resolution imaging but also capable of remote cardiac sensing.”, section: Introduction; “Using this system we extracted the vital signs from various body parts leveraging the advantages of THz waves including highly directive beams and great range resolution due to large bandwidth. Being able use high spatial resolution THz images to strategically detect pulse information.” Section V: conclusion).
Regarding Claim 16, the combination of Rong and Fung teach the claim limitations as noted above.
Rong further teaches: wherein the radar return signal is reflected by a dermis layer of skin of the one or more subjects (“Three representative examples are provided, in which measurements are taken from inner elbow, wrist and head. During the experiments, the test subject maintains quasi-stationary status, breathing normally but with minimum body movement.” Section IV(B):Cardiac measurements of peripheral body parts. See Figs. 1 and 6).
Regarding Claim 17, the combination of Rong and Fung teach the claim limitations as noted above.
Rong further teaches: further comprising: an ultra-wideband (UWB) radar emitter that emits the 3D THz radar signal, wherein the radar return signal is a reflection of the 3D THz radar signal (“…a novel ultra-wideband (sub)Terahertz sensing system (UWTS) not only capable of high spatial resolution imaging but also capable of remote cardiac sensing.”, section: Introduction. See Fig. 1).
Regarding Claim 18, the combination of Rong and Fung teach the claim limitations as noted above.
Rong further teaches: further comprising: a stepped-frequency continuous-wave (SFCW) radar emitter that emits the 3D THz radar signal, wherein the radar return signal is a reflection of the 3D THz radar signal (“Herein we use a stepped-FMCW (SFMCW) radar…The SFMCW radar transmits a series of discrete narrow band pulses in a stepwise to achieve a larger effective bandwidth.” Section II: Signal model. See Fig. 1).
Regarding Claim 19, the combination of Rong and Fung teach the claim limitations as noted above.
Rong further teaches: wherein the signal processor is further configured to identify a first human subject and a second human subject based on the radar return signal (see Fig. 1).
Regarding Claim 20, Rong teaches: processor configured to: receive a radar return signal from a terahertz (THz) radar sensor (“…a novel ultra-wideband (sub)Terahertz sensing system (UWTS) not only capable of high spatial resolution imaging but also capable of remote cardiac sensing.”, section: Introduction.; “The SFMCW radar transmits a series of discrete narrow band pulses in a stepwise to achieve a larger effective bandwidth. As such, the modulated waveform consists of a group of N coherent pulses with pulse duration T…” Section II: Signal Model; See Fig.1);
measure an absorption level of the radar return signal relative to a transmitted three- dimensional (3D) THz radar signal and micro-Doppler data of a region of interest of one or more subjects (“…with wider bandwidth, our UWTS system can perform time-domain based micromotion analysis and extract meaningful motion information in the temporal domain. Time-frequency methods, such as the popular micro-Doppler analysis [23], are utilized when using conventional RF devices for motion analysis, such gaits, hand gesture, head motion, heartbeat. The time-varying characteristics of motion pattern is analyzed with the help of spectral analysis.” Section III(A): Spatial/Range Resolvability; See Fig. 1);
with regards to limitation: and extract vital sign information of the one or more subjects based on the micro-Doppler data and changes in absorption levels of the radar return signal indicating changes in amounts of oxygenated and deoxygenated blood, Rong further teaches: “…we exploit the spatial resolution and large signaling BW to enable precise pulse measurement by pointing a narrow-focused beam to the strategic body parts and, by doing so, significantly reducing the breathing artifacts and other random body movement interferences. Herein, we present results denoting that the vital signs can be extracted in the presence of breathing for various body parts…” Section I: Introduction; “To demonstrate the superior cardiac sensitivity of the proposed system we map the extracted phase variations (I/Q samples) due to heartbeat onto a unit circle in Fig. 4…” Section III(A): Spatial/Range Resolvability.
Rong does not explicitly teach a non-transitory computer-readable medium and the changes in the reflectance-based data indicate changes in amounts of oxygenated and deoxygenated blood.
Fung in the field of photoplethysmography systems teaches: “The sensor assembly sensors can provide various types of physiological data that can be evaluated by the computing device 104 to determine the physiological state of the driver 118. Various types of physiological data that can be received from the sensor assembly sensors include, but are not limited to, heart information, such as, heart rate, blood pressure, blood flow, oxygen content, blood alcohol content (BAC), brain information, such as, functional near infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS), respiration rate information, as well as other kinds of information related to the autonomic nervous system or other biological systems of the driver 118.” [0031]; “The one or more optical sensors 202 can each measure the amount of light that is reflected by the tissue in order to determine an amount of light that is absorbed by the driver's body. In other words, the optical sensors 202 can measure the pulsation change in the driver's blood volume with respect to oxygen saturation as more blood will absorb a higher amount of light, and less blood will absorb a lesser amount of light.” [0041]; “Non-transitory computer-readable storage media includes computer storage media and communication media. For example, flash memory drives, digital versatile discs (DVDs), compact discs (CDs), floppy disks, and tape cassettes. Non-transitory computer-readable storage media may include volatile and nonvolatile, removable and non-removable media implemented in any method or technology for storage of information such as computer readable instructions, data structures, modules or other data. Non-transitory computer readable storage media excludes transitory and propagated data signals.” [0090]
Therefore, it would be obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to include in Rong a non-transitory computer medium and modify the reflectance-based data in Rong to indicate changes in amounts of oxygenated and deoxygenated blood as taught in Fung to “…provide various types of physiological data that can be evaluated…” (Fung, [0031]).
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments with respect to the amended claims have been considered but are moot because the new ground of rejection does not rely on any reference applied in the prior rejection of record for any teaching or matter specifically challenged in the argument.
Conclusion
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/AMAL ALY FARAG/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3798