Prosecution Insights
Last updated: April 19, 2026
Application No. 17/929,237

METHOD AND SYSTEM FOR USING SENSOR DATA TO DETECT JOINT MISALIGNMENT OF A USER USING A TREATMENT DEVICE TO PERFORM A TREATMENT PLAN

Non-Final OA §103
Filed
Sep 01, 2022
Examiner
LAM, ELIZA ANNE
Art Unit
3681
Tech Center
3600 — Transportation & Electronic Commerce
Assignee
Rom Technologies Inc.
OA Round
3 (Non-Final)
38%
Grant Probability
At Risk
3-4
OA Rounds
4y 6m
To Grant
68%
With Interview

Examiner Intelligence

Grants only 38% of cases
38%
Career Allow Rate
207 granted / 547 resolved
-14.2% vs TC avg
Strong +30% interview lift
Without
With
+30.3%
Interview Lift
resolved cases with interview
Typical timeline
4y 6m
Avg Prosecution
36 currently pending
Career history
583
Total Applications
across all art units

Statute-Specific Performance

§101
27.6%
-12.4% vs TC avg
§103
37.8%
-2.2% vs TC avg
§102
17.6%
-22.4% vs TC avg
§112
14.1%
-25.9% vs TC avg
Black line = Tech Center average estimate • Based on career data from 547 resolved cases

Office Action

§103
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 . 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. Claim(s) 1-20 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over U.S. Patent 9,974,478 to Brokaw et al. in view of U.S. Patent Application Publication 2022/0016484 to Bissonnette et al. As to claims 1, 16, and 20, Brokaw discloses a method comprising: receiving treatment data associated with a user capable of using a treatment device to perform a treatment plan, wherein the treatment data comprises at least one of characteristics of the user, treatment measurement information associated with the user while the user uses the treatment device, one or more characteristics of the treatment device, and at least one aspect of the treatment plan (Brokaw column 27 lines 42-52 see “…measuring a subject's external body motion; transmitting wirelessly or over a hardwire link a signal based in part on the subject's measured external body motion; receiving the wirelessly transmitted signal or over a hardwire link; and providing feedback, electrical stimulation, automatic drug delivery, or other treatment protocols based in part on the signal”); receiving user related data (URD) associated with the user (Brokaw column 29 lines 52-67 and column 30 lines 1-19 see subject data); receiving alignment data associated with the user while the user engages in at least one activity (Brokaw column 32 lines 1-55 see at least “When the system of this exemplary embodiment detects an imbalance in the subject based on the gyroscope and/or accelerometer measurements and signals, the vibrational motor would activate and provide a cue to the subject by vibrating, thus indicating to the subject that he or she is losing balance so that the subject can focus on his or her balance and correct the potentially dangerous movement”); identifying, based on at least the treatment data, the URD, and the alignment data, at least one alignment characteristic associated with the user (Brokaw column 32 lines 1-55), wherein the at least one alignment characteristic includes at least one alignment delta value that indicates a difference between at least some of the alignment data and at least on of (i) at least some of the treatment data (Brokaw column 41 lines 49-67 and column 42 lines 1-67 wherein alignment data is movement data which is compared against thresholds (treatment data)); and modifying at least one aspect of the treatment plan in response to receiving, from a healthcare professional, treatment plan input including at least one modification to the at least one aspect of the treatment plan (Brokaw column 27 lines 42-52 and figure 16A (1615)) wherein at least one modification to at least one aspect of the treatment plan is determined, at least in part, based on the at least one alignment characteristic (Brokaw column 41 lines 49-67 and column 42 lines 1-67 see retraining, reprograming, or updating may be based upon the subjects own personal movement or cuing data). However, Brokaw does not explicitly teach wherein the treatment data comprises one or more characteristics of the treatment device and receiving from one or more sensors of the treatment device while the user uses the treatment device wherein the user related data includes at least one pedal pressure measurement corresponding to a pressure applied by the user to at least one pedal of the treatment device. Bissonnette discloses wherein the treatment data comprises one or more characteristics of the treatment device and receiving from one or more sensors of the treatment device while the user uses the treatment device wherein the user related data includes at least one pedal pressure measurement corresponding to a pressure applied by the user to at least one pedal of the treatment device (Bissonnette [0204]-[0205] see “A pressure sensor may be attached or embedded within each of the pedals 1922, 1924 for measuring an amount of force applied by the user on the pedals 1922, 1924. The measurement from the sensor may be sent to the cloud-based computing system 16.” and “A machine learning model 60 may be trained to receive input (e.g., measurements) and to output a control instruction that causes an operating parameter of the exercise device to change.”). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of the effective filing of the invention by Applicant to monitor a treatment device with pedals as in Bissonnette in the system of Brokaw to improve the ability for the system to provide effective monitoring and treatment of a patient with less provider intervention. As to claim 2 and 17, see the discussion of claim 1, additionally, Brokaw discloses the method wherein the at least one activity includes at least one of using the treatment device (Brokaw column 27 lines 42-52). As to claim 3 and 18, see the discussion of claim 1, additionally, Brokaw discloses the method wherein the healthcare professional uses at least one artificial intelligence engine configured to use at least one machine learning model that generates, based on the at least one alignment characteristic, the treatment plan input (Brokaw column 42 lines 1-67). As to claim 4 and 19, see the discussion of claim 3, additionally, Brokaw discloses the method wherein the artificial intelligence engine is associated with at least one of the treatment device, a remotely located server computing device, and a computing device of a healthcare professional (Brokaw column 5 lines 38-67). As to claim 5, see the discussion of claim 1, additionally, Brokaw discloses the method further comprising communicating with an interface, at a computing device of the healthcare professional, wherein the interface is configured to receive the information associated with the at least one alignment characteristic (Brokaw column 42 lines 1-67). As to claim 6, see the discussion of claim 5, additionally, Brokaw discloses the method wherein the healthcare professional includes a human healthcare professional at least partially responsible for treatment of the user (Brokaw column 42 lines 1-67). As to claim 7, see the discussion of claim 1, additionally, Brokaw discloses the method further comprising controlling, while the user uses the treatment device, and based on the modified the at least one of the at least one aspect and any other aspect of the treatment plan, the treatment device (Brokaw column 27 lines 42-52). As to claim 8, see the discussion of claim 7, additionally, Brokaw discloses the method wherein the user uses the treatment device during a telemedicine session (Brokaw column 19 lines 1-24). As to claim 9, see the discussion of claim 1, additionally, Brokaw discloses the method wherein the treatment measurement information includes, while the user uses the treatment device, at least one of a vital sign of the user (Brokaw column 19 lines 42-61) As to claim 10, see the discussion of claim 1, additionally, Brokaw discloses the method wherein the alignment data includes at least one of relative position data associated with at least one body part associated with the user (Brokaw column 32 lines 1-55). As to claim 11, see the discussion of claim 1, additionally, Brokaw discloses the method wherein at least some of the treatment data corresponds to at least some of the sensor data from a sensor associated with the treatment device (Brokaw column 27 lines 42-52 and figure 16A (1615)). As to claim 12, see the discussion of claim 1, additionally, Brokaw discloses the method wherein, while the user uses the treatment device, at least some of the treatment data corresponds to at least some of the sensor data from a sensor associated with a wearable device worn by the user (Brokaw column 19 lines 25-61). As to claim 13, see the discussion of claim 1, additionally, Brokaw discloses the method wherein, while the user engages in the at least one activity, at least some of the alignment data corresponds to at least some sensor data from a one sensor associated with at least one wearable device worn by the user (Brokaw column 19 lines 25-61). As to claim 14, see the discussion of claim 1, additionally, Brokaw discloses the method wherein the at least one wearable device includes at least one of a pedometer (Brokaw column 38 lines 26-61). As to claim 15, see the discussion of claim 1, additionally, Brokaw discloses the method wherein, while the user engages in the at least one activity, at least some of the alignment data corresponds to at least some sensor data from at least one sensor associated with an image capturing device (Brokaw column 21 lines 15-50). Response to Arguments Applicant asserts that the references do not teach the newly added features. The newly added features are taught by Brokaw as discussed above. In particular Brokaw column 41 lines 49-67 and column 42 lines 1-67 teaches movement data (alignment data) which is compared against thresholds (treatment data) and retraining, reprograming, or updating a cuing device to provide feedback to treat a condition based on the at least one alignment characteristic. Conclusion Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Eliza Lam whose telephone number is (571)270-7052. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday 8-4:30PST. 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, Peter Choi can be reached on 469-295-9171. 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. /ELIZA A LAM/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3681
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Prosecution Timeline

Sep 01, 2022
Application Filed
Mar 22, 2025
Non-Final Rejection — §103
Aug 27, 2025
Response Filed
Sep 16, 2025
Final Rejection — §103
Nov 18, 2025
Response after Non-Final Action
Dec 11, 2025
Request for Continued Examination
Dec 21, 2025
Response after Non-Final Action
Feb 07, 2026
Non-Final Rejection — §103 (current)

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

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Prosecution Projections

3-4
Expected OA Rounds
38%
Grant Probability
68%
With Interview (+30.3%)
4y 6m
Median Time to Grant
High
PTA Risk
Based on 547 resolved cases by this examiner. Grant probability derived from career allow rate.

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