DETAILED ACTION
The following Office Action is in response to the Amendment filed on August 18, 2025. Claims 1-12 are currently pending, wherein of the pending claims, claims 11 and 12 are withdrawn from further consideration.
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 Amendment
Concerning the “Rejections under 35 U.S.C. § 101” section on page 6 of the Applicant’s Response filed on August 18, 2025, the amendments to claims 1 and 6 to address the issue of encompassing a human organism have obviated the necessity of the rejections to the claims under 35 U.S.C. §101. Therefore, the rejections of the claims are withdrawn.
Response to Arguments
Concerning the “Rejections under 35 U.S.C. § 102” section on pages 6-11 of the Applicant’s Response filed on August 18, 2025, the applicant’s arguments have been fully considered, but they are moot in view of the new ground(s) of rejection.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
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) 1-10 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Marshall (US 2,245,350).
Concerning claim 1, the Marshall prior art reference teaches a guide device capable of being utilized for puncturing with a puncture needle from a puncture point A provided at a vicinity of a first point B on a waist of a patient to a target point D inside a patient’s body, the target point corresponding to a second point C different from the first point B on the waist, the guide device comprising: a guide part for guiding the puncturing with the puncture needle (Figure 1; slot dividing plates 10 and 11 may be used to guide a needle by providing an indicia for a longitudinal axis, therein defining the slot as a guide part | See OA Figure 1); and a support base for supporting the guide part (Figure 1; plates 10 and 11 define support base, which define, and thus support the slot) and configured to abut the waist, wherein a portion of the support base is configured to define a first angle with respect to a straight line connecting the puncture point A and the second point C, wherein the first angle is defined by the puncture point A, the second point C, and the first point B (See OA Figure 1), wherein the support base has a blade provided as to protrude from the guide part (Figure 1; 18 | See OA Figure 1), wherein the blade has a reference portion to be positioned at the first point B and a puncture guide portion (Figure 1; 20) configured to indicate the puncture point A, wherein the puncture guide portion is perpendicular to the reference portion and extends to the puncture portion A, and wherein the guide part is provided at a second angle with respect to a line perpendicular to the support base (See OA Figure 1).
Concerning claim 2, the Marshall reference teaches the guide device according to claim 1, wherein the second angle is defined by the puncture point A, the target point D and the second point C (See OA Figure 1).
PNG
media_image1.png
446
696
media_image1.png
Greyscale
OA Figure 1
Concerning claim 3 and 4, the Marshall reference teaches the guide device according to claim 1, wherein the first angle is capable of being 20° to 40° and the second angle is capable of being 10° to 50° depending on the specific trajectory of the guide needle chosen by the user, and the arbitrary points C and D chosen by the user.
Concerning claim 5, the Marshall reference teaches the guide device according to claim 1, wherein the first angle and the second angle are capable of being determined by obtaining at least a CT image of the patient including the puncture point, a CT image of the patient including the target point D, and CT images of the patient between the CT image of the patient including the puncture point A and the CT image of the patient including the target point D (the determination of the first and second angles via CT imagery are method steps that are capable of being performed by a user of the device).
Concerning claim 6, the Marshall reference teaches the guide device according to claim 1, wherein the reference portion is capable of being located along a median line of the waist (the user may place the reference portion as desired, given this is an intended use limitation) and has a predetermined length (the length is predetermined in the design of the plate).
Concerning claim 7, the Marshall reference teaches the guide device according to claim 1, wherein the support base further includes: a notch through which the puncture needle passes (Figure 1; 20), and wherein the puncture guide portion is provided between the reference portion and the notch and is configured to guide the puncture point A through which the puncture needle is inserted into the patient’s body (OA Figure 1, the term ‘portion’ is broad and the bounds of said ‘portion’ may be arbitrarily chosen).
Concerning claim 8, the Marshall reference teaches the guide device according to claim 1, wherein the puncture guide portion has a length corresponding to a straight line connecting the puncture point A and the first point B (the term ‘portion’ is broad and may be arbitrarily chosen to extend a length corresponding to a straight line connecting the puncture point A and first point B).
Concerning claim 9, the Marshall reference teaches the guide device according to claim 1, further comprising a first angle changing device (Figure 1; slide 14 controls the width of the plate, thus adjusting the position of the point B, therein changing the first and second angles).
Concerning claim 10, the Marshall reference teaches the guide device according to claim 1, wherein the guide part has a plurality of guide parts (Figure 1; edges of plates 10 and 11 may define multiple guide parts that make up the slot that defines the guide part), and wherein the second angle may include a plurality of different angles (Figure 1; slide 14 controls the width of the plate, thus adjusting the position of the point B, therein changing the first and second angles), and the plurality of guide parts are provided to be supported by the support base with the different second angles.
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.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to MARTIN TRUYEN TON whose telephone number is (571)270-5122. The examiner can normally be reached Monday - Friday; EST 10:00 AM - 6:30 PM.
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, Darwin Erezo can be reached at 571-272-4695. 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.
/MARTIN T TON/Examiner, Art Unit 3771 11/7/2025