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 .
Election/Restrictions
Applicant’s election without traverse of the invention of Group II, claims 13- 16 in the reply filed on12/18/25 is acknowledged.
Claims 1- 12 and 17- 20 are withdrawn from further consideration pursuant to 37 CFR 1.142(b) as being drawn to a nonelected inventions, there being no allowable generic or linking claim.
Claim Objections
Claim 13 is objected to because of the following informalities: lines 4- 6- “a catheter coupled with a dual shuttle at a proximal end to enable the deployment of a stent at a distal end of the catheter which is inserted within the vessel lumen at a location of a treatment area” should be amended to - - a catheter coupled with a dual shuttle at a proximal end to enable the deployment of the compressed expandable structure at a distal end of the catheter which is inserted within the vessel lumen at a location of a treatment area - - since it is clear that applicant is referring to the compressed expandable structure recited in claim 13, line 1, amending the claim would provide consistent claim terminology. Appropriate correction is required.
Claims 14- 16 are objected to because they depend off claim 13.
Claim 13 is objected to because of the following informalities: lines 7- 8- “a first cable connected to an inner lumen shuttle coupled to an inner lumen that the compressed expandable structure is affixed” should be amended to - - a first cable connected to an inner lumen shuttle of the dual shuttle coupled to an inner lumen [[that]] to which the compressed expandable structure is affixed - - since it is clear that the dual shuttle comprises the inner lumen shuttle and the outer sheath shuttle, amending the claim would provide proper antecedent basis for the inner lumen shuttle and since it is clear that the compressed expandable structure is affixed to an inner lumen, amending the claim would provide the correct prepositional phrase. Appropriate correction is required.
Claims 14- 16 are objected to because they depend off claim 13.
Claim 13 is objected to because of the following informalities: lines 8- 9- “a second cable connected to an outer sheath shuttle coupled to an outer sheath that covers the compressed expandable structure” should be amended to - - a second cable connected to an outer sheath shuttle of the dual shuttle coupled to an outer sheath that covers the compressed expandable structure - - since it is clear that the dual shuttle comprises the inner lumen shuttle and the outer sheath shuttle, amending the claim would provide proper antecedent basis for the outer sheath shuttle. Appropriate correction is required.
Claims 14- 16 are objected to because they depend off claim 13.
Claim 13 is objected to because of the following informalities: lines 9- 10- “wherein the shuttle's inner lumen and the outer sheath is positioned on the distal end of the catheter” should be amended to - - wherein the sheath is positioned on the distal end of the catheter - - since “an inner lumen” is recited in line 7 of claim 1, amending the claim would provide consistent claim terminology. Appropriate correction is required.
Claims 14- 16 are objected to because they depend off claim 13.
Claim 13 is objected to because of the following informalities: lines 9- 10 – “wherein the shuttle's inner lumen and the outer sheath is positioned on the distal end of the catheter” should be amended to - - wherein the are positioned on the distal end of the catheter - - to correct an apparent typographical error. Appropriate correction is required.
Claims 14- 16 are objected to because they depend off claim 13.
Claim 13 is objected to because of the following informalities: lines 11- 13- “a thumbwheel coupled to the catheter that when actuated, draws each cable in an opposite direction to cause the shuttle's inner lumen to advance in the opposite direction to the shuttle's outer sheath” should be amended to - - a thumbwheel coupled to the catheter that when actuated, is configured to draw each cable in an opposite direction to cause the . Appropriate correction is required.
Claims 14- 16 are objected to because they depend off claim 13.
Claim 13 is objected to because of the following informalities: lines 14- 17- “in response to the rotation of the thumbwheel, the shuttle's outer sheath covering the compressed expandable structure at the catheter's distal end is withdrawn while simultaneously the shuttle's inner lumen attached to the compressed expandable structure at the catheter's distal end is inserted” should be amended to - - in response to [[the]] a rotation of the thumbwheel, the configured to be withdrawn while simultaneously the configured to be inserted - - since claim 13 is an apparatus claim, amending the claim would provide appropriate functional language rather than language associated with a method step. Appropriate correction is required.
Claims 14- 16 are objected to because they depend off claim 13.
Claim 13 is objected to because of the following informalities: lines 18- 20- “in the deployment by simultaneous withdrawal and insertion of the shuttle's outer sheath and inner lumen, the compressed expandable structure is placed at a deployment location nearer to the catheter's distal end for more accurate positioning to the treatment area's location” should be amended to - - in the deployment by simultaneous withdrawal and insertion of the shuttle's outer sheath and inner lumen, the compressed expandable structure is configured to be placed at a deployment location nearer to the catheter's distal end for more accurate positioning to the treatment area's location - - since claim 13 is an apparatus claim, amending the claim would provide appropriate functional language rather than language associated with a method step. Appropriate correction is required.
Claims 14- 16 are objected to because they depend off claim 13.
Claim 14 is objected to because of the following informalities: “further comprising, in response to the simultaneous withdrawal and the insertion of the shuttle's outer sheath and inner lumen at the deployment, the catheter deployment device is configured with a difference in a rate of motion of withdrawal of the shuttle's outer sheath shuttle to the insertion of the shuttle's inner lumen that corresponds to an expansion of the compressed expandable structure” should be amended to - - further comprising, in response to the simultaneous withdrawal and the insertion of the shuttle's outer sheath and inner lumen at the deployment, the catheter deployment device is configured with a difference [[in]] between a rate of motion of the withdrawal of the and a rate of motion of the insertion of the . Appropriate correction is required.
Claims 15 and 16 are objected to because they depend off claim 14.
Claim 15 is objected to because of the following informalities: “further comprising: the catheter deployment device is configured for a difference in a rate of motion to account for a change in length that results from the expansion in the compressed expandable structure” should be amended to - - further comprising: the catheter deployment device is configured for [[a]] the difference in [[a]] the rate of motion to account for a change in length that results from the expansion in the compressed expandable structure - - since it is clear that applicant is referring to the same difference in the rate of motion recited in claim 14, lines 3- 4, amending the claim would provide proper antecedent basis. Appropriate correction is required.
Claim 16 is objected to because it depends off claim 15.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(b):
(b) CONCLUSION.—The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor regards as the invention.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph:
The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the applicant regards as his invention.
Claims 13- 16 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph, as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor (or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the applicant), regards as the invention.
Claim 13 recites the limitation "the rotation of the thumbwheel" in line 14. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim. For the purposes of examination, claim 13 is interpreted as reciting - - in response to the actuation of the thumbwheel - - .
Claims 14- 16 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph, as being dependent off claim 13.
Claim 16 recites the limitation "the diameter of each pully" in line 3. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim. For the purposes of examination and to correct an apparent typographical error, claim 16 is interpreted as reciting - - [[the]] a diameter of a pulley for each cable - - .
Allowable Subject Matter
Claim 13 would be allowable if rewritten or amended to overcome the claim informalities and the rejection(s) under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), 2nd paragraph, set forth in this Office action.
Claims 14- 16 would be allowable if rewritten to overcome the claim informalities and the rejection(s) under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), 2nd paragraph, set forth in this Office action and to include all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims.
The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter:
Regarding claim 13, the prior art does not teach or suggest, alone or in combination with the remainder of the claim limitations, a first cable connected to an inner lumen shuttle coupled to an inner lumen that the compressed expandable structure is affixed and a second cable connected to an outer sheath shuttle coupled to an outer sheath that covers the compressed expandable structure wherein the shuttle's inner lumen and the outer sheath is positioned on the distal end of the catheter;
a thumbwheel coupled to the catheter that when actuated, draws each cable in an opposite direction to cause the shuttle's inner lumen to advance in the opposite direction to the shuttle's outer sheath.
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure:
Kavteladze et al. (US Pat. No. 5,707,376) teaches a self-expanding stent 14 that is deployed from introducer 10 by operating and, in particular, moving outer member 11 in operable direction 13 and inner member 15 in operable direction 16 (which is opposite operable direction 13 as shown in Fig. 1. However, Kavteladze teaches that rotation of the drive wheel, as well as the input drive member, causes movement of outer member carrier 20 in operable direction 13 and movement of inner member carrier 21 in operable direction 16 (See Fig. 4), but Kavteladze does not teach or suggest, alone or in combination, a first cable connected to an inner lumen shuttle coupled to an inner lumen that the compressed expandable structure is affixed and a second cable connected to an outer sheath shuttle coupled to an outer sheath that covers the compressed expandable structure wherein the shuttle's inner lumen and the outer sheath is positioned on the distal end of the catheter;
a thumbwheel coupled to the catheter that when actuated, draws each cable in an opposite direction to cause the shuttle's inner lumen to advance in the opposite direction to the shuttle's outer sheath.
Weldon et al. (US Pub. No. 2003/0191516 A1) teaches a stent delivery system comprising an outer sheath that radially surrounds the stent, a pusher positioned at one end of the stent, and a linkage between the pusher and the outer sheath that coordinates movement of the outer sheath in a first direction with simultaneous movement of the pusher in a second direction opposite the first direction. Weldon teaches that the linkage comprises a rack and pinion system having intermeshing teeth 13. As such, Weldon does not teach or suggest, alone or in combination, a first cable connected to an inner lumen shuttle coupled to an inner lumen that the compressed expandable structure is affixed and a second cable connected to an outer sheath shuttle coupled to an outer sheath that covers the compressed expandable structure wherein the shuttle's inner lumen and the outer sheath is positioned on the distal end of the catheter;
a thumbwheel coupled to the catheter that when actuated, draws each cable in an opposite direction to cause the shuttle's inner lumen to advance in the opposite direction to the shuttle's outer sheath.
Carr et al. (US Pub. No. 2014/0135909 A1) teaches a heart valve delivery system that can create simultaneous movement of an inner and an outer sheath of the delivery system. A handle assembly can include a housing with a thumbwheel acting as the control element. In certain embodiments, movement of the inner shaft and the outer sheath can be caused via a gear-type system. However, Carr does not teach or suggest, alone or in combination, a first cable connected to an inner lumen shuttle coupled to an inner lumen that the compressed expandable structure is affixed and a second cable connected to an outer sheath shuttle coupled to an outer sheath that covers the compressed expandable structure wherein the shuttle's inner lumen and the outer sheath is positioned on the distal end of the catheter;
a thumbwheel coupled to the catheter that when actuated, draws each cable in an opposite direction to cause the shuttle's inner lumen to advance in the opposite direction to the shuttle's outer sheath.
Conclusion
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/KANKINDI RWEGO/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3771