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 Objections
Claim 12 is objected to because of the following informalities: The text “It is” (line 10) appears to be errant text. Appropriate correction is required.
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, 6, 7, and 12 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Hiroshi (JP H0884704). Hiroshi discloses a system for non-invasive multichannel detection and monitoring of a user's intracranial pressure (Figures 1-3), based on cranial deformation, comprising:
a. a multichannel device for detecting and monitoring intracranial pressure comprising a plurality of biometric units positionable on the user's head (the intracranial pressure detecting device 1 comprises a fixing structure 11 comprising six bags 12a 1-12a3, each comprising a pressure sensor 15; the sensors 15 detect mechanical deformations of the skull caused by fluctuations of intracranial pressure), wherein the plurality of biometric units performs a detection of a skull volumetric variation and is configured to communicate with at least one processing unit (computer unit 3), said processing unit comprising a processor communicating with a communication interface for reading and processing signals from each biometric unit (all pressure data from each pressure sensor 5 is transmitted to computer 3), wherein the communication interface is configured to receive signals from each biometric unit; and
b. a receiver (the computer 3 comprises a receiver to receive the pressure data from each sensor 15) operationally communicating with the processing unit of the intracranial pressure detection and monitoring device.
Operating the structure in its intended manner, one would perform the corresponding method steps as set forth in claim 12.
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) 2-5, 7-11 and 13-15 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Hiroshi as applied to claim 1, 6, and 12 above, further in view of Andrade et al. (USPGPub 20190175035 – cited by applicant). Hiroshi teach a multichannel intracranial pressure detection monitoring arrangement and method as discussed above, but teach use of six pressure receiving and detecting parts (12a1 – 12a3, etc) instead of plural sensor units that each comprise a displacement sensor, a contact sensor, a plethysmography sensor, and an inertial sensor. However, Andrade et al. teach an alternate intracranial pressure sensor that includes a displacement sensor, a contact sensor, a plethysmography sensor, and an inertial sensor (Figures 4 – 6 and the descriptions thereof) suitable for positioning at different positions on a subject’s head (Figures 14, 16, 18, 19) to collect data related to intracranial pressure for management and monitoring of a user (Summary). As such, it would have been within the skill level of the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have substituted the sensors of Andrade et al. for the six sensors of Hiroshi, since it has generally been held to be within the skill of the art to modify an invention to use alternate equivalent expedients. Additionally, it is known in multiple sensor arrangements to assess quality of collected signals from each sensor and to accept/select only those signals providing an acceptable level of information to provide higher quality results, such that it would have been within the skill level of the art to have further modified the combination to assess the signals and select accordingly.
Conclusion
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/ERIC F WINAKUR/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3791
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