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 Arguments
The RCE filed on 3/31/26 has been entered.
Applicant argues that the amendment of at least one synthesized projection image of an at least three dimensional 3d image volume generated by a medical imaging apparatus is not taught by Navab and Movassaghi. The examiner disagrees. Navab teaches generating synthesized projection images in pars. 12, 22, 39, 44 and 154.
The newly amended claims are rejected below by incorporating new references.
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) 1-11, 13-14, 16 and 18 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Navab (20210103753) in view of Movassaghi (20100014740).
Regarding claim 1, Navab teaches a computer-implemented medical image processing method for locating a structure in a 3D image volume, comprising: receiving input data comprising at least one synthesized projection image of an at least three-dimensional, 3D, image volume generated by a medical imaging apparatus (see pars. 10-18, 22, 25, 154 158-159);
processing the input data by using at least a trained machine learning model to at least facilitate computing a location in the 3D volume of a structure of interest; and outputting output data indicative of the said location (par. 13, 25-26, 31-32, 139-143, 155 and 162).
Movassaghi teaches in the at least 3D volume, wherein at least one of the received at least one projection is the result of a selection operation, the selecting being based on a geometrical property of the structure of interest (see pars. 9-11, 16-21).
It would have been obvious prior to the effective filing date of the invention to one of ordinary skill in the art to include in Navab the ability to geometry based selection as taught by Movassaghi. The reason is to improve the visibility of the region of interest and improve the quality.
Regarding claim 2, see pars . 51-53m 145-146 and 161-162, multiple views, back projecting of Navab.
Regarding claim 3, see pars. 51-53 and 161-162 of Navab.
Regarding claim 4, see pars. 19-20, 34 and 108-112 of Navab.
Regarding claim 5, see pars. 10-11 of Movassaghi.
Regarding claim 6, see par. 154 and 159 of Navab, different samples.
Regarding claim 7, see par. 40, 57-59, 153 and 155 of Navab, ANN.
Regarding claim 8, see par. 39 and 61 of Navab, spine.
Regarding claim 9, see par. 20, 63-67 of Navab, tomography.
Regarding claim 10, see pars. 20, 70-74 and 63-67 of Navab.
Regarding claim 11, see pars. 40, 156-159 and 164-166 of Navab which teaches training and pars. 9-11 of Movassaghi.
Regarding claims 13-14, see the rejection of claim 1.
Regarding claim 16, see pars. 108-113 and 153-166.
Claim(s) 18-19 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Navab (20210103753) in view of Movassaghi (20100014740) in further view of Stetson (20110034803).
Regarding claim 18, see the rejection of claim 1. Navab and Movassaghi do not teach the non-linear projection.
Stetson teaches this in the abstract, pars. 30-31 and claim 1.
It would have been obvious prior the effective filing date of the invention to one of ordinary skill in the art to include in Navab and Movassaghi the use of non linear projections as taught by Stetson in order to enhance the visibility of structures of interest by only selecting certain values.
Regarding claim 19, see the rejection of claim 18.
Claim(s) 20 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Navab (20210103753) in view of Movassaghi (20100014740) in further view of Georgescu (20160174902).
Regarding claim 20, Navab and Movassaghi do not teach a bounding box.
Georgescu teaches using a DNN to ouput a bounding box in pars. 21-26 and 108-113.
It would have been obvious prior to the effective filing date of the invention to one of ordinary skill in the art to include in Navab and Movassaghi the ability to output location data s a bounding box as taught by Georgescu because using a ROI box is well known to show location and information.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to HADI AKHAVANNIK whose telephone number is (571)272-8622. The examiner can normally be reached 9 AM - 5 PM Monday to Friday.
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, Henok Shiferaw can be reached at (571) 272-4637. 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.
/HADI AKHAVANNIK/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2676
Prosecution Insights