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 .
Continued Examination Under 37 CFR 1.114
A request for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, including the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e), was filed in this application after final rejection. Since this application is eligible for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114. Applicant's submission filed on 21 January 2026 has been entered.
Claim 12 is withdrawn; claims 1-11 are pending.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments, see “Remarks”, filed 21 January 2026, with respect to the rejection(s) of claim(s) 1-11 under Lu have been fully considered and are persuasive. Therefore, the rejection has been withdrawn. However, upon further consideration, a new ground(s) of rejection is made in view of Sliwa.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
In the event the determination of the status of the application as subject to AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103 (or as subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103) is incorrect, any correction of the statutory basis (i.e., changing from AIA to pre-AIA ) for the rejection will not be considered a new ground of rejection if the prior art relied upon, and the rationale supporting the rejection, would be the same under either status.
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.
Claims 1-10 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Patil et al (U.S. 2014/0142398). Patil discloses (par. 0083) a first coil (0277) at a location within the catheter and electrically insulated by the catheter (par. 0083), the first coil configured to output signals to determine a position of the first coil within a body of a patient (par. 0309); and a second coil (0277) along an outside of the catheter, the second coil comprising a wire wound around the catheter such that the second coil defines at least two windings, the second coil including an uninsulated portion (par. 0293) of a predetermined number of windings configured to contact tissue within the body of the patient and output 1) electrocardiogram (ECG) signals (par. 0080), and 2) signals indicative of voltages corresponding to tissue impedance from a magnetic field through body tissues and/or fluids (par. 0448-0453).
Regarding claim 2, Patil discloses (par. 0309) the second coil is additionally configured to output signals for determining the position of the second coil within the body.
Regarding claim 3, Patil discloses (Figure 28) the predetermined number of windings includes at least two.
Regarding claim 4, Patil discloses (par. 0288) the first coil and the second coil are coaxial with each other.
Regarding claim 5, Patil discloses (Figure 29) the second coil extends over at least a portion of the first coil.
Regarding claim 6, Patil discloses (Figure 29) the second coil extends within the span of the first coil.
Regarding claim 7, Patil discloses (par. 0084) a processor in communication with the second coil for receiving signals indicative of voltages corresponding to impedance from the magnetic field through body tissues and/or fluids, and analyzing the received signals to determine the body tissues and/or fluids proximate to the sensor.
Regarding claim 8, Patil discloses (par. 0359) a processor in communication with the second coil for receiving ECG signals for constructing an electroanatomical map of the body traveled by the catheter.
Regarding claim 9, Patil discloses (par. 0083) the second coil includes one or more wires wound helically around the catheter such that there are at least two windings.
Regarding claim 10, Patil discloses (par. 0083) the at least two windings are at a predetermined distance from each other for avoiding short circuiting between the windings.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
In the event the determination of the status of the application as subject to AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103 (or as subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103) is incorrect, any correction of the statutory basis (i.e., changing from AIA to pre-AIA ) for the rejection will not be considered a new ground of rejection if the prior art relied upon, and the rationale supporting the rejection, would be the same under either status.
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 11 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Patil et al (U.S. 2014/0142398). Patil discloses the claimed invention except for the predetermined distance between the at least two windings is at least 0.5 mm It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was made to provide a distance between the windings of this range, since it has been held that discovering the optimum or workable ranges involves only routine skill in the art. See In re Aller, 105 USPQ 233.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to DEBORAH L MALAMUD whose telephone number is (571)272-2106. The examiner can normally be reached Mon - Fri 1:00-9:30 Eastern.
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/DEBORAH L MALAMUD/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3792
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