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 .
DETAILED ACTION
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) 1-5, 7-13, 15-20 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102a1 as being anticipated by Kambe US2022/0277461.
Kambe discloses for claim 1, “A surgical system for adjusting an endoscope (fifth embodiment 0088-0104; fig 12 of the embodiment with generic figs) , the system comprising:
a processor (2; fig 2; 0088); and
a memory (storage unit 22; fig 2; 0090-0091) storing instructions thereon that, when processed by the processor, cause the processor to:
receive information about an endoscopic surgical procedure, the endoscopic surgical procedure comprising a plurality of steps (0090-0091 describes control unit 21 reads the program 2P for steps of an endoscopic procedure; 0093 also describes manipulation information including state data relating to stages of the procedure);
determine, based on an indication of user input (0094 bending direction as user input) at a first time and based on the information, that the endoscopic surgical procedure is on a first step of the plurality of steps (0094 describes acquiring state data which includes for example insertion amount, bending direction, and light amount and determining the stages of the endoscopic surgical procedure);
determine, when the endoscopic surgical procedure is on the first step, whether the first step requires at least one corrective action to address at least one of an image captured by the endoscope and a function of the endoscope during the first step (0101 describes change instructions of the endoscope settings, including luminance changes of the light source and an image quality parameter are automatically performed by the processor); and
automatically perform, using a data model and in response to determining that the at least one corrective action is required, at least one corrective function during the first step to address the at least one corrective action (0101 describes change instructions of the endoscope settings, including luminance changes of the light source and an image quality parameter are automatically performed by the processor using learning model 522 described at 0094)”.
Kambe discloses for claims 2, 8, 10, 16, and 18, “The surgical system of claim 1, wherein the at least one corrective function is at least one of performing a white balancing, adjusting an image orientation, focusing a surgical scope, causing an illumination source to emit light, causing an imaging device to capture at least one image, and causing a repositioning of the imaging device (0101 describes change instructions of the endoscope settings, including luminance changes of the light source and an image quality parameter are automatically performed by the processor using learning model 522 described at 0094)”.
Kambe discloses for claims 3, 11, and 19, “The surgical system of claim 1, wherein the instructions further cause the processor to: train, using one or more training sets, the data model to perform the at least one corrective function (0101 describes change instructions of the endoscope settings, including luminance changes of the light source and an image quality parameter are automatically performed by the processor using learning model 522 described at 0094; additionally 0067 as the generic embodiment describing the details of the learning model, discloses training the learning model)”.
Kambe discloses for claims 4 and 12, “The surgical system of claim 3, wherein the one or more training sets comprises image data (0066 as the generic embodiment describing the details of the learning model, discloses training data comprising acquired endoscopic images)”.
Kambe discloses for claims 5 and 13, “The surgical system of claim 4, wherein the image data comprise one or more preoperative images, one or more intraoperative images, one or more magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) images, one or more computed tomography (CT) images, or a combination thereof (0066 describes the claimed intraoperative images)”.
Kambe discloses for claims 7, 15, and 20, “The surgical system of claim 1, wherein the instructions further cause the processor to:
determine, based on a second indication of user input at a second time later than the first time and based on the information, that the endoscopic surgical procedure is on a second step of the plurality of steps (as previously disclosed in claim 1, 0094 describes acquiring state data which includes for example insertion amount, bending direction, and light amount and determining the stages of the endoscopic surgical procedure, 0097 additionally describes series of processing and performing multiple steps, i.e. a second step);
determine, when the endoscopic surgical procedure is on the second step, whether the second step requires at least one second corrective action to address at least one of a second image captured by the endoscope and a second function of the endoscope during the second step (0101 describes change instructions of the endoscope settings, including luminance changes of the light source and an image quality parameter are automatically performed by the processor); and
automatically perform, using the data model and in response to determining that the at least one second corrective action is required, at least one second corrective function during the second step to address the at least one second corrective action (0101 describes change instructions of the endoscope settings, including luminance changes of the light source and an image quality parameter are automatically performed by the processor using learning model 522 described at 0094)”.
Kambe discloses for claim 9, “An apparatus (fifth embodiment 0088-0104; fig 12 of the embodiment with generic figs), comprising:
an endoscope or exoscope (0088 describes the apparatus for an endoscope);
a processor (2; fig 2; 0088); and
a memory (storage unit 22; fig 2; 0090-0091) storing instructions thereon that, when processed by the processor, cause the processor to:
receive information about an endoscopic surgical procedure, the endoscopic surgical procedure comprising a plurality of steps (0090-0091 describes control unit 21 reads the program 2P for steps of an endoscopic procedure; 0093 also describes manipulation information including state data relating to stages of the procedure);
determine, based on an indication of user input (0094 bending direction as user input) at a first time and based on the information, that the endoscopic surgical procedure is on a first step of the plurality of steps (0094 describes acquiring state data which includes for example insertion amount, bending direction, and light amount and determining the stages of the endoscopic surgical procedure);
determine, when the endoscopic surgical procedure is on the first step, whether the first step requires at least one corrective action to address at least one of an image captured by the endoscope and a function of the endoscope during the first step (0101 describes change instructions of the endoscope settings, including luminance changes of the light source and an image quality parameter are automatically performed by the processor); and
automatically perform, using a data model and in response to determining that the at least one corrective action is required, at least one corrective function during the first step to address the at least one corrective action (0101 describes change instructions of the endoscope settings, including luminance changes of the light source and an image quality parameter are automatically performed by the processor using learning model 522 described at 0094)”.
Kambe discloses for claim 17, “A method for adjusting an endoscope, comprising:
receiving information about an endoscopic surgical procedure, the endoscopic surgical procedure comprising a plurality of steps (0090-0091 describes control unit 21 reads the program 2P for steps of an endoscopic procedure; 0093 also describes manipulation information including state data relating to stages of the procedure);
determining, based on an indication of user input at a first time and based on the information, that the endoscopic surgical procedure is on a first step of the plurality of steps (0094 describes acquiring state data which includes for example insertion amount, bending direction, and light amount and determining the stages of the endoscopic surgical procedure);
determining, when the endoscopic surgical procedure is on the first step, whether the first step requires at least one corrective action to address at least one of an image captured by the endoscope and a function of the endoscope during the first step (0101 describes change instructions of the endoscope settings, including luminance changes of the light source and an image quality parameter are automatically performed by the processor); and
automatically performing, using a data model and in response to determining that the at least one corrective action is required, at least one corrective function during the first step to address the at least one corrective action (0101 describes change instructions of the endoscope settings, including luminance changes of the light source and an image quality parameter are automatically performed by the processor using learning model 522 described at 0094)”.
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) 6, 14 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kambe.
Kambe’s fifth embodiment (0088-0104) does not disclose for claims 6 and 14, “The surgical system of claim 3, wherein the one or more training sets comprises orientation information collected by an orientation detector”.
Kambe’s first embodiment 0034 describes also collecting positional information via a position sensor including acceleration sensors, gyro, etc. It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to incorporate the modification of the first embodiment into the invention of the fifth embodiment in order to configure the surgical system e.g. as claimed because it allows the disclosed automated controls based on the detected position of the device.
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments filed 11/19/2025 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive.
Applicant’s argument A asserts that Kambe only discloses a computer program used to operate a computer. Kambe discloses more than simply a computer program. 0093 describes the claimed information received, including manipulation information, state data, operation data, and the like.
Applicant’s argument B asserts that Kambe fails to determine whether the procedure is on a first step of the plurality of steps and act accordingly. 0092-0094 describe the claimed limitations, specifically, the start of the procedure is initialized and therefore the program is aware of a start condition and when it is on a first step. 0093 also describes state data being collected to determine the state of the procedure.
Applicant’s argument C asserts that Kambe is silent to any change determination being made in response to being on a first step of a procedure. As cited, 0101 describes automatic adjustments made to the system, this would include at all states of the device include the first step, since 0101 specifically does not preclude this function from operating at any particular step. Additionally, state awareness has been disclosed in the previous argument.
Applicant’s argument D also asserts that Kambe is silent to any corrective action performed at a first step of a procedure, which has been rebutted with respect to argument C above.
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 JAE K WOO whose telephone number is (571)272-0837. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 8:30-2:30p, 6p-9p.
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/Jae Woo/Examiner, Art Unit 3795
/ANH TUAN T NGUYEN/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 3795
3/3/26