DETAILED ACTION
This Office Action is in response to the communication dated 13 July 2026 concerning Application No. 18/209,007 filed on 13 June 2023.
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 .
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 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.
Status of Claims
Claims 1, 3-6, 8, and 10-14 are pending and currently under consideration for patentability; claims 2, 7, 9, and 15 previously were cancelled.
Information Disclosure Statement
The Information Disclosure Statement (IDS) submitted on 03 August 2026 has been acknowledged and considered by the Examiner.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments dated 13 July 2026 have been fully considered, but they are not persuasive.
Regarding the combination of the references, Applicant argues that “Reifman discusses data pre-processing…not removing noise or outliers,” whereas “Chung discusses removing outlier data points…rather than pre-processing the data” (Arguments, p. 6). Applicant concludes that “it appears that the references at most teach individual concepts, rather than a combinable teaching of claim 1” (Arguments, p. 6). The Examiner respectfully disagrees and maintains that the references, in addition to teaching the individual concepts recited in the claim, are combinable into an overall method that obviates Applicant’s independent claims. For example, the primary reference of Moorman and the modifying reference of Reifman are both directed towards reporting a user’s risk of infection. Similarly, the primary reference of Moorman and the modifying reference of Chung are both directed towards analyzing a user’s heart rate. Therefore, the Examiner respectfully maintains that the references are analogous and proper for use in an obviousness rejection under 35 U.S.C. 103 (please see MPEP 2141.01(a)).
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
The text of those sections of Title 35, U.S. Code not included in this action can be found in a prior Office action.
Claims 1, 3-6, 8, and 10-14 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Moorman et al. (US 2016/0143594 A1) in view of Reifman et al. (US 2022/0151569 A1) and Chung et al. (US 2015/0106020 A1).
Regarding claims 1, 8, and 11, Moorman describes a method and system for reporting a user’s risk of infection ([0007], [0068]), comprising
receiving, from a sensor of a wearable device worn by the user, user heart data ([0075])
determining, from the formatted user heart data by a pulse rate variability phase acceleration algorithm, the user’s pulse rate variability phase acceleration values for the first time period ([0183])
determining, from the formatted user heart data by a pulse rate variability phase deceleration algorithm, the user’s pulse rate variability phase deceleration values for the first time period ([0066], [0083]) by analyzing inter-beat-intervals in windows within the first time period ([0051])
determining, by a trained infection risk prediction algorithm using the user’s pulse rate variability phase acceleration values and the user’s pulse rate variability phase deceleration values for the first time period, the user’s risk of a current infection ([0044], [0046], [0150])
providing, via a user interface, the determined user’s risk of a current infection ([0175], [0224])
Regarding claim 8 in particular, Moorman describes prescribing, by the medical professional in response to the provided patient’s risk of a current infection, an antibiotic and/or anti-viral treatment to treat the patient’s current infection ([0066], [0083], [0087]).
Regarding claims 1, 8, and 11, although Moorman provides an example of oxygen saturation data measured from photoplethysmography ([0075], figure 1), Moorman does not explicitly disclose using a photoplethysmography sensor. Moorman also does not explicitly disclose pre-processing the user heart data by removing noise or outliers and replacing extreme values using neighboring data to create formatted user heart data, and wherein the first time period is a predefined window extracted from an overnight sleep episode of the user.
However, Reifman also describes a method and system for reporting a user’s risk of infection ([0001]), including using a photoplethysmography sensor (table 2) and wherein the time period during which data is obtained is a predefined window extracted from an overnight sleep episode of the user ([0019], [0063]). As Reifman also describes reporting a user’s risk of infection and is in a similar field of endeavor, it would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was filed to use a PPG sensor and overnight data, similar to that described by Reifman, when using the system described by Moorman, as doing so advantageously allows the resulting system to use a larger array of sensors and analyze user data over a more complete period of time.
Similarly, Chung also describes a method and system for analyzing a user’s heart data ([0008] - [0009]), including the step of pre-processing the user heart data by removing noise or outliers and replacing extreme values using neighboring data to create formatted user heart data ([0093]). As Chung is also directed towards analyzing a user’s heart data and is in a similar field of endeavor, it would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was filed to incorporate a pre-processing system similar to that described by Chung when using the system described by Moorman, as doing so advantageously increases the accuracy of the resulting data.
Regarding claims 3 and 13, Moorman describes transmitting the received user heart data to a remote server, wherein said pre-processing and determining steps are performed at the remote server ([0227]).
Regarding claims 4, 10 and 12, Moorman describes wherein the user interface comprises a web portal ([0221]).
Regarding claim 5, Moorman describes receiving, by a medical professional via the user interface, the determined user’s risk of a current infection ([0234]).
Regarding claims 6 and 14, Moorman describes wherein the method is performed at a regular interval for the user ([0010] - [0011], continuous time-varying processes that can be revealed by analysis of the time series data) by a remote service ([0227]).
Statement on Communication via Internet
Communications via Internet e-mail are at the discretion of the applicant. Without a written authorization by applicant in place, the USPTO will not respond via Internet e-mail to any Internet correspondence which contains information subject to the confidentiality requirement as set forth in 35 U.S.C. 122. Where a written authorization is given by the applicant, communications via Internet e-mail, other than those under 35 U.S.C. 132 or which otherwise require a signature, may be used. USPTO employees are NOT permitted to initiate communications with applicants via Internet e-mail unless there is a written authorization of record in the patent application by the applicant. The following is a sample authorization form which may be used by applicant:
“Recognizing that Internet communications are not secure, I hereby authorize the USPTO to communicate with the undersigned and practitioners in accordance with 37 CFR 1.33 and 37 CFR 1.34 concerning any subject matter of this application by video conferencing, instant messaging, or electronic mail. I understand that a copy of these communications will be made of record in the application file.”
Please refer to MPEP 502.03 for guidance on Communications via Internet.
Conclusion
THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. 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 Ankit D. Tejani, whose telephone number is 571-272-5140. The Examiner may normally be reached on Monday through Friday, 8:30AM through 5:00PM EST. 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, Niketa Patel, can be reached by telephone at 571-272-4156. 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 at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative or access to the automated information system, call 800-786-9199 (in USA or Canada) or 571-272-1000.
/Ankit D Tejani/
Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3792
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