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 .
Election/Restrictions
Applicant’s election without traverse of Group II, i.e. claims 15-20 in the reply filed on October 6, 2025 is acknowledged.
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) 15-20 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Yang (US 10,939,932).
Yang discloses;
15.
A method for retrieving an object from a small space, comprising:
E.G. via the disclosed method for performing medical procedures via expandable surgical device 10 [(col 1, lines. 16-20) & (Fig 1)].
advancing a distal end of a catheter into the small space, adjacent to a location of the object;
E.G. via the disclosed method of introducing a distal end 26 of a an elongated, shaft member 30 into the body lumen 36 with struts of an expandable cage 40 in a collapsed configuration [(col 3, lines 50-63), (col 5, lines 47-67)-(col 5, lines 1-14 & 30-42) & (Fig 1A)}.
deploying an expandable section of a retrieval device from the distal end of the catheter, with the expandable section of the retrieval device expanding to engage the object;
E.G. via the disclosed method of positioning the expandable cage 40 adjacent material within the body lumen and expanding said expandable cage to an expanded configuration [(col 3, lines 50-63), (col 5, lines 47-67) -(col 6, lines 1-14 & 30-42) & (Fig 1A)].
and with the object engaged, removing the object from the body of the subject.
E.G. via the disclosed method for capturing material within a body lumen of a patient’s body comprising directing an expandable cage of a retrieval device back towards a collapsed configuration once ‘capture’ has occurred and removing said expandable cage from the body lumen thereby directing the distal end of a guidewire in a second direction in order to remove an obstructive material 92 [(col 3, lines 36-49), (col 4, lines 1-15), (col 14, lines 10-20) & (Figs 9A-9B)}.
16.
The method of claim 15, wherein advancing the distal end of the catheter into the small space comprises advancing the distal end of the catheter into or slighting beyond the object.
E.G. via the disclosed sheath 20 of the shaft 30 being advanced and manipulated into or through the clot/obstruction 92 [(col 13, lines 32-48) & (Fig. 9B)}.
17.
The method of claim 16, wherein deploying the expandable section of the retrieval device comprises withdrawing the catheter while the expandable section remains substantially in place.
E.G. via the disclosed expandable cage(s) 40 that ‘expand’ upon deployment, i.e. in order to direct the retrieval device the sheath is ‘maintained’ stationary [(col 13, lines 50-62) & (Figs. 10A & 10B)].
18.
The method of claim 15, wherein: advancing the distal end of the catheter into the small space comprises advancing the distal end of the catheter to a location proximal to the object;
and deploying the expandable section of the retrieval device comprises distally advancing the expandable section from the distal end of the catheter.
E.G. [(col 14, lines 11-36) & (Figs. 10A & 10B)].
19.
The method of claim 15, wherein removing the object comprises proximally retracting the expandable section toward or at least partially into the catheter.
E.G. [(col 15, lines 54-67) & (Figs. 12A & 12B)}.
20.
The method of claim 15, further comprising: selectively applying suction to the object by moving the retrieval device and/or the catheter.
E.G. via the disclosed source of vacuum that is coupled to the sheath 20 such that the clot/obstruction 92 is captured via the expandable cage 40 and pulled into the sheath lumen 27 by aspiration (col 14, lines 1-9).
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to NICOLE F JOHNSON whose telephone number is (571)270-5040. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday 8:00am-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, David Hamaoui can be reached at 571-270-5625. 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.
/NICOLE F JOHNSON/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3796