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 .
Response to Amendments/Arguments
Applicant’s amendments and arguments, filed 13 April 2026, have been fully considered and are partially persuasive. The objections to the drawings and the rejections under 35 USC have been withdrawn. Additionally, the rejections over the combination of Horvath and Khaderi, as well as Ianchulev and Khaderi have been withdrawn.
With regard to claim 59, Applicant argues that the Carlyon reference fails to teach that the floating seal and needle base engage one another. However, Carlyon in FIG 6, illustrates such an arrangement, suggesting the limitations of the claimed apparatus.
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 59 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over US 8,142,403 to Carlyon in view of US 9,301,875 to Tu et al.
In the specification and figures, Carlyon discloses a system for placing media in a patient in a sequential fashion. With regard to claim 59, Carlyon discloses a syringe barrel 112, floating seal 150, needle base 130 (wherein the seal and base engage one another at area 226, see FIG 6), a needle 142 that engages the base, a needle distal end 142a and opening with a needle body passageway, wherein the needle base advances the needle through the floating seal to allow sequential delivery of discrete products in a single device (see Carlyon FIGS 5, 5A and column 4, line 59 to column 5, line 40). Tu discloses a syringe 116 with a needle 118 and distal space 122 for holding a stent device 30, but not a floating seal (see Tu FIG 31 and accompanying text). While Carlyon discloses sequential delivery of fluids, the construction of the Carlyon reference would allow for needle shunt delivery. It would have been obvious to a person with ordinary skill in the art at the time of filing to use a syringe with a floating seal in order to deliver a first liquid and a second substance to a desired location in a patient.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 1, 2, 4, 6, 7, 8, 11, 24, 31, 35, 36, 39, 40 47-49, and 65 are allowed.
The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter: With regard to claims 1, 24, 39, 40, 47, the prior art fails to teach a positioning step wherein the needle is placed away from the anterior chamber angle in combination with the other steps and limitations of the claim.
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 LESLIE R DEAK whose telephone number is (571)272-4943. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday, 9am to 5:30pm.
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, Sarah Al-Hashimi can be reached at 571-272-7159. 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.
/LESLIE R DEAK/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3799 4 May 2026
Prosecution Insights