DETAILED ACTION
The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA .
Claims 1, 4-6, 8-10, 13-16 and 18-20 are pending.
Claims 2-3, 7, 11-12 and 17 are canceled.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
The following is a quotation of pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 103(a) which forms the basis for all obviousness rejections set forth in this Office action:
(a) A patent may not be obtained though the invention is not identically disclosed or described as set forth in section 102 of this title, if the differences between the subject matter sought to be patented and the prior art are such that the subject matter as a whole would have been obvious at the time the invention was made to a person having ordinary skill in the art to which said subject matter pertains. Patentability shall not be negatived by the manner in which the invention was made.
Claim(s) 1, 4-6, 8, 10, 13-15 and 18-20 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kuang et al (US20150211986A1) in view of Sezaki (US20100266221A1).
Regarding claims 1, 10, 19 and 20, Kuang teaches a computer-implemented image processing method with a computer processor and computer memory, comprising:
accessing, from the computer memory, a non-toroidal beam image component comprising a set of pixel intensities across an imaging area and a toroidal beam image component comprising a set of pixel intensities across the imaging area that are obtained with a detector, wherein the non-toroidal beam image component includes one or more pixel intensities that are at a saturating level of the detector;
(Kuang, "the light spot formed by incoming circularly polarized light on the sample through focusing by the microscope 11 is a solid one;",[0083]; "record the first signal light intensity I1(x, y) at each scanning point;", [0085]; "the light spot formed on the sample ... is a bagel shaped hollowed light spot;", [0054]; "record the second signal light intensity I2(x, y) at each scanning point;", [0093]; Kuang teaches obtaining and recording non-toroidal ("solid") and toroidal ("bagel shaped hollowed") beam image components (I1 and I2) across an imaging area using a detector. These recorded intensities are processed by a controller (17), which inherently requires accessing the data from computer memory; Sezaki, "receives an original image signal S1 and a measured image signal S2", [0021]; "detects a maximum value... within a predetermined signal range", [0025]; “The scaling unit performs a scaling operation on each pixel value of the difference image signal based on a measurement result of the variation width so that the difference image signal can be represented in grayscale using a predetermined bit width, and outputs a difference image signal subjected to scaling”, [0009]; regarding detector saturation, Sezaki teaches that digital image signals are bounded by a "predetermined signal range" and representable within a specific "bit width"; when a signal "exceeds a magnitude that can be represented", [claim 6], by that bit width, scaling is required to avoid missing pixel information; note that saturation is an inherent condition of optical image data; a person of ordinary skill in the art would recognize that Kuang's detectors (e.g., PMT or APD) have a physical saturation limit that bounds the recorded signal intensities, just as the digital architecture in Sezaki imposes a predetermined range on input signals)
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention was made to incorporate the teachings of Sezaki into the system or method of Kuang in order to optimize the accuracy and validity of the image processing by addressing the physical and digital limits of the detector. The combination of Kuang and Sezaki also teaches other enhanced capabilities.
identifying a peak non-toroidal imaging pixel intensity across the imaging area that is the highest non-toroidal beam imaging pixel intensity below the saturating level of the detector;
(Kuang, "I1 max refers to the maximum value of the first signal light intensity I1(x, y);", [0015]; Sezaki, "detects a maximum value and a minimum value of the difference image signal DS1 within a predetermined signal range", [0025]; Kuang teaches identifying the maximum/peak intensity of the non-toroidal image component I1. Sezaki expressly teaches detecting a maximum value bounded within a predetermined signal range. Incorporating Sezaki into Kuang would identify the maximum intensity bounded below a saturation limit (within a predetermined range) to avoid using clipped, invalid data for subsequent processing)
scaling from raw detector intensity values, with the computer processor, an image intensity of at least one pixel of the toroidal beam image component without scaling the non-toroidal beam image component, by a scaling ratio that is defined as a ratio between the peak non-toroidal beam imaging pixel intensity across the imaging area and a peak toroidal beam imaging intensity across the imaging area to produce a scaled image intensity while leaving the non-toroidal beam image component unscaled; and
(Kuang, "I2 max refers to the maximum value of the second signal light intensity I2(x, y).", [0015]; "The formula I(x, y)=I1(x, y)−γI2(x, y) is used to calculate valid signal light intensity", [0094]; calculating a scaling ratio γ as the ratio between the peak non-toroidal intensity (I1 max) and the peak toroidal intensity (I2 max); scaling the toroidal image component (γI2(x,y)) using this ratio while leaving the non-toroidal image component (I1(x,y)) unscaled; the intensities are raw values directly recorded from the detector.)
determining a difference between the scaled image intensity of the at least one pixel of the toroidal image component and an image intensity of a corresponding pixel of the unscaled non-toroidal image components to form at least a portion of an image.
(Kuang, "The formula I(x, y)=I1(x, y)−γI2(x, y) is used to calculate valid signal light intensity I(x, y) at each scanning point to obtain the super-resolution microscopy image eventually.", [0094]; determining a difference by subtracting the scaled toroidal image component from the unscaled non-toroidal image component to form the super-resolution microscopy image)
Regarding claim 4, the combination of Kuang and Sezaki teaches its/their respective base claim(s).
The combination further teaches the method of claim 1, further comprising acquiring the non-toroidal beam image component and the toroidal beam image component by: directing a non-toroidal beam to a sample area and detecting non-toroidal beam induced response light from the sample area, wherein the detected non-toroidal beam induced response light corresponds to the non-toroidal beam image component; and directing a toroidal beam to the sample area and detecting toroidal beam induced response light from the sample area, wherein the detected toroidal beam induced response light corresponds to the toroidal image component.
(Kuang, "The beam from the scanning galvanometer system 7 is to be subject to focusing by the scanning lens 8 and collimation by the field lens 9 before being converted into circularly polarized light by the ¼ wave plate 10;", [0107]; "the circularly polarized light is to be projected by the microscope 11 on the sample on sample table 12.", [0079]; "the light spot formed by incoming circularly polarized light on the sample through focusing by the microscope 11 is a solid one;", [0083]; "The signal light from the sample is collected by the microscope 11", [0084]; "the light spot formed on the sample by incoming circularly polarized light through focusing by the microscope 11 is a bagel shaped hollowed light spot;", [0091]; directing a solid (non-toroidal) beam to a sample area and detecting the response light corresponding to the first image component, and subsequently directing a bagel-shaped hollowed (toroidal) beam to the sample area and detecting the response light corresponding to the second image component)
Regarding claims 5 and 14, the combination of Kuang and Sezaki teaches its/their respective base claim(s).
The combination further teaches the method of claim 4, wherein the non-toroidal beam comprises a Gaussian intensity profile at the sample area and the toroidal beam comprises a toroidal intensity profile at the sample area."
(Kuang, "the light spot formed by incoming circularly polarized light on the sample through focusing by the microscope 11 is a solid one;", [0083]; "the light spot formed on the sample by incoming circularly polarized light through focusing by the microscope 11 is a bagel shaped hollowed light spot;", [0091]; the non-toroidal beam forms a solid spot (which is a standard Gaussian profile from a collimated laser) and the toroidal beam forms a bagel-shaped hollowed spot (toroidal profile) at the sample area)
Regarding claims 6 and 15, the combination of Kuang and Sezaki teaches its/their respective base claim(s).
The combination further teaches the method of claim 4, wherein the directing the toroidal beam to the sample area comprises directing a source beam through a vortex phase plate to produce the toroidal beam.
(Kuang, "the phase plate 18 is a 0·2π vortex one", [0102]; generating the hollowed beam by directing the source beam through a vortex phase plate)
Regarding claim 8, the combination of Kuang and Sezaki teaches its/their respective base claim(s).
The combination further teaches the method of claim 1, wherein the formed image is a super-resolution image."
(Kuang, "to obtain the super-resolution microscopy image eventually.", [0094]; the resulting difference image is a super-resolution microscopy image)
Regarding claim 13, the combination of Kuang and Sezaki teaches its/their respective base claim(s).
The combination further teaches the apparatus of claim 10, further comprising: a beam source configured to direct a non-toroidal beam and a toroidal beam to a sample area; and a detector situated to detect non-toroidal beam induced response light and toroidal beam induced response light from the sample area, wherein the detected non-toroidal beam induced response light corresponds to the non-toroidal beam image component and the detected toroidal beam induced response light corresponds to the toroidal image component."
(Kuang, "A super-resolution device comprising a laser 1 ... a microscope 11, a sample table 12 ... a detector 16", [0066]; "The signal light from the sample is collected by the microscope 11", [0084]; the apparatus includes a beam source (laser) configured to direct solid (non-toroidal) and hollowed (toroidal) beams to the sample, and a detector situated to detect the respective response light corresponding to the image components)
Regarding claim 18, the combination of Kuang and Sezaki teaches its/their respective base claim(s).
The combination further teaches the apparatus of claim 10, wherein the formed image is a super-resolution light scattering image, phosphorescence image, or a fluorescence image."
(Kuang, "When the sample to be tested is the fluorescent one, the signal light will be the fluorescent light stimulated by the circularly polarized light on the sample", [0016]; he formed image is a fluorescence super-resolution image)
Regarding claim 19, the combination of Kuang and Sezaki teaches its/their respective base claim(s).
The combination further teaches the microscope, comprising the apparatus of claim 10."
(Kuang, "The present invention provides a super-resolution microscopy device comprising a light source, a sample table used to carry the sample and a microscope", [0019]; a super-resolution microscopy device comprising a microscope)
Claim(s) 9 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kuang et al (US20150211986A1) in view of Sezaki (US20100266221A1) and further in view of Wang et al (WF Super-Resolved Raman Imaging, 2021).
Regarding claim 9, the combination of Kuang and Sezaki teaches its/their respective base claim(s).
The combination does not expressly disclose but Wang teaches the method of claim 8, wherein the super-resolution image is a Raman scattering image.
(Wang, Fig. 1, structured illumination Raman microscopy)
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention was made to incorporate the teachings of Wang into the system or method of Kuang and Sezaki in order to use Raman spectroscopy for rapid, non-destructive molecular analysis with high specificity and minimal sample preparation. The combination of Kuang, Sezaki and Wang also teaches other enhanced capabilities.
Claim(s) 16 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kuang et al (US20150211986A1) in view of Sezaki (US20100266221A1) and further in view of Zhan (Cylindrical vector beams, 2009).
Regarding claim 16, the combination of Kuang and Sezaki teaches its/their respective base claim(s).
The combination further teaches the apparatus of claim 15, wherein the beam source comprises an azimuthal polarizer and a spatial light modulator situated to produce the toroidal beam.
(Kuang, "the spatial light modulator 5", [0067]; "the light spot formed on the sample by incoming circularly polarized light through focusing by the microscope 11 is a bagel shaped hollowed light spot;", [091]; Zhan, "A radial analyzer is a device that has its local polarization transmission axis aligned along either the radial or the azimuthal directions ... The beam after the radial analyzer will be polarized either radially or azimuthally, depending on the type of radial analyzer used.", [Section 3.2, p10]; "To obtain a true CV beam, a spiral phase element (SPE) with the opposite helicity is necessary ... A SPE ... can be generated by a liquid crystal (LC) spatial light modulator (SLM).", [Section 3.2, p10]; "For azimuthally polarized incident, only a donut shape azimuthal component exists near the focal plane.", [Section 5.2, p23]; Kuang teaches using a spatial light modulator in the beam source to generate a toroidal (bagel shaped hollowed) beam, but lacks explicit disclosure of an azimuthal polarizer. Zhan teaches that a perfect toroidal (donut shape) focal spot can be produced by combining a radial analyzer aligned in the azimuthal direction (an azimuthal polarizer) with a spatial light modulator (SLM) to correct the geometric phase and produce a true azimuthally polarized beam)
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention was made to incorporate the teachings of Zhan into the system or method of Kuang and Sezaki in order to precisely generate an azimuthally polarized beam with a perfect zero-intensity center, thereby enhancing the spatial resolution of the difference microscopy system. The combination of Kuang, Sezaki and Zhan also teaches other enhanced capabilities.
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments filed on 6/11/2026 with respect to one or more of the pending claims have been fully considered but are moot in view of the new ground(s) of rejection.
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 JIANXUN YANG whose telephone number is (571)272-9874. The examiner can normally be reached on MON-FRI: 8AM-5PM Pacific Time.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Amandeep Saini can be reached on (571)272-3382. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/JIANXUN YANG/
Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2662 7/25/2026
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