Prosecution Insights
Last updated: October 02, 2026
Application No. 18/297,112

METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR AUTOENCODER-BASED ANOMALY DETECTION IN MEDICAL IMAGING SYSTEMS

Non-Final OA §112
Filed
Apr 07, 2023
Examiner
NGUYEN, LAM S
Art Unit
2853
Tech Center
2800 — Semiconductors & Electrical Systems
Assignee
Canon Inc.
OA Round
3 (Non-Final)
79%
Grant Probability
Favorable
3-4
OA Rounds
0m
Est. Remaining
79%
With Interview

Examiner Intelligence

Grants 79% — above average
79%
Career Allowance Rate
1124 granted / 1426 resolved
+10.8% vs TC avg
Minimal +0% lift
Without
With
+0.2%
Interview Lift
resolved cases with interview
Typical timeline
2y 8m
Avg Prosecution
68 currently pending
Career history
1476
Total Applications
across all art units

Statute-Specific Performance

§101
3.2%
-36.8% vs TC avg
§103
46.7%
+6.7% vs TC avg
§102
33.4%
-6.6% vs TC avg
§112
8.0%
-32.0% vs TC avg
Black line = Tech Center average estimate • Based on career data from 1426 resolved cases

Office Action

§112
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 . Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112 The following is a quotation of the first paragraph of 35 U.S.C. 112(a): (a) IN GENERAL.—The specification shall contain a written description of the invention, and of the manner and process of making and using it, in such full, clear, concise, and exact terms as to enable any person skilled in the art to which it pertains, or with which it is most nearly connected, to make and use the same, and shall set forth the best mode contemplated by the inventor or joint inventor of carrying out the invention. The following is a quotation of the first paragraph of pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112: The specification shall contain a written description of the invention, and of the manner and process of making and using it, in such full, clear, concise, and exact terms as to enable any person skilled in the art to which it pertains, or with which it is most nearly connected, to make and use the same, and shall set forth the best mode contemplated by the inventor of carrying out his invention. Claims 1-3, 8, 13, and 18-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(a) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), first paragraph, as failing to comply with the enablement requirement. The claim(s) contains subject matter which was not described in the specification in such a way as to enable one skilled in the art to which it pertains, or with which it is most nearly connected, to make and/or use the invention. Regarding to claims 1, 18, 20: Regarding to the limitations “a first processing method using a first energy window” and “a second processing method using a second energy window”, the Specification as filed simply states “the acquired data can be split into detector maps generated from data processed by a first method (e.g., using a high-energy window) and detector maps generated from data processed by a second method (e.g., using a low-energy window) are acquired respectively” (paragraph [0037], US 2024/0335178), without further describes what the energy windows are and how to use them in the processing methods; as a result, one of ordinary skill in the art would not know how to use/make the claimed invention. Claims 2-3, 8, 13, 19 are rejected because the claims depend on claim 1 or 18. Conclusion Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to LAM S NGUYEN whose telephone number is (571)272-2151. 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, DOUGLAS RODRIGUEZ, can be reached on 571-431-0716. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300. Information regarding the status of an application may be obtained from the Patent Application Information Retrieval (PAIR) system. Status information for published applications may be obtained from either Private PAIR or Public PAIR. Status information for unpublished applications is available through Private PAIR only. For more information about the PAIR system, see http://pair-direct.uspto.gov. Should you have questions on access to the Private PAIR system, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) 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. /LAM S NGUYEN/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2853
Read full office action

Prosecution Timeline

Apr 07, 2023
Application Filed
Sep 23, 2025
Non-Final Rejection mailed — §112
Dec 23, 2025
Response Filed
Mar 11, 2026
Final Rejection mailed — §112
Jun 10, 2026
Request for Continued Examination
Jun 15, 2026
Response after Non-Final Action
Sep 15, 2026
Non-Final Rejection mailed — §112 (current)

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Study what changed to get past this examiner. Based on 5 most recent grants.

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Prosecution Projections

3-4
Expected OA Rounds
79%
Grant Probability
79%
With Interview (+0.2%)
2y 8m (~0m remaining)
Median Time to Grant
High
PTA Risk
Based on 1426 resolved cases by this examiner. Grant probability derived from career allowance rate.

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