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 I (apparatus) and Species N (implant 330 shown in Fig. 14A-G) in the reply filed on 03/18/2026 is acknowledged. Claims 1-8, 18-20 are withdrawn from further consideration pursuant to 37 CFR 1.142(b) as being drawn to a nonelected Groups and Species, there being no allowable generic or linking claim. Claim 14 is also drawn to non-elected embodiment Species M (Fig. 13 A-D ) and will be withdrawn from consideration. Election was made without traverse in the reply filed on 3/18/26. Claim Objections Claim 11 is objected to because of the following informalities: Claim 11, line 2, “include” should be “include s ”. Appropriate correction is required. Double Patenting Co-pending Application # 18/315561 was checked for double patenting. No rejection is applicable. Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102 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 ( i.e., changing from AIA to pre-AIA ) 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. The following is a quotation of the appropriate paragraphs of 35 U.S.C. 102 that form the basis for the rejections under this section made in this Office action: A person shall be entitled to a patent unless – (a)(1) the claimed invention was patented, described in a printed publication, or in public use, on sale , or otherwise available to the public before the effective filing date of the claimed invention. (a)(2) the claimed invention was described in a patent issued under section 151, or in an application for patent published or deemed published under section 122(b), in which the patent or application, as the case may be, names another inventor and was effectively filed before the effective filing date of the claimed invention. Claim(s) 9- 1 3 i s/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102 (a)(1) as being anticipated by Mesiwala et al. (US Publication No. 2020/0268525 A1) . Regarding Claim 9, Mesiwala discloses an implant (2500) (Fig. 25A) comprising: an outer cage (2504) and an internal screw (2502+2506) aligned along a central longitudinal axis (see below) , the outer cage (2404) having a polygonal outer shape (triangular cross section, [0155]) configured to limit rotational motion, and the internal screw (2502+2506) is sized and dimensioned to fit through the outer cage (shown in Fig. 25A) , the internal screw having an enlarged head (2506) and a shaft (2502) with one or more threaded sections (2508) (fig. 25A) [0153] , wherein the outer cage is free to rotate relative to the internal screw (“In other embodiments … non-rotation features may be omitted to permit body portion 2504 to rotate relative to shank portion 2502.”, [0154]) . Regarding Claim 10, the outer cage (2504) has a triangular cross-section [0155] . Regarding Claim 11, the outer cage (2504) include three faces and three vertices (see below) . Regarding Claim 12, the shaft of the internal screw includes one or more narrowed shaft portions (see figure below , unthreaded portion is narrower than threaded portion ) , and the outer cage defines corresponding narrowed sections (openings shown in figure below) configured to mate with the narrowed shaft portions, wherein the narrowed shaft portion i s fully capable of acting as stops to prevent the outer cage from translating along the central longitudinal axis (the cage can abut the larger threaded area of the screw to stop further distal translation) . Regarding Claim 13, the narrowed shaft portions are non-threaded and have a reduced diameter relative to the threaded sections (shown in figure below) . 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 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Mesiwala et al. (US Publication No. 2020/0268525 A1) in view of Reiley et al. (US Publication No. 2016/0081810 A1) Mesiwala discloses the implant of claim 9 as described above, however is silent to one or more prongs extending distally from the outer cage. Reiley discloses an sacroiliac joint implant in the same field of endeavor wherein a triangular cage which is inserted into the joint has ribs 24 (prongs) which can extend from the distal end of the cage [“In other embodiments, the ribs 24 can extend from the distal ends of the elongate body 12 ”, 0070] in order to contact the bone in situations where a previous implant is being replaced [0069-0070]. It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art to modify the triangular cage of Mesiwala to include ribs/prongs extending from the distal end thereof in order to engage bone in situations where the implant is being used in revision surgery. Claim (s) 16-17 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Mesiwala et al. (US Publication No. 2020/0268525 A1) in view of Lewis et al. (US Publication No. 2022/0354654 A1). Mesiwala discloses the implant of claim 9 as described above, however is silent t he implant in cludes a spiral sweep interrupting the threaded sections and the sweep includes a lattice structure. Lewis discloses a sacroiliac joint fusion implant in the same field of endeavor. Lewis disclose that the threads of the screw portion of the implant have a spiral sweep (spiral cutting flutes 12) interrupting them and the flutes/sweep has windows (14) therein (considered to form a lattice structure) in order to harvest the bone chips as the screw is being advanced [0008, 0047]. It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art to modify the threaded sections of the implant of Mesiwala to have interrupting spiral sweep/cutting flutes with lattice structure/bone harvesting windows therein as taught by Lewis in order to remove the bone chips from interfering with the threads as well as provide an osseointegration medium within the screw to facilitate bone ingrowth. Conclusion The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. See Form PTO-892. Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to FILLIN "Examiner name" \* MERGEFORMAT JACQUELINE T JOHANAS whose telephone number is FILLIN "Phone number" \* MERGEFORMAT (571)270-5085 . The examiner can normally be reached FILLIN "Work Schedule?" \* MERGEFORMAT Mon. - Fri. 9:00-5:00 . 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, FILLIN "SPE Name?" \* MERGEFORMAT Eduardo Robert can be reached at FILLIN "SPE Phone?" \* MERGEFORMAT 571-272-4719 . 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. /JACQUELINE T JOHANAS/ Primary Patent Examiner, Art Unit 3773