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 .
DETAILED ACTION
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Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 101
35 U.S.C. 101 reads as follows:
Whoever invents or discovers any new and useful process, machine, manufacture, or composition of matter, or any new and useful improvement thereof, may obtain a patent therefor, subject to the conditions and requirements of this title.
Claims 1-22 are rejected under 35 USC 101 Abstract Idea.
The claimed invention is directed to an Abstract Idea without significantly more.
The claim(s) recite(s The claim recites a method for correcting material-induced effects in CT images, comprising: providing a CT scan dataset including CT scan data of an object at at least two different energies; calculating a plurality of first material density values for a first substance type from the CT scan data of the CT scan dataset; calculating a plurality of correction factors based on the plurality of first material density values, wherein each correction factor is assigned to a second material density value for a second substance type; and calculating CT images from the plurality of first and second material density values, wherein at least one of the CT images is corrected via the plurality of correction factors.
This judicial exception is not integrated into a practical application because The steps of providing a CT scan dataset and calculating is a process that, under its broadest reasonable interpretation, covers performance of the limitation in the mind and using a calculator to calculating density values.
The claim(s) does/do not include additional elements that are sufficient to amount to significantly more than the judicial exception because:
Step 1. The Invention is related to a Process, Machine, or an Article of Manufacturing.
Step 2A.
Prong 1. The Abstract Idea is a Mental Process and a Mathematical Concept.
Prong 2. There are no additional claimed elements which integrate into a practical application. The claims appear to merely calculate density values.
Step 2B. There are no additional elements that amount to significantly more to improve CT technology. Please refer to MPEP 2016.04(d)(1) that a conclusory statement in the specification cannot be relied upon to establish a significant improvement. Details are necessary to be apparent to a person of ordinary skill in the art or a technical field.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claim 24 and 25 are objected to as being dependent upon a rejected base claim, but would be allowable if rewritten in independent form including all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims.
Claim 23 is allowed.
The following is an Examiner' s statement of reasons for allowance: The closest reference of record is Chen (US 2011/0064292 A1).
In the Applicant' s independent claim 23 the reference of Chen does not teach: calculate a plurality of first material density values for a first substance type based on the CT scan data of the CT scan dataset, the plurality of first material density values being spatially resolved material density values; calculate a plurality of correction factors based on the plurality of first material density values, wherein each correction factor is assigned to a second material density value, among a plurality of second material density values, for a second substance type, and calculate CT images based on the plurality of first material density values and the plurality of second material density values, wherein at least one of the CT images is corrected via the plurality of correction factors.
Chen fails to directly anticipate or render the above underlined limitations obvious (to be used with other claimed limitations).
Any comments considered necessary by the Applicant must be submitted no later than the payment of the issue fee and, to avoid processing delays, should preferably accompany the issue fee. Such submissions should be clearly labeled “Comments on Statement of Reasons for Allowance.”
No prior art rejections are provided at this time.
Relevant Prior Art
Allmendinger (US 2017/0086769 A1)
Abstract
A method is for generating X-ray image data of an examination object with reduced calcium blooming. The X-ray image data is based on X-ray projection data acquired with an energy-selective X-ray detector and in respect of at least two energy windows. An embodiment of the method includes determining a calcium content in the X-ray projection data by way of a base material analysis, the calcium content describing the calcium-determined part of the X-ray attenuation caused by the examination object; generating a mixed X-ray projection data record with calcium content suppressed by way of a weighting factor of less than one; and reconstructing the X-ray image data from the mixed projection data record by applying a reconstruction algorithm.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to TED W BARNES whose telephone number is (571) 270-1785. The examiner can normally be reached Mon-Fri. 8:00-5:00.
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/TED W. BARNES/ Ph.D. Electrical Engineering
Primary Examiner
Art Unit 2682
/TED W BARNES/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2682