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 § 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 and 4-5 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 101 because the claimed invention is directed to the judicial exception of abstract ideas without significantly more. The claim(s) recite(s) abstract ideas as indicated by in-line comments below. This judicial exception is not integrated into a practical application for reasons also indicated by in-line comments below. The claim(s) does/do not include additional elements that are sufficient to amount to significantly more than the judicial exception for reasons also indicated by in-line comments below.
1. A method for extracting a target signal based on maximum correlated kurtosis deconvolution (MCKD), comprising:
obtaining a microwave signal of a brain of a subject to be tested (does not integrate into a practical application because generally linking the use of the judicial exception to a particular technological environment or field of use; not significantly more because generally linking the use of the judicial exception to a particular technological environment or field of use);
filtering the microwave signal by using the MCKD to obtain a filtered signal (abstract; mathematical concepts; mathematical calculations);
performing mode decomposition on the filtered signal by using a complete ensemble empirical mode decomposition with adaptive noise (CEEMDAN) to obtain a target response signal (abstract; mathematical concepts; mathematical calculations); and
performing image reconstruction on the target response signal by using a delay sum beamforming to obtain a target bleeding image (abstract; mathematical concepts; mathematical calculations).
4. The method for extracting the target signal based on the MCKD according to claim 1, before filtering the microwave signal by using the MCKD to obtain the filtered signal, further comprising:
determining a filter length and an impulse signal period used in the MCKD by using a particle swarm optimization (abstract; mathematical concepts; mathematical calculations).
5. The method for extracting the target signal based on the MCKD according to claim 1, before performing the mode decomposition on the filtered signal by using the CEEMDAN to obtain the target response signal, further comprising:
determining a noise level of the target signal in the CEEMDAN by using a particle swarm optimization (abstract; mathematical concepts; mathematical calculations).
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.
Claim(s) 1-14 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Li et al. (NPL; A Portable Microwave Intracranial Hemorrhage Imaging System Based on PSO-MCKD-CEEMDAN Method).
Regarding claim 1, Li et al. disclose a method for extracting a target signal based on maximum correlated kurtosis deconvolution (MCKD), comprising:
obtaining a microwave signal (0.5-6 GHz; see §III.A) of a brain of a subject to be tested (designed for use on a live subject and brain; see §VI);
filtering the microwave signal by using the MCKD to obtain a filtered signal (see §IV.A);
performing mode decomposition on the filtered signal by using a complete ensemble empirical mode decomposition with adaptive noise (CEEMDAN) to obtain a target response signal (see §IV.B); and
performing image reconstruction on the target response signal by using a delay sum beamforming to obtain a target bleeding image (see §IV.D, #5).
Regarding claim 2, Li et al. disclose the method for extracting the target signal based on the MCKD according to claim 1, wherein obtaining the microwave signal of the brain of the subject to be tested comprises:
arranging a plurality of antenna pairs (the two used in each respective signal measurement; see §III.B; last 2 paragraphs) along circumference of the brain of the subject to be tested (supra); wherein each of the plurality of antenna pairs comprises a transmitting antenna and a receiving antenna (supra); and
obtaining, by a vector network analyzer (VNA), the microwave signal of the brain of the subject to be tested via the antenna pairs (see §III.B; last 2 paragraphs).
Regarding claim 3, Li et al. disclose the method for extracting the target signal based on the MCKD according to claim 2, before filtering the microwave signal by using the MCKD to obtain the filtered signal, further comprising:
converting the microwave signal to a time-domain microwave signal by using an inverse discrete fourier transform (IDFT) (see §IV.C; 1st paragraph).
Regarding claim 4, Li et al. disclose the method for extracting the target signal based on the MCKD according to claim 1, before filtering the microwave signal by using the MCKD to obtain the filtered signal, further comprising:
determining a filter length and an impulse signal period used in the MCKD by using a particle swarm optimization (see §IV.C; 2nd paragraph).
Regarding claim 5, Li et al. disclose the method for extracting the target signal based on the MCKD according to claim 1, before performing the mode decomposition on the filtered signal by using the CEEMDAN to obtain the target response signal, further comprising:
determining a noise level of the target signal in the CEEMDAN by using a particle swarm optimization (see §V; paragraph, “After obtaining...”).
Regarding claim 6, Li et al. disclose the method for extracting the target signal based on the MCKD according to claim 2, wherein a formula for determining pixels in the target bleeding image is:
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94
195
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(see §V; equation 14 and paragraph including it)
wherein, I(r) is a pixel at a position r in the target bleeding image, N is a number of antennas,
S
i
,
j
is a target response signal of a microwave signal transmitted from an i-th antenna and received by a j-th antenna, τ(r) is a time delay from the position r to ri and rj, ri is a position of the transmitting antenna, rj is a position of the receiving antenna, ν is a transmission velocity of the microwave signal in the brain of the subject to be tested, and Δt is transmission time for the microwave signal from the position r to a target point (see §V; equation 14 and paragraph including it).
Regarding claim 7, Li et al. disclose a system for extracting a target signal based on maximum correlated kurtosis deconvolution (MCKD), applied to a method for extracting the target signal based on the MCKD according to claim 1, comprising
a plurality of antenna pairs (the two used at a time for each signal measurement; see §III.B; last 2 paragraphs), a vector network analyzer (VNA; see §III.B), and a computer (laptop; see §III.B); wherein
the plurality of antenna pairs are connected with the vector network analyzer (see §III.B; last 2 paragraphs), and the vector network analyzer is connected with the computer (supra);
the plurality of antenna pairs are arranged along circumference (see §III.B; 1st paragraph) of a brain of a subject to be tested (intended to be used on a live subject and brain; see §VI); wherein each of the plurality of antenna pairs comprises a transmitting antenna and a receiving antenna (implicit in the pairwise use of antennas; see §III.B; last 2 paragraphs); the transmitting antenna is an antenna for transmitting a signal (supra), the receiving antenna is an antenna for receiving a signal (supra), and the antenna pairs are configured to acquire a microwave signal of the brain of the subject to be tested (supra);
the vector network analyzer is configured to receive the microwave signal of the brain of the subject to be tested (see §III.B; last 2 paragraphs), and transmit the microwave signal of the brain of the subject to be tested to the computer (see §III.B; last paragraph); and
the computer is configured to:
obtain the microwave signal of the brain of the subject to be tested (see §III.B; last paragraph);
filter the microwave signal by using the MCKD (see §III.B; last paragraph; figures 6a, 6b, and 7; and §IV.A);
perform mode decomposition on the filtered microwave signal by using a complete ensemble empirical mode decomposition with adaptive noise (CEEMDAN) (see §III.B; last paragraph; figures 6a, 6b, and 7; and §IV.B); and
perform image reconstruction on the decomposed microwave signal by using a delay sum beamforming to obtain a target bleeding image (see §III.B; last paragraph; figures 6a, 6b, and 7; and §IV.D, #5).
Regarding claim 8, Li et al. disclose the system for extracting the target signal based on the MCKD according to claim 7, wherein the antenna is a monopole antenna.
Regarding claim 9, Li et al. disclose the system for extracting the target signal based on the MCKD according to claim 7, wherein the antenna is a patch antenna.
Regarding claim 10, Li et al. disclose the system for extracting the target signal based on the MCKD according to claim 7, wherein the antenna is made of a flexible printed circuit board.
Regarding claims 11-14, see the foregoing rejections of claims 7-10, respectively. The two groups of claims have clearly corresponding limitations.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
Zhao et al. (CN116361632A) and Li et al. (CN114124038A) are each cited for disclosing the use of MCKD and CEEMDAN, in combination, for signal extraction, but in a very different context, namely roller bearing fault diagnostics.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to GEOFFREY T EVANS whose telephone number is (571)272-2369. The examiner can normally be reached M-F, 9 AM - 5:30 PM.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Walter Lindsay can be reached at (571) 272-1674. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/WALTER L LINDSAY JR/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2852
/GEOFFREY T EVANS/ Examiner, Art Unit 2852