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 .
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.
Claim(s) 1-20 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 101 because the claimed invention is directed to an abstract idea without significantly more (See 2019 Update: Eligibility Guidance).
Independent Claim(s) 1 recites
quantify two-dimensional signal features
comprising:
a chromatogram including a plurality of second-dimension segments;
for each segment of the plurality of second-dimension segments:
estimating a baseline of an output of the chemical detector within each segment, and removing the baseline to obtain a baseline-corrected segment;
smoothing the baseline-corrected segment to obtain a second-dimension signal;
detecting second-dimension retention time values of candidate peaklets in each second-dimension segment of the plurality of second-dimension segments by analysis of the second-dimension signal and at least one calculated derivative;
culling the second-dimension retention time values of candidate peaklets in each second-dimension segment,
thereby
determining accepted second-dimension retention time values;
determining, using the accepted second-dimension retention time values that remain after culling, a width parameter of each peaklet of a plurality of peaklets in the segment using a physical model of peaklet broadening in the second column,
wherein
the physical model specifies the width parameter based on the second-dimension retention time values of the plurality of peaklets and a temperature of a secondary oven of the GCxGC instrument;
optimizing peaklet heights of the plurality of peaklets in the segment,
thereby
determining optimized peaklet heights,
wherein
each peaklet is specified by a peaklet shape function
that includes
the second-dimension retention time,
width parameter,
and
height values of the peaklet,
wherein
the optimizing comprises
a minimization of an absolute difference between the second-dimension signal
and
a sum of the peaklets;
culling the peaklets, after optimizing the peaklet heights;
and
delineating two-dimensional peaks in the chromatogram,
wherein
delineating comprises:
determining groups of associated peaklets throughout the chromatogram;
and
splitting each group of associated peaklets into distinct two-dimensional peaks
[Mathematical Concepts – mathematical relationships; mathematical formulas or equations or mathematical calculation] and/or [Mental Processes - concepts performed in the human mind (including an observation, evaluation, judgement, opinion)].
In combination with Independent Claim(s) 1, Claim(s) 2-20 recite(s)
obtain the chromatogram for a substance that was input into the GCxGC instrument.
estimating the baseline uses
a parameterized asymmetric least-squares warping algorithm or a dead-band baseline algorithm.
smoothing the baseline-corrected segment uses
a Gaussian-weighted moving average or a Savitzky-Golay filter.
detecting candidate peaklets comprises
detecting the second-dimension retention time values of candidate peaklets
by
analysis of the second-dimension signal and a second derivative of the second-dimension signal.
detecting the second-dimension retention time values of candidate peaklets comprises:
calculating the second derivative of the second-dimension signal;
detecting local maxima of the second-dimension signal;
and
detecting local minima of the second derivative.
culling the second-dimension retention time values of candidate peaklets in each second-dimension segment comprises:
accepting the second-dimension retention time values of candidate peaklets that remain after culling,
by
determining which second-dimension retention time values exceed a minimum peaklet height threshold;
and
accepting the second-dimension retention time values of candidate peaklets that remain after culling,
by
determining which second-dimension retention time values comply with a minimum peaklet separation threshold.
determining which second-dimension retention time values comply with the minimum peaklet separation threshold comprises:
selecting the second-dimension retention time values that exhibit a separation distance greater than or equal to the minimum peaklet separation threshold;
and
selecting a detected second-dimension retention time value that exhibits a highest signal intensity among any subset of the second-dimension retention time values that exhibit a separation distance less than the minimum peaklet separation threshold.
assigning values of the minimum peaklet separation threshold as an empirical function of the second-dimension retention time.
the physical model of the width parameter is represented by Eqs. 1 and 2, with a diffusivity parameter, Ds, that varies according to an empirical function of a first-dimension retention time.
optimizing the peaklet heights in a segment comprises
a constrained minimization of the absolute difference between the second-dimension signal
and
a sum of peaklet shape functions,
each peaklet shape function is parameterized with a second-dimension retention time, a width parameter, and a height.
each peaklet shape function comprises
an Exponentially Modified Gaussian function.
the constrained minimization includes
applying an interior-point minimization algorithm subject to the following constraints:
all peaklet heights are equal to or less than the second-dimension signal at that peaklet retention time
and
all peaklet heights are greater than zero.
culling the peaklets includes eliminating any peaklet with an optimized peaklet height below a minimum peaklet height threshold.
delineating two-dimensional peaks throughout the chromatogram comprises:
determining groups of associated peaklets,
by
detecting contiguously neighboring peaklets in the first dimension such that each neighboring pair exhibits a distance equal to or less than half of a minimum peaklet separation threshold in the second dimension;
and
splitting each group of associated peaklets into two-dimensional peaks
by
iteratively analyzing a first-dimension profile of peaklet heights within a group,
such that
each two-dimensional peak exhibits a local maximum in the first dimension,
conforms to a maximum peaklet number,
and
conforms to a minimum concavity criterion.
deconvoluting spectral chromatograms
to
support an interpretation of a chemical identity of the chemical constituents.
deconvoluting spectral chromatograms includes at least one selected from a group consisting of
a non-target analysis, a suspect analysis, and a target analysis.
deconvoluting spectral chromatograms comprises:
measuring peaks in each of a plurality of relevant spectral channels in a chromatogram sub-region of interest;
detecting spectral peaks by a co-occurrence of individual channel peaks that fall within a retention time locus parameterized as an acceptance oval;
and
expressing a deconvoluted spectrum of a detectable constituent as a set of spectrum channel values and channel peak heights of the individual channel peaks at the retention time locus.
the set of spectrum channel values include
m/z values.
the channel peak heights correspond to
spectral intensities
[Mathematical Concepts – mathematical relationships; mathematical formulas or equations or mathematical calculation] and/or [Mental Processes - concepts performed in the human mind (including an observation, evaluation, judgement, opinion)].
This judicial exception is not integrated into a practical application. Limitations that are not indicative of integration into a practical application:
Adding the words “apply it” (or an equivalent) with the judicial exception, or mere instructions to implement an abstract idea on a computer, or merely uses a computer as a tool to perform an abstract idea (see MPEP § 2106.05(f));
Adding insignificant extra-solution activity to the judicial exception (see MPEP § 2106.05(g)) (i.e. generic data acquisition (e.g. receiving a chromatogram); or
Generally linking the use of the judicial exception to a particular technological environment or field of use (MPEP § 2106.05(h)) (i.e. quantify two-dimensional signal features of chemical constituents that are separated by a GCxGC instrument coupled with a chemical detector, the GCxGC instrument including a first column corresponding to a first dimension and a second column corresponding to a second dimension; from the GCxGC instrument; further comprising: operating the GCxGC instrument to).
The claim(s) does/do not include additional elements that are sufficient to amount to significantly more than the judicial exception because looking at the additional elements as an ordered combination adds nothing that is not already present when looking at the elements taken individually. There is no indication that the combination of elements improves the functioning of a computer or improves any other technology. The additional elements simply append well-understood, routine, conventional activities previously known to the industry, specified at a high level of generality, to the judicial exception, e.g., a claim to an abstract idea requiring no more than a generic computer to perform generic computer functions that are well-understood, routine and conventional activities previously known to the industry, as discussed in Alice Corp., 134 S. Ct. at 2359-60, 110 USPQ2d at 1984 (see MPEP § 2106.05(d)) (i.e. See Alice Corp. and cited references for evidence of additional elements (i.e., generic computer structure; GCxGC instrument)).
Examiner’s Note - 35 USC § 101
Claim(s) 2 states:
further comprising:
operating the GCxGC instrument
to
obtain the chromatogram for a substance that was input into the GCxGC instrument.
Claim(s) 16 states:
further comprising:
deconvoluting spectral chromatograms
to
support an interpretation of a chemical identity of the chemical constituents.
Examiner advises applicant that incorporating the limitations of both claim(s) 2, 16 would add the result of the algorithm that ties to the operation of the GCxGC instrument, therefore adding a practical application in a particular technology for the identified abstract idea.
Allowable Subject Matter (over prior art)
The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter over prior art:
Examiner’s closest prior art to the claimed subject matter:
FAN ET AL. (US 20180095060 A1) teaches a method for conducting comprehensive chromatography analysis;
NODA (US 20170336370 A1) teaches chromatogram data processing;
WALSH ET AL. (US 20160363569 A1) teaches analysis of chemically samples using gas chromatography (GC) separation;
SACHS ET AL. (US 20040195500 A1) teaches mass spectrometry data analysis techniques that can be employed to selectively identify analytes differing in abundance between different sample sets;
ZHANG ET AL. (Zhang, Penghan, et al. "Application of a target-guided data processing approach in saturated peak correction of GC× GC analysis." Analytical chemistry 94.4 (2022): 1941-1948.) teaches application of a Target-Guided data processing approach in saturated peak correction of GC×GC Analysis.
None of the cited prior art alone or in combination provides motivation to explicitly teach:
quantify two-dimensional signal features of chemical constituents that are separated by a GCxGC instrument coupled with a chemical detector, the GCxGC instrument including a first column corresponding to a first dimension and a second column corresponding to a second dimension,
the method comprising:
receiving, from the GCxGC instrument, a chromatogram including a plurality of second-dimension segments;
for each segment of the plurality of second-dimension segments:
estimating a baseline of an output of the chemical detector within each segment, and removing the baseline to obtain a baseline-corrected segment;
smoothing the baseline-corrected segment to obtain a second-dimension signal;
detecting second-dimension retention time values of candidate peaklets in each second-dimension segment of the plurality of second-dimension segments by analysis of the second-dimension signal and at least one calculated derivative;
culling the second-dimension retention time values of candidate peaklets in each second-dimension segment,
thereby
determining accepted second-dimension retention time values;
determining, using the accepted second-dimension retention time values that remain after culling, a width parameter of each peaklet of a plurality of peaklets in the segment using a physical model of peaklet broadening in the second column,
wherein
the physical model specifies the width parameter based on the second-dimension retention time values of the plurality of peaklets and a temperature of a secondary oven of the GCxGC instrument;
optimizing peaklet heights of the plurality of peaklets in the segment,
thereby
determining optimized peaklet heights,
wherein
each peaklet is specified by a peaklet shape function
that includes
the second-dimension retention time,
width parameter,
and
height values of the peaklet,
wherein
the optimizing comprises
a minimization of an absolute difference between the second-dimension signal
and
a sum of the peaklets;
culling the peaklets, after optimizing the peaklet heights;
and
delineating two-dimensional peaks in the chromatogram,
wherein
delineating comprises:
determining groups of associated peaklets throughout the chromatogram;
and
splitting each group of associated peaklets into distinct two-dimensional peaks
of claim(s) 1 (including dependent claim(s)).
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to RAYMOND NIMOX whose telephone number is (469)295-9226. The examiner can normally be reached Mon-Thu 10am-8pm CT.
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RAYMOND NIMOX
Primary Examiner
Art Unit 2857
/RAYMOND L NIMOX/Primary Examiner, Art Unit