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 with traverse of group II: claims 17-25 in the reply filed on 9/28/26 is acknowledged. The traversal is on the ground(s) that there is no search burden. This is not found persuasive because Examiner asserts that although there would be some overlap in searching fields, there are different subclasses to be searched for device and methods (analogous/out-of-art subclasses vs. method only subclasses), which Examiner believes constitutes a search burden.
The requirement is still deemed proper and is therefore made FINAL.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
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)(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) 17-25 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by Nikou (US 20150245879 A1).
Nikou discloses a robotically assisted surgical system (para. 30, 34-35) for a surgical procedure to be performed on a bone, the robotically assisted surgical system comprising: a robot comprising a surgical tool (para. 30, 34-35); a tracking system configured to track a pose of the surgical tool (para. 24-25, 32); and a computer system communicably coupled to the robot (para. 30), the computer system capable to: determine an implant type for an implant to be used in the surgical procedure (para. 33-34, 40-41, 54), determine an implant location relative to the bone for the implant type (para. 22, 28-29, 33-34, 38, 41, 54), determine a cutting block type associated with a cutting block to be used in the surgical procedure, wherein the cutting block type is associated with a cutting tool trajectory, determine a cutting block position for the cutting block based on the implant location (para. 24, 25, 29, 34,50, 55, 61, 93, 101-102); determine a plurality of pin locations for a plurality of pins for securing the cutting block to the bone based on the implant location, the cutting block position, and the cutting tool trajectory, and while tracking the pose of the surgical tool via the tracking system, control the robot and the surgical tool to cause the surgical tool to form the plurality of pin locations in the bone (para. 25), wherein the computer system is further capable to determine an implant geometry associated with the implant type, and wherein determining the implant location further comprises determining the implant location based on the implant geometry (para. 34), wherein the surgical tool comprises a drill (para. 20-21), wherein the bone comprises a tibia and the implant comprises a tibial implant component, wherein the bone comprises a femur and the implant comprises a femoral implant component (para. 20, 32-33, 36-37), wherein the computer system is capable to determine the implant type and the implant location from a surgical plan associated with the surgical procedure (para 33-34), wherein the computer system is capable to receive the cutting tool trajectory from a cutting block database communicably coupled to the computer system, wherein the plurality of pin locations comprise two pin locations fig. 2, wherein the cutting block position is capable to be oriented in a manner that causes the bone to be shaped to support the implant thereon according to the implant type (para. 25).
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to SAMEH RAAFAT BOLES whose telephone number is (571)270-5537. The examiner can normally be reached 9-5 pm.
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/SAMEH R BOLES/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3775
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