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 Species III and IV in the reply filed on March 6, 2026 is acknowledged. The traversal is on the ground(s) that Species III and IV are not patentably distinct because Species IV is a specific, practical application of the broader method of Species III. Upon further consideration, Applicant’s arguments are found to be persuasive. Accordingly, the Examiner is rejoining Species III and IV. Claims 1, 48-55, 57 and 65 have been examined on the merits in this office action.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(b):
(b) CONCLUSION.—The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor regards as the invention.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph:
The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the applicant regards as his invention.
Claims 1, 48-55 and 57 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph, as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor (or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the applicant), regards as the invention.
In claim 1, the recitation “…an end tool” renders the claim vague and indefinite because the relationship between the end tool and surgical robot is not recited. It appears that the claims require a processor and other elements such as a positioning element with different functions and structure in order to perform the claimed method steps. It is suggested that Applicant amend the preamble to recite a system, for e.g. “A surgical system for controlling a surgical robot..”
Appropriate correction is required.
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)(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, 48-51 and 65 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Quaid et al. (US 7831292).
Quaid et al. disclose a method of controlling a surgical robot including the steps of: obtaining pose information of an end tool relative to a target region by pointing the tool axis to the target region; and providing first feedback information to an operator based on the pose information (for e.g. feedback information to a surgeon whether he is nearing some object or is on course (Figs. 3C, 4B, col. 6, lines 4-67, col. 7 and col. 8, lines 1-36).
Regarding claim 48, Quaid et al. disclose wherein in response to detecting movement of an object, the method further includes: obtaining a first initial pose of the end tool and a pose offset of the object (col. 25, lines 3-39); determining a target pose offset of the end tool based on the first initial pose and the pose offset; and adjusting the end tool to a target pose based on the target pose offset to control the end tool to actively follow the object as the object moves (col. 11, lines 63-67 and col. 12, lines 1-48).
Regarding claim 49, Quaid et al. disclose obtaining a first pose corresponding relationship between the end tool and a reference coordinate system (col. 6, lines 17-61); and the adjusting the end tool to a target position based on the target pose offset includes: determining the target pose based on the first pose corresponding relationship
and the target pose offset (col. 12, lines 30-48).
Regarding claim 50, Quaid et al. disclose obtaining a second initial pose of the object and a current pose of the object; and determining the pose offset of the object based on the second initial pose and the current pose (col. 9, lines 24-67 and col. 10, lines 1-31).
Regarding claim 51, Quaid et al. disclose determining a target pose offset of the end tool based on the first initial pose and the pose offset includes: determining a second pose corresponding relationship between the object and the end tool based on the first initial pose and the second initial pose; and determining the target pose offset based on the pose offset and the second pose corresponding relationship (col. 11, lines 44-67 and col. 12, lines 1-48; col. 25, lines 3-67 and col. 26, lines 1-49).
Regarding claim 65, Quaid et al. disclose a method for adjusting a pose of an end tool in real time, including: obtaining a first pose corresponding relationship between an end tool and a reference coordinate system, and a second pose corresponding relationship between the end tool and an object (“The CAS system preferably includes a localization or tracking system that determines or tracks the position and/or orientation of various trackable objects, such as surgical instruments, tools, haptic devices, patients, and/or the like. The tracking system continuously determines, or tracks, the position of one or more trackable markers disposed on, incorporated into, or inherently a part of the trackable objects, with respect to a three-dimensional coordinate frame of reference” col. 6, lines 17-61); obtaining a pose offset of the object in response to detecting a change of a pose of the object, wherein the pose offset of the object is a displacement of a current pose of the object relative to an initial pose of the object (Quaid et al. disclose constraining the haptic object based on the type of procedure “The haptic object’s position may also be constrained relative to any relevant anatomical features for a particular application. For example, a knee implant may be constrained to have the proper alignment relative to the anatomical axis of the leg, or to achieve proper ligament balance, but with the other degrees of freedom controllable by the user in the manner described above. The stiffness or damping of the control algorithm may vary in different directions to indicate preferential directions of motion which may be aligned with any direction as described in the previous paragraph. This stiffness variation may include zero stiffness along certain directions or may lock the user to the preferred directions once the deviation from the reference position exceeds some threshold value. This stiffness variation assists with simplifying the planning process by allowing the user to focus their attention on a limited number of degrees of freedom at a time. For example, the user may set the position of an implant along one or two directions first, then set the position of the implant along an additional direction or directions without disturbing the set directions (col. 25, lines 40-67 and col. 26, lines 1-49)” ; and controlling the end tool to move based on the first pose corresponding relationship and the pose offset of the object so that a pose corresponding relationship between the end tool and the object is restored to the second pose corresponding relationship (Quaid et al. disclose iteratively positioning a tool end based on attractive haptic objects associated with a target region for performing a surgical procedure, interpreted to mean “object” and also disclose changing the position of the tool based on a haptic object or “object” (Fig. 3B) which defines the working area or volume for constraining movement of the tool. See, col. 11, lines 54-67, cols. 12-15 and col. 16, lines 1-46).
Claim(s) 1, 48-52 and 65 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Hagag et al. (US 20150164600 A1).
Regarding claim 1, Hagag et al. disclose a method of controlling a surgical robot including the steps of: obtaining pose information of an end tool relative to a target region utilizing a tracking device coupled to the robotic arm holding the tool (para [0054]); and providing haptic (or force) feedback or “first feedback information” to an operator based on the pose information (para [0055]).
Regarding claims 48-49 and 51, Hagag et al. disclose tracking motion of the patient’s anatomy and the position of the surgical tool relative to the patient’s anatomy by which the position of the surgical tool or pose relative to the patient’s anatomy and the planned pose or target pose 500 is continuously displayed (para [0078]) wherein deviations from the target pose is interpreted to mean a pose offset; determining a target pose offset of the end tool based on the first initial pose and the pose offset; and adjusting the end tool to a target pose based on the target pose offset to control the end tool to actively follow the object as the object moves (interpreted to mean correlation of the pose of the robotic arm in physical space with the navigation system or image space) (Fig. 14A and paras [0080]-[0081]).
Regarding claim 50, Hagag et al. disclose obtaining a second initial pose of the object and a current pose of the object; and determining the pose offset of the object based on the second initial pose and the current pose wherein the pose offset interpreted to mean how well the registration algorithm fits the physically collected points to the representation of the patient’s pelvis (Figs. 14A and para [0080]).
Regarding claim 52, Hagag et al. disclose the end tool to include an acetabular cup 316 and an object to include an acetabular socket 22; wherein the method further includes: detecting whether a position of the acetabular cup satisfies a first predetermined condition (“substantial correspondence between the actual pose and the planned pose; in response to a determination that the acetabular cup satisfies the first predetermined condition, calibrating the acetabular cup wherein the calibrating step is interpreted to mean implantation of the acetabular cup with verification of the inclination accuracy, version accuracy and center of rotation of the acetabular cup to substantially correspond to the surgical plan (paras [0069] and [0091]).
Regarding claim 65, Hagag et al. disclose a method for adjusting a pose of an end tool in real time, including: obtaining a first pose corresponding relationship between an end tool and a reference coordinate system (image space of navigation system 7), and a second pose corresponding relationship between the end tool and an object (para [0078]); obtaining a pose offset of the object in response to detecting a change of a pose of the object, wherein the pose offset of the object is a displacement of a current pose of the object relative to an initial pose of the object (paras [0079]-[0080]; and controlling the end tool to move based on the first pose corresponding relationship and the pose offset of the object so that a pose corresponding relationship between the end tool and the object is restored to the second pose corresponding relationship (para [0081]).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 53-55 and 57 would be allowable if rewritten to overcome the rejection(s) under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), 2nd paragraph, set forth in this Office action and to include all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Anu Ramana whose telephone number is (571)272-4718. The examiner can normally be reached 8:00 am-5:00 pm.
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March 21, 2026
/Anu Ramana/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3775