DETAILED CORRESPONDENCE
This is a non-final office action on merits in response to the arguments and/or amendments filed on 02/20/2026 and the request for continued examination filed on 02/20/2026.
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 .
Status of claims
Claim 6 is cancelled. Amendments to claims 1, 7, 9, and 10 are acknowledged and have been carefully considered. Claims 1-5, and 7-10 are pending and considered below.
Continued Examination Under 37 CFR 1.114
A request for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, including the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e), was filed in this application after final rejection. Since this application is eligible for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114. Applicant's submission filed on 02/20/2026 has been entered.
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 1-5, and 7-10 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 101 because the claimed invention is directed to an abstract idea without significantly more.
Step 1
Under step 1, the analysis is based on MPEP 2106.03, and claims 1-8 are drawn to an apparatus, claim 9 is drawn to a method, and claim 10 is drawn to a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium. Thus, each claim, on its face, is directed to one of the statutory categories (i.e., useful process, machine, manufacture, or composition of matter) of 35 U.S.C. 101.
Step 2A Prong One
Claim 1 recites the limitations of identifying a position of the terminal apparatus; and judging, on a basis of the position of the terminal apparatus, whether or not safety is ensured about a specific operation to control driving of the medical machine. These limitations, as drafted, are processes that, under their broadest reasonable interpretations, cover performance of the limitations in the mind or by using a pen and paper. For example, a person can observe or determine the position of a terminal apparatus and evaluate or judge whether that position provides sufficient safety for performing a particular operation of a medical machine. Even when considering the recitation of “processing circuitry configured to”, the claim encompasses performing the same observations and evaluations mentally, with processing circuitry merely serving as a generic tool to implement the mental process. The nominal recitation of a processing circuitry does not take the claim limitations out of the mental processes grouping. Thus, the claim recites a mental process which is an abstract idea.
Independent claims 9 and 10 recites identical or nearly identical steps with respect to claim 1 (and therefore also recite limitations that fall within this subject matter grouping of abstract ideas), and these claims are therefore determined to recite an abstract idea under the same analysis.
Under Step 2A Prong Two
The claimed limitations, as per claim 1, include:
processing circuitry configured to:
identify a position of the terminal apparatus;
judge, on a basis of the position of the terminal apparatus, whether or not safety is ensured about a specific operation to control driving of the medical machine, wherein the specific operation is an operation to be performed by using a dedicated operation machine included in the medical machine; and
control, in response to judging that the safety of the specific operation is ensured, the terminal apparatus to display a message indicating capability to receive the specific operation, and
control, upon receiving from the operator an operation indicating that the operator has acknowledged the message, the terminal apparatus to display, in addition to a screen displayed at normal times, an operation screen for receiving from the operator the specific operation to be performed by using the dedicated operation machine included in the medical machine.
Examiner Note: underlined elements indicate additional elements of the claimed invention identified as performing the steps of the claimed invention.
The judicial exception expressed in claim 1 is not integrated into a practical application. The claim as a whole merely describes how to generally “apply” the concept of evaluating and judging whether safety is ensured for performing a specific operation of a medical machine based on the position of a terminal apparatus in a computer environment. The claimed computer component (i.e., processing circuitry configured to) is recited at a high level of generality and are merely invoked as tools to perform an existing process of observing the position of the terminal apparatus and evaluating whether safety is ensured. Simply implementing the abstract idea on a generic computer is not a practical application of the abstract idea. Accordingly, alone and in combination, this additional element does not integrate the abstract idea into a practical application.
The judicial exception expressed in claim 1 is not integrated into a practical application. The abstract idea is merely carried out in a technical environment or field (i.e., medical machine operation control), however fails to contain meaningful limitations beyond generally linking the use of an abstract idea to a particular technological environment (see MPEP 2106.05(h)). The additional element that is carried out in a technical environment includes the specific operation is an operation to be performed by using a dedicated operation machine included in the medical machine. This limitation merely limits the use of the abstract idea to the field of medical machine control and does not improve the function of the medical machine or any other technology. Accordingly, alone and in combination, this additional element does not integrate the abstract idea into a practical application.
The judicial exception expressed in claim 1 is not integrated into a practical application. The claim recites the additional elements of control, in response to judging that the safety of the specific operation is ensured, the terminal apparatus to display a message indicating capability to receive the specific operation, and control, upon receiving from the operator an operation indicating that the operator has acknowledged the message, the terminal apparatus to display, in addition to a screen displayed at normal times, an operation screen for receiving from the operator the specific operation to be performed by using the dedicated operation machine included in the medical machine. These limitations are recited at a high level of generality (i.e., as a general means of displaying information, receiving user input, and presenting an operational screen), and amounts to merely displaying results, receiving information from a user, and presenting a graphical user interface based on the completed evaluation, which are forms of insignificant extra-solution activities. Accordingly, even in combination, these additional elements do not integrate the abstract idea into a practical application. The claim is directed to an abstract idea.
Therefore, under step 2A, the claims are directed to the abstract idea, and require further analysis under Step 2B.
Under step 2B
Claim 1 does not include additional elements that are sufficient to amount to significantly more than the judicial exception. As discussed with respect to Step 2A, the claim as a whole merely describes how to generally “apply” the concept of evaluating and judging whether safety is ensured for performing a specific operation of a medical machine based on the position of a terminal apparatus in a computer environment. Thus, even when viewed as a whole, nothing in the claim adds significantly more (i.e., an inventive concept) to the abstract idea.
Claim 1 does not include additional elements that are sufficient to amount to significantly more than the judicial exception. As discussed with respect to Step 2A, the abstract idea is merely carried out in a technical environment or field, however fails to contain meaningful limitations beyond generally linking the use of an abstract idea to a particular technological environment. Thus, even when viewed as a whole, nothing in the claim adds significantly more (i.e., an inventive concept) to the abstract idea.
For claim 1, under step 2B, the additional elements of control, in response to judging that the safety of the specific operation is ensured, the terminal apparatus to display a message indicating capability to receive the specific operation, and control, upon receiving from the operator an operation indicating that the operator has acknowledged the message, the terminal apparatus to display, in addition to a screen displayed at normal times, an operation screen for receiving from the operator the specific operation to be performed by using the dedicated operation machine included in the medical machine have been evaluated. The processing circuity performs the generic computer functions of receiving user input, controlling display output, and presenting a graphical user interface, which represents a well-understood, routine, and conventional activity in the field of computer-based user interfaces and terminal control. The specification discloses that the processing circuity is implemented using generic processors executing software and does not describe any improvement to the processor itself or to the functioning of the overall computer system (see [0131]-[0133]). Also noted in Electric Power Group, LLC v. Alstom S.A., 830 F.3d 1350, 1354, 119 USPQ2d 1739, 1742 (Fed. Cir. 2016), merely collecting, analysis, and displaying information without a technological improvement does not add significantly more to an abstract idea. Here the processing circuity merely receives user input associated with the operator’s acknowledgment, displays a notification and an operation screen based on the completed safety evaluation. Further, presenting operational controls through a graphical user interface to enable operator interaction with a controlled process was well-understood, routine, and conventional, as human-machine interfaces were conventionally used to replace dedicated physical controls with graphical controls that allowed operators to initiate and control machine operations (Knapp et al., Industrial Network Security (Second Edition): Chapter 4 - Introduction to Industrial Control Systems and Operations, 2015, Elsevier Inc, pages 64-66. (Year: 2015)). Lastly, merely presenting a graphical user interface after the completed evaluation constitutes routine post-evaluation computer activity and does not impose any meaningful limitation or add any technological improvement. Therefore, the claim does not recite an inventive concept and is not patent eligible.
Claims 2-5, and 7-8 recite the additional elements of the processing circuitry (claims 2, 5, and 7-8), the terminal apparatus (claims 3-5, and 7), the terminal controlling apparatus (claim 3), and an authentication apparatus (claim 5). However, these additional elements amount to implementing an abstract idea on a generic computing device. As such, these additional elements, when considered individually or in combination with the prior devices, do not integrate the abstract idea into a practical application or amount to significantly more than the abstract idea.
Thus, as the dependent claims remain directed to a judicial exception, and as the additional elements of the claims do not amount to significantly more, the dependent claims are not patent eligible.
Therefore, the claims here fail to contain any additional element(s) or combination of additional elements that can be considered as significantly more and the claims are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 101 for lacking eligible subject matter.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
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 35 U.S.C. 103 which forms the basis for all obviousness rejections set forth in this Office action:
A patent for a claimed invention may not be obtained, notwithstanding that the claimed invention is not identically disclosed as set forth in section 102, if the differences between the claimed invention and the prior art are such that the claimed invention as a whole would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art to which the claimed invention pertains. Patentability shall not be negated by the manner in which the invention was made.
The factual inquiries for establishing a background for determining obviousness under 35 U.S.C. 103 are summarized as follows:
1. Determining the scope and contents of the prior art.
2. Ascertaining the differences between the prior art and the claims at issue.
3. Resolving the level of ordinary skill in the pertinent art.
4. Considering objective evidence present in the application indicating obviousness or nonobviousness.
Claims 1-5, and 8-10 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Zhang et al. (International Publication No. WO 2020119500 A1), referred to hereinafter as Zhang, in view of Som (EP Publication No. EP2874789 B1), referred to hereinafter as Som.
Regarding claim 1, Zhang teaches a terminal controlling apparatus to control a terminal apparatus used by an operator of a medical machine, the terminal controlling apparatus comprising: processing circuitry configured to (Zhang, page 2, “The embodiment of the application provides a medical equipment control method, which is applied to a control system including an information detection device, an equipment control device, and a terminal, and the method includes: The information detection device detects the identification information of the terminal within a preset safe distance range, and sends the identification information to the equipment control device; When the device control apparatus passes the verification of the identification information, the terminal determines the current authority function of the terminal according to the acquired target operation parameters; the target operation parameters include the target area where the terminal is currently located and the target security condition; The device control device receives the operation instruction corresponding to the authority function sent by the terminal, and controls the medical device to perform the operation corresponding to the operation instruction; When the current state of the terminal meets a preset condition, the terminal switches the display mode to a preset target mode; the target mode is used to display content to be displayed by the terminal.”
Zhang, page 2, “With the advancement of society and the development of science and technology, most of the beds currently used in hospitals are controlled by intelligent control equipment. The operation of controlling the movement and fixing of the hospital bed can be operated on the CPAN of the rack and/or on the CTBOX in the operating room, and can also be controlled through a wireless terminal. In order to facilitate doctors to operate medical equipment to scan patients, mobile terminals that communicate with the medical equipment have been added to assist the scanning of medical equipment. The doctor can use the mobile terminal to control the position of the hospital bed, and then return to the console of the medical device to control the medical device to scan the patient.”, and
Zhang, page 7, “An embodiment of the present application provides a terminal including a memory and a processor, the memory stores a computer program, and the processor implements the following steps when executing the computer program: Acquire target operation parameters of the terminal, where the target operation parameters include the target area and the target safety conditions; Determine the authority function corresponding to the above-mentioned target operation parameter according to the corresponding relationship between the preset operation parameter and the authority function; Enable the permission function corresponding to the above target operation parameters.”):
identify a position of the terminal apparatus (Zhang, page 11, “Optionally, the terminal may determine the target area according to its current location, and determine the target security condition according to its current state. The target area may be a safe area or a non-safe area. The safe area may include a scan room and an operation room, and the non-safe area may include other areas except the scan room and the operation room. The current state of the terminal can include any of hand-held, detached, or put into the stand. Hand-held refers to the technician holding the terminal, and put into the stand refers to the terminal being attached to the rack of the medical equipment or the terminal being put into control In the bracket next to the terminal, detachment refers to the situation where the terminal is neither held by the technician nor placed in the bracket, that is, placed in another place. The terminal can obtain the current position through the GPS positioning device installed by itself to determine the target area; obtain the current state of the terminal through the signal obtained by the human body sensor and whether the charging device is charging to determine the target safety condition.”);
judge, on a basis of the position of the terminal apparatus, whether or not safety is ensured about a specific operation to control driving of the medical machine ((Zhang, page 11, “Optionally, the terminal may determine the target area according to its current location, and determine the target security condition according to its current state. The target area may be a safe area or a non-safe area. The safe area may include a scan room and an operation room, and the non-safe area may include other areas except the scan room and the operation room. The current state of the terminal can include any of hand-held, detached, or put into the stand. Hand-held refers to the technician holding the terminal, and put into the stand refers to the terminal being attached to the rack of the medical equipment or the terminal being put into control In the bracket next to the terminal, detachment refers to the situation where the terminal is neither held by the technician nor placed in the bracket, that is, placed in another place. The terminal can obtain the current position through the GPS positioning device installed by itself to determine the target area; obtain the current state of the terminal through the signal obtained by the human body sensor and whether the charging device is charging to determine the target safety condition.”, and
Zhang, page 16, “In this embodiment, the detection device 200 may be used to detect the terminal 104 within a safe distance, and the control device 202 may cooperate with the terminal 104 to perform specific operations on the medical device 206. The hidden danger of safety is avoided, so that the doctor can perform specific operations on the medical equipment while observing the patient, so that the doctor can operate more easily and conveniently, and has higher safety.”); and
control, in response to judging that the safety of the specific operation is ensured, the terminal apparatus (Zhang, page 11, “Optionally, the terminal may determine the target area according to its current location, and determine the target security condition according to its current state. The target area may be a safe area or a non-safe area. The safe area may include a scan room and an operation room, and the non-safe area may include other areas except the scan room and the operation room. The current state of the terminal can include any of hand-held, detached, or put into the stand. Hand-held refers to the technician holding the terminal, and put into the stand refers to the terminal being attached to the rack of the medical equipment or the terminal being put into control In the bracket next to the terminal, detachment refers to the situation where the terminal is neither held by the technician nor placed in the bracket, that is, placed in another place. The terminal can obtain the current position through the GPS positioning device installed by itself to determine the target area; obtain the current state of the terminal through the signal obtained by the human body sensor and whether the charging device is charging to determine the target safety condition.”).
Zhang fails to explicitly teach wherein the specific operation is an operation to be performed by using a dedicated operation machine included in the medical machine; and to display a message indicating capability to receive the specific operation, and control, upon receiving from the operator an operation indicating that the operator has acknowledged the message, the terminal apparatus to display, in addition to a screen displayed at normal times, an operation screen for receiving from the operator the specific operation to be performed by using the dedicated operation machine included in the medical machine.
Som teaches wherein the specific operation is an operation to be performed by using a dedicated operation machine included in the medical machine (Som, page 2, “The manual control device comprises electronics which comprise a microprocessor in order to be able to communicate with the robot controller. The manual control device further comprises a display designed as a touchscreen, an emergency stop button and a changeover switch designed as a lock. For manual movement of a robot arm, for example, the manual operating device comprises various input means or travel means which can be manually operated independently of one another and are designed, for example, as a 6D mouse or as tap buttons. By means of the touchscreen, it is possible to assign each of the travel means its own reference coordinate system. In the known embodiment, however, the control of the industrial robot takes place exclusively via the manually actuatable input means, so that the manual operating device is complicated to produce and is vulnerable to operation.”,
Som, page 3, “The method according to the invention opens up the possibility of controlling an industrial robot or another technical installation with increased safety requirements using an operating device which does not have any electrical operating elements but is operated exclusively via a display or touch display.”, and
Som, page 4, “Safety-relevant functions can also be triggered by the operating device, such as, for example, the selection of the operating mode for which a hardware key switch is usually required. Since the operating device with a graphical operator interface is constructed only in one channel in software and hardware, this is considered an insecure device in the sense of safety standards. However, functions can be triggered reliably by the method according to the invention.”); and
to display a message indicating capability to receive the specific operation, and control, upon receiving from the operator an operation indicating that the operator has acknowledged the message, the terminal apparatus to display, in addition to a screen displayed at normal times, an operation screen for receiving from the operator the specific operation to be performed by using the dedicated operation machine included in the medical machine (Som page 14 “On the touch display 20, various operating mode options are offered by the operating interface 18 in the form of virtual operating interfaces 80, 82, 84 such as soft keys for selection, as is illustrated in FIG. 7. By touching one of these soft keys 80, 82, 84, the operator selects a new operating mode "X". The software of the user interface sends the newly selected operating mode as a command "Request New Operation Mode-X" to the secure monitoring device 78. The secure monitor 78 retrieves from its memory 86 graphical information corresponding to this mode of operation, such as icon 88, and places it at a randomly determined display location in a larger image 90. This image 90 is sent as an image file such as a bitmap to the user interface 18 and is displayed there in a defined position, as is shown in FIG. 8.”
Som, page 14, “A finger tip on the displayed icon 88 will require the operator to confirm the mode of operation detected by the secure monitor 78. A touch position on the touch display is detected in the form of touch coordinates X/Y and sent back to the secure monitoring device 78. This compares the touch position with the display position of the icon 88 in the image 90 The comparison is made taking into account the known position of the image 90 on the touch display 20 and the known random display position of the icon within the image 90 If both positions are the same (within a defined tolerance), the initiated mode change is carried out. Otherwise, the mode change is discarded and the previous mode is maintained.”, and
Som, page 14, “This method creates a safe circle of action between the operator and the safe monitoring device 78: the operator selects a mode of operation, the secure monitoring device 78 displays the recognized operating mode on the operating device 10, the operator confirms to the safe monitoring device 78 the correctness of the displayed operating mode, the secure monitor 78 sets the new mode.”).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of the invention to modify the medical equipment control system of Zhang to incorporate the graphical user interface and operator confirmation techniques taught by Som. Zhang teaches determining whether a terminal is in a safe area based on the terminal's position and safety condition before permitting specific operations on a medical device, which improves operational safety. However, Zhang does not expressly disclose presenting the operator with a graphical confirmation interface before enabling the requested operation. Som teaches that, after a safety function is requested, a graphical operating interface displays the selected operating mode, receives an operator confirmation, and only then permits execution of the requested function. Incorporating Som's graphical confirmation interface into Zhang would have predictably improved the safety and reliability of remote medical device operation by ensuring that the operator confirms the requested operation before it is enabled, which reduces the likelihood of an unintended operation of the medical equipment.
In addition, one of ordinary skill in the art would have recognized that the graphical confirmation interface of Som is applicable to any safety critical machine control environment, including Zhang's medical equipment control system, because both references address the common objective of safely permitting remote operation of equipment through an operator interface after satisfaction of predetermined safety conditions. Substituting Som's known graphical confirmation workflow for Zhang's operator interface would involve the predictable use of a known user interface technique to improve operator verification while preserving Zhang's existing safety determination based on terminal location and condition, yielding no more than the expected result of increased operational safety and reduced operator error.
Lastly, it would have been obvious to display the operation screen in addition to a screen displayed at normal times, rather than replacing the existing display, because presenting additional windows, dialogs, overlays, or secondary operation screens while maintaining the existing display information represented a well-known graphical user interface design choice. This modification would have predictably allowed the operator to continue viewing existing operational information while interacting with the additional operation interface and would have constituted nothing more than the application of conventional GUI presentation techniques to the combined system.
Regarding claim 2, Zhang and Som teach the invention in claim 1, as discussed above, and further teach wherein the processing circuitry is further configured to (Zhang, page 7, “An embodiment of the present application provides a terminal including a memory and a processor, the memory stores a computer program, and the processor implements the following steps when executing the computer program: Acquire target operation parameters of the terminal, where the target operation parameters include the target area and the target safety conditions; Determine the authority function corresponding to the above-mentioned target operation parameter according to the corresponding relationship between the preset operation parameter and the authority function; Enable the permission function corresponding to the above target operation parameters.”):
identify a state of the operator (Zhang, page 11, “Optionally, the terminal may determine the target area according to its current location, and determine the target security condition according to its current state. The target area may be a safe area or a non-safe area. The safe area may include a scan room and an operation room, and the non-safe area may include other areas except the scan room and the operation room. The current state of the terminal can include any of hand-held, detached, or put into the stand. Hand-held refers to the technician holding the terminal, and put into the stand refers to the terminal being attached to the rack of the medical equipment or the terminal being put into control In the bracket next to the terminal, detachment refers to the situation where the terminal is neither held by the technician nor placed in the bracket, that is, placed in another place. The terminal can obtain the current position through the GPS positioning device installed by itself to determine the target area; obtain the current state of the terminal through the signal obtained by the human body sensor and whether the charging device is charging to determine the target safety condition.”); and
judge whether or not the safety of the specific operation is ensured on a basis of the position of the terminal apparatus and the state of the operator (Zhang, page 11, “Optionally, the terminal may determine the target area according to its current location, and determine the target security condition according to its current state. The target area may be a safe area or a non-safe area. The safe area may include a scan room and an operation room, and the non-safe area may include other areas except the scan room and the operation room. The current state of the terminal can include any of hand-held, detached, or put into the stand. Hand-held refers to the technician holding the terminal, and put into the stand refers to the terminal being attached to the rack of the medical equipment or the terminal being put into control In the bracket next to the terminal, detachment refers to the situation where the terminal is neither held by the technician nor placed in the bracket, that is, placed in another place. The terminal can obtain the current position through the GPS positioning device installed by itself to determine the target area; obtain the current state of the terminal through the signal obtained by the human body sensor and whether the charging device is charging to determine the target safety condition.”).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of the invention to configure the system of Zhang, as modified by Som for the reasons discussed with respect to claim 1, to identify the operator's state and determine whether a specific operation is safe based on both the position of the terminal apparatus and the operator's state. Zhang teaches determining a target safety condition using both the terminal's current location and its current state (hand-held, detached, or placed in a stand), where the terminal state reflects the operator's interaction with the terminal. A person of ordinary skill in the art would have recognized that considering both location and operator state before permitting a safety sensitive operation predictably improves operational safety by reducing the likelihood of unintended operation of the medical device, representing nothing more than the predictable use of known safety factors according to their established functions.
Regarding claim 3, Zhang and Som teach the invention in claim 2, as discussed above, and further teach wherein the terminal apparatus is configured to communicate with the terminal controlling apparatus by using a wireless communication technique, and the processing circuitry is further configured to (Zhang, page 2, “The embodiment of the application provides a medical equipment control method, which is applied to a control system including an information detection device, an equipment control device, and a terminal, and the method includes: The information detection device detects the identification information of the terminal within a preset safe distance range, and sends the identification information to the equipment control device; When the device control apparatus passes the verification of the identification information, the terminal determines the current authority function of the terminal according to the acquired target operation parameters; the target operation parameters include the target area where the terminal is currently located and the target security condition; The device control device receives the operation instruction corresponding to the authority function sent by the terminal, and controls the medical device to perform the operation corresponding to the operation instruction; When the current state of the terminal meets a preset condition, the terminal switches the display mode to a preset target mode; the target mode is used to display content to be displayed by the terminal.”
Zhang, pages 30-31, “Specifically, the communication connection between the terminal and the control device may be a wireless communication connection or a wired communication connection. When it is a wired communication connection, it can be when the terminal is in the operating room, the technician connects the connection line to the terminal; when it is a wireless communication connection, the wireless data communication method can be radio frequency signal transmission, Bluetooth signal transmission, etc. After receiving the display content sent by the control device, the terminal can display the display content in the target mode.”, and
Zhang, page 7, “An embodiment of the present application provides a terminal including a memory and a processor, the memory stores a computer program, and the processor implements the following steps when executing the computer program: Acquire target operation parameters of the terminal, where the target operation parameters include the target area and the target safety conditions; Determine the authority function corresponding to the above-mentioned target operation parameter according to the corresponding relationship between the preset operation parameter and the authority function; Enable the permission function corresponding to the above target operation parameters.”)
identify the position of the terminal apparatus by using the wireless communication technique (Zhang, page 10, “Specifically, this embodiment does not specifically limit the specific value of the preset safety distance range, as long as the terminal is guaranteed to be safe when in use. Optionally, the safety distance range can be 1m, 2m or 3m, which can be based on actual conditions. Need to choose. After the information detection device detects the identification information of the terminal within the preset safe distance range, the identification information can be sent to the equipment control device. Optionally, the information detection device and the equipment control device may communicate through wired data transmission, or through wireless data transmission.”, and
Zhang, page 11, “Optionally, the terminal may determine the target area according to its current location, and determine the target security condition according to its current state. The target area may be a safe area or a non-safe area. The safe area may include a scan room and an operation room, and the non-safe area may include other areas except the scan room and the operation room. The current state of the terminal can include any of hand-held, detached, or put into the stand. Hand-held refers to the technician holding the terminal, and put into the stand refers to the terminal being attached to the rack of the medical equipment or the terminal being put into control In the bracket next to the terminal, detachment refers to the situation where the terminal is neither held by the technician nor placed in the bracket, that is, placed in another place. The terminal can obtain the current position through the GPS positioning device installed by itself to determine the target area; obtain the current state of the terminal through the signal obtained by the human body sensor and whether the charging device is charging to determine the target safety condition.”); and
determine that the safety of the specific operation is ensured, when the terminal apparatus is positioned inside a room in which the medical machine is installed, while the operator is in a state of being able to view one of the medical machine and an examined subject (Zhang, page 11, “Optionally, the terminal may determine the target area according to its current location, and determine the target security condition according to its current state. The target area may be a safe area or a non-safe area. The safe area may include a scan room and an operation room, and the non-safe area may include other areas except the scan room and the operation room. The current state of the terminal can include any of hand-held, detached, or put into the stand. Hand-held refers to the technician holding the terminal, and put into the stand refers to the terminal being attached to the rack of the medical equipment or the terminal being put into control In the bracket next to the terminal, detachment refers to the situation where the terminal is neither held by the technician nor placed in the bracket, that is, placed in another place. The terminal can obtain the current position through the GPS positioning device installed by itself to determine the target area; obtain the current state of the terminal through the signal obtained by the human body sensor and whether the charging device is charging to determine the target safety condition.”,
Zhang, page 16 “In one embodiment, the camera can also be used to determine whether there is a person near the emergency stop button (installed in the detection device 200) according to a preset video algorithm (it can be judged by capturing the characteristic points of the person, such as the head, Shoulders etc.). If there is a person, it is allowed to perform mobile terminal security-related operations, and then the direction of the operator's operation face is determined according to the way the person operates the terminal 104 by hand. In one embodiment, moving the bed facing the hospital bed can be used to move the bed normally, but the bed moving operation is not allowed. The cooperation of the camera and the detection device 200 can further increase safety.”, and
Zhang, page 16, “In this embodiment, the detection device 200 may be used to detect the terminal 104 within a safe distance, and the control device 202 may cooperate with the terminal 104 to perform specific operations on the medical device 206. The hidden danger of safety is avoided, so that the doctor can perform specific operations on the medical equipment while observing the patient, so that the doctor can operate more easily and conveniently, and has higher safety.”) .
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of the invention to configure Zhang's wireless terminal to identify its position using the disclosed wireless communication techniques while determining whether a safety sensitive operation should be permitted. Zhang teaches wireless communication between the terminal and the control device using radio frequency signals, Bluetooth, and other wireless communication methods, as well as determining the terminal's current position and target safety condition based on its location within a safe area. One of ordinary skill in the art would have recognized that utilizing the disclosed wireless communication capabilities together with the terminal's location information to determine whether the terminal is positioned within the appropriate room and whether the operator is able to safely observe the medical machine or examined subject before permitting operation represents the predictable use of known wireless communication and location determination techniques according to their established functions, predictably improve operational safety and reducing the likelihood of unintended operation of the medical device.
Regarding claim 4, Zhang and Som teach the invention in claim 2, as discussed above, and further teach wherein the medical machine includes a connection part to which the terminal apparatus is to be connected, and the processing circuitry is further configured to (Zhang, page 28, “At present, when the doctor returns to the console with the mobile terminal, the interface display mode of the mobile terminal is still the operation interface for controlling the hospital bed, or the mobile terminal is in an off-screen state when it is placed on a dedicated charging base near the console.”, and
Zhang, page 7, “An embodiment of the present application provides a terminal including a memory and a processor, the memory stores a computer program, and the processor implements the following steps when executing the computer program: Acquire target operation parameters of the terminal, where the target operation parameters include the target area and the target safety conditions; Determine the authority function corresponding to the above-mentioned target operation parameter according to the corresponding relationship between the preset operation parameter and the authority function; Enable the permission function corresponding to the above target operation parameters.”):
identify the position of the terminal apparatus by detecting that the terminal apparatus is connected to the connection part (Zhang, page 28, “At present, when the doctor returns to the console with the mobile terminal, the interface display mode of the mobile terminal is still the operation interface for controlling the hospital bed, or the mobile terminal is in an off-screen state when it is placed on a dedicated charging base near the console.”, and
Zhang, page 29, “Among them, the dedicated charging base of the terminal is usually set near the console, and by detecting whether the terminal is in a charging state, it can be determined whether the terminal has entered the operating room.”); and
determine that the safety of the specific operation is ensured, when the terminal apparatus is connected to the connection part, while the operator is facing the terminal apparatus straight on (Zhang, page 11, “Optionally, the terminal may determine the target area according to its current location, and determine the target security condition according to its current state. The target area may be a safe area or a non-safe area. The safe area may include a scan room and an operation room, and the non-safe area may include other areas except the scan room and the operation room. The current state of the terminal can include any of hand-held, detached, or put into the stand. Hand-held refers to the technician holding the terminal, and put into the stand refers to the terminal being attached to the rack of the medical equipment or the terminal being put into control In the bracket next to the terminal, detachment refers to the situation where the terminal is neither held by the technician nor placed in the bracket, that is, placed in another place. The terminal can obtain the current position through the GPS positioning device installed by itself to determine the target area; obtain the current state of the terminal through the signal obtained by the human body sensor and whether the charging device is charging to determine the target safety condition.”,
Zhang, page 28, “At present, when the doctor returns to the console with the mobile terminal, the interface display mode of the mobile terminal is still the operation interface for controlling the hospital bed, or the mobile terminal is in an off-screen state when it is placed on a dedicated charging base near the console.”,
Zhang, page 29, “Among them, the dedicated charging base of the terminal is usually set near the console, and by detecting whether the terminal is in a charging state, it can be determined whether the terminal has entered the operating room.”, and
Zhang, page 16, “In one embodiment, the camera can also be used to determine whether there is a person near the emergency stop button (installed in the detection device 200) according to a preset video algorithm (it can be judged by capturing the characteristic points of the person, such as the head, Shoulders etc.). If there is a person, it is allowed to perform mobile terminal security-related operations, and then the direction of the operator's operation face is determined according to the way the person operates the terminal 104 by hand. In one embodiment, moving the bed facing the hospital bed can be used to move the bed normally, but the bed moving operation is not allowed. The cooperation of the camera and the detection device 200 can further increase safety.”).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of the invention to configure Zhang's medical equipment control system to determine that a safety-sensitive operation is permitted when the terminal is connected to the dedicated charging base and the operator is positioned to directly interact with the terminal. Zhang teaches determining that the terminal has entered the operating room by detecting that the terminal is connected to the dedicated charging base, and further teaches determining target safety conditions based on the terminal's location and current state before permitting specific operations on the medical device. One of ordinary skill in the art would have recognized that positioning the operator to directly face the docked terminal while initiating a safety sensitive operation represents a predictable implementation of known safety principles, allowing the operator to clearly observe the displayed information and interact with the terminal before enabling the requested operation, which improve operational safety and reducing the likelihood of inadvertent operation. This modification represents the predictable use of known safety techniques according to their established functions.
Regarding claim 5, Zhang and Som teach the invention in claim 2, as discussed above, and further teach wherein the processing circuitry is further configured to (Zhang, page 7, “An embodiment of the present application provides a terminal including a memory and a processor, the memory stores a computer program, and the processor implements the following steps when executing the computer program: Acquire target operation parameters of the terminal, where the target operation parameters include the target area and the target safety conditions; Determine the authority function corresponding to the above-mentioned target operation parameter according to the corresponding relationship between the preset operation parameter and the authority function; Enable the permission function corresponding to the above target operation parameters.”):
identify eligibility of the operator related to the specific operation, by using an authentication apparatus included in the terminal apparatus (Zhang, page 12, “In the medical device control method provided in this embodiment, the terminal can be used to send operation instructions only after the device control device passes the verification of the terminal's identification information, and the operation instructions are sent under the authority function of the terminal currently located, thus It can greatly improve the safety of the terminal in the control of medical equipment and prevent potential safety hazards; in addition, when the terminal meets certain conditions, it can also be switched to the target working mode, which greatly improves the utilization of the terminal and also improves the use Interactivity at the terminal.”
Zhang, page 16, “In one embodiment, the step of acquiring the identification information sent by the detection device 200 through the control device 202 and verifying the identification information includes: acquiring the identification information sent by the detection device 200 through the control device 202 Of multiple identification information. The multiple identification information and the preset identification information are verified one by one. In one embodiment, the control device 202 has a one-to-one correspondence with the preset identification information. That is, one control device 202 can only match one terminal 104. In one embodiment, when the control device 202 receives multiple pieces of identification information, it will verify the multiple pieces of identification information one by one until the verification result is that the identification information is the same as the preset identification information. If it matches, the verification of other identification information will be stopped. This method of verification increases the safety during use.”, and
Zhang, page 21, “Specifically, the mobile terminal can calculate the current position of the mobile terminal by receiving the signal strength of each Bluetooth beacon. Of course, the current position of the mobile terminal can also be obtained through the GPS and other positioning devices built into the mobile terminal itself. The mobile terminal can obtain the current state of the mobile terminal through the signal obtained by the human body sensor and whether the charging device is charging. For example, if the signal obtained by the human body sensor changes, then the current state of the mobile terminal can be considered to be handheld, or the charging device is charging, then the current state of the mobile terminal can be considered to be placed in the cradle. It can be considered that the current state of the mobile terminal is disengaged, for example, the mobile terminal is placed on the desktop; in addition, when the current state of the mobile terminal is disengaged, optionally, the lock screen time can be set, for example, 3 seconds lock Screen time, the mobile terminal will automatically lock the screen after 3 seconds after being separated, and can only be used after the user re-authenticates.” ); and
determine that the safety of the specific operation is ensured, when the terminal apparatus is positioned in a predetermined location other than a room in which the medical machine is installed, while the operator is an eligible person for the specific operation and is in a state of being able to view one of the medical machine and an examined subject (Zhang, page 28, “The terminal mode switching method provided by the embodiment of the present application may be applicable to the scenario shown in FIG. 16. In the current work flow of medical equipment, the patient first enters the scanning room from the patient's door and exits, listens to the instructions of the technician, lies on the bed, and the technician holds the terminal to control the rise and advance of the bed and locate the patient's part to be scanned. , Then the technician takes the terminal from the technician in and out and returns to the operating room, operating the control equipment to complete the patient inspection, and finally the technician takes the terminal from the technician in and out of the door into the scanning room, and asks the patient to get out of the bed to welcome the next patient. However, when the technician takes the terminal from the technician in and out to the operating room to operate the control device, the terminal's interface display mode is still the operating interface of the control bed, or the terminal is off when the terminal is placed on the special charging base near the control device status.”
Zhang, page 11, “Optionally, the terminal may determine the target area according to its current location, and determine the target security condition according to its current state. The target area may be a safe area or a non-safe area. The safe area may include a scan room and an operation room, and the non-safe area may include other areas except the scan room and the operation room. The current state of the terminal can include any of hand-held, detached, or put into the stand. Hand-held refers to the technician holding the terminal, and put into the stand refers to the terminal being attached to the rack of the medical equipment or the terminal being put into control In the bracket next to the terminal, detachment refers to the situation where the terminal is neither held by the technician nor placed in the bracket, that is, placed in another place. The terminal can obtain the current position through the GPS positioning device installed by itself to determine the target area; obtain the current state of the terminal through the signal obtained by the human body sensor and whether the charging device is charging to determine the target safety condition.”,
Zhang, page 21, “Specifically, the mobile terminal can calculate the current position of the mobile terminal by receiving the signal strength of each Bluetooth beacon. Of course, the current position of the mobile terminal can also be obtained through the GPS and other positioning devices built into the mobile terminal itself. The mobile terminal can obtain the current state of the mobile terminal through the signal obtained by the human body sensor and whether the charging device is charging. For example, if the signal obtained by the human body sensor changes, then the current state of the mobile terminal can be considered to be handheld, or the charging device is charging, then the current state of the mobile terminal can be considered to be placed in the cradle. It can be considered that the current state of the mobile terminal is disengaged, for example, the mobile terminal is placed on the desktop; in addition, when the current state of the mobile terminal is disengaged, optionally, the lock screen time can be set, for example, 3 seconds lock Screen time, the mobile terminal will automatically lock the screen after 3 seconds after being separated, and can only be used after the user re-authenticates.”, and
Zhang, page 16, “In one embodiment, the camera can also be used to determine whether there is a person near the emergency stop button (installed in the detection device 200) according to a preset video algorithm (it can be judged by capturing the characteristic points of the person, such as the head, Shoulders etc.). If there is a person, it is allowed to perform mobile terminal security-related operations, and then the direction of the operator's operation face is determined according to the way the person operates the terminal 104 by hand. In one embodiment, moving the bed facing the hospital bed can be used to move the bed normally, but the bed moving operation is not allowed. The cooperation of the camera and the detection device 200 can further increase safety.”).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of the invention to configure Zhang's medical equipment control system to determine that a safety sensitive operation is permitted when the authenticated operator is positioned in a predetermined location separate from the medical machine while remaining able to observe the medical machine or the examined subject. Zhang teaches determining target safety conditions based on the terminal's current location and state, authenticating the user before permitting continued use of the terminal, and performing medical equipment operations from the operating room while the operator observes the patient. One of ordinary skill in the art would have recognized that combining these disclosed safety conditions, authenticated operator, predetermined operator location, and continued visual observation of the medical machine or patient, represents the predictable use of known safety measures according to their established functions to reduce the likelihood of unauthorized or unsafe operation of the medical equipment while maintaining effective remote control. This combination would have predictably improved operational safety without changing the fundamental operation of Zhang's medical equipment control system.
Regarding claim 8, Zhang and Som teach the invention in claim 1, as discussed above, and further teach wherein the processing circuitry is further configured to identify a state of the operator, by using one or both of an image obtained by a camera provided inside a room in which the medical machine is installed and an image obtained by a camera of the terminal apparatus (Zhang, page 16 “In one embodiment, the camera can also be used to determine whether there is a person near the emergency stop button (installed in the detection device 200) according to a preset video algorithm (it can be judged by capturing the characteristic points of the person, such as the head, Shoulders etc.). If there is a person, it is allowed to perform mobile terminal security-related operations, and then the direction of the operator's operation face is determined according to the way the person operates the terminal 104 by hand. In one embodiment, moving the bed facing the hospital bed can be used to move the bed normally, but the bed moving operation is not allowed. The cooperation of the camera and the detection device 200 can further increase safety.”).”, and
Zhang, page 30, Optionally, detecting whether the terminal receives the preset sensing signal may include: detecting whether the terminal receives the sensing signal sent by the sensor through Near Field Communication (NFC). Among them, the sensor can be installed on the control device, and can transmit a certain distance sensing signal, and the coverage of the sensing signal is the area range of the operation room. By detecting whether the terminal receives the sensing signal, it can be determined whether the terminal has entered the operating room. Optionally, the manner of detecting whether the terminal is in the charging state may include: detecting whether the battery current of the terminal exceeds a current threshold, and if it exceeds, it can be determined that the terminal is in the charging state. Among them, the dedicated charging base of the terminal is usually set near the console, and by detecting whether the terminal is in a charging state, it can be determined whether the terminal has entered the operating room. Optionally, the location information of the terminal can be obtained by user input, or obtained by recognition of the image taken by the camera in the operation room, or obtained by the locator signal in the terminal, and judge whether it is in the area of the operation room (that is, the target position) by the position of the terminal, It can be judged whether the terminal has entered the operation room.”).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of the invention to configure Zhang's terminal controlling apparatus to identify a state of the operator using images obtained by a camera in the operating room, as taught by Zhang. Zhang teaches using a camera and image processing to determine whether a person is present and to determine the direction of the operator's face in order to enable or restrict mobile terminal operations based on safety considerations. Zhang further teaches using image recognition from a camera in the operating room to determine the terminal's location within the operating room. One of ordinary skill in the art would have recognized that using image information from the operating room camera to identify the operator's state and location would have been a predictable implementation of Zhang's safety control system, which improves the accuracy of determining whether safety conditions are satisfied before permitting operation of the medical equipment. Using image recognition in this manner applies known computer vision techniques according to their established functions to enhance operational safety and would have yielded the predictable result of more reliable operator state determination.
Claims 9 and 10 are analogous to claim 1, thus claims 9 and 10 are similarly analyzed and rejected in a manner consistent with the rejection of claim 1.
Claim 7 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Zhang et al. (International Publication No. WO 2020119500 A1), referred to hereinafter as Zhang, in view of Som (EP Publication No. EP2874789 B1), referred to hereinafter as Som, and further in view of Maytal et al. (U.S. Patent Publication 2018/0114444 A1).
Regarding claim 7, Zhang and Som teach the invention in claim 1, as discussed above, and further teach wherein the processing circuitry is further configured to (Zhang, page 7, “An embodiment of the present application provides a terminal including a memory and a processor, the memory stores a computer program, and the processor implements the following steps when executing the computer program: Acquire target operation parameters of the terminal, where the target operation parameters include the target area and the target safety conditions; Determine the authority function corresponding to the above-mentioned target operation parameter according to the corresponding relationship between the preset operation parameter and the authority function; Enable the permission function corresponding to the above target operation parameters.”):
identify states of the operator and at least one person other than the operator who are present in a room in which the medical machine is installed (Zhang, page 16 “In one embodiment, the camera can also be used to determine whether there is a person near the emergency stop button (installed in the detection device 200) according to a preset video algorithm (it can be judged by capturing the characteristic points of the person, such as the head, Shoulders etc.). If there is a person, it is allowed to perform mobile terminal security-related operations, and then the direction of the operator's operation face is determined according to the way the person operates the terminal 104 by hand. In one embodiment, moving the bed facing the hospital bed can be used to move the bed normally, but the bed moving operation is not allowed. The cooperation of the camera and the detection device 200 can further increase safety.”, and
Zhang, page 11, “Optionally, the terminal may determine the target area according to its current location, and determine the target security condition according to its current state. The target area may be a safe area or a non-safe area. The safe area may include a scan room and an operation room, and the non-safe area may include other areas except the scan room and the operation room. The current state of the terminal can include any of hand-held, detached, or put into the stand. Hand-held refers to the technician holding the terminal, and put into the stand refers to the terminal being attached to the rack of the medical equipment or the terminal being put into control In the bracket next to the terminal, detachment refers to the situation where the terminal is neither held by the technician nor placed in the bracket, that is, placed in another place. The terminal can obtain the current position through the GPS positioning device installed by itself to determine the target area; obtain the current state of the terminal through the signal obtained by the human body sensor and whether the charging device is charging to determine the target safety condition.”);
judge whether or not one of the operator and the at least one person is in a position that, when the specific operation is performed, has a possibility of being affected by the driving of the medical machine from a safety viewpoint (Zhang, page 16 “In one embodiment, the camera can also be used to determine whether there is a person near the emergency stop button (installed in the detection device 200) according to a preset video algorithm (it can be judged by capturing the characteristic points of the person, such as the head, Shoulders etc.). If there is a person, it is allowed to perform mobile terminal security-related operations, and then the direction of the operator's operation face is determined according to the way the person operates the terminal 104 by hand. In one embodiment, moving the bed facing the hospital bed can be used to move the bed normally, but the bed moving operation is not allowed. The cooperation of the camera and the detection device 200 can further increase safety.”); and
in response to judging that one of the operator and the at least one person is in the position that has the possibility of being affected (Zhang, page 16 “In one embodiment, the camera can also be used to determine whether there is a person near the emergency stop button (installed in the detection device 200) according to a preset video algorithm (it can be judged by capturing the characteristic points of the person, such as the head, Shoulders etc.). If there is a person, it is allowed to perform mobile terminal security-related operations, and then the direction of the operator's operation face is determined according to the way the person operates the terminal 104 by hand. In one embodiment, moving the bed facing the hospital bed can be used to move the bed normally, but the bed moving operation is not allowed. The cooperation of the camera and the detection device 200 can further increase safety.” ).
Zhang and Som fail to explicitly teach issue an alert via the terminal apparatus.
Maytal teaches issue an alert via the terminal apparatus (Maytal [0017] “A non-limiting example of system 100 may include, in part or in whole, an operator alertness monitoring system that includes a proximate condition monitor that is configured to issue an alert to direct an operator's attention to a detected hazardous condition, and an operator alertness monitor that is configured to detect the operator's physiological reaction to the issued alert and instruct the proximate condition monitor to respond to the operator's detected physiological reaction to the issued alert.”
Maytal [0021] “Operator warning device 115 may refer to a device that may be configured, designed, and/or programmed to provide a visual and/or audio warning or stimulus subsequent to proximate condition monitor 110 determining the existence of one or more conditions that may affect the performance of system 100 and/or the safety of user 105 or any other person in or near system 100 during operation thereof.”, and
Maytal [0022] “Non-limiting examples of such visual and/or audio warning produced by operator warning device 115 may include one or more of: an illuminated icon, e.g., battery, on a dashboard of an automobile or vehicle; a textual display, e.g., “close object,” on a dashboard or head-up display of an automobile or vehicle; a prerecorded audio warning to advise of a potential or existing dangerous or hazardous condition relative to system 100; internal lights of system 100 being turned on.”).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of the invention to modify Zhang to incorporate the operator warning techniques taught by Marta. Zhang determines whether persons are present and whether safety sensitive operations should be permitted based on the positions and states of the operator and other persons near the medical machine in order to improve operational safety. Marta teaches that, after determining a hazardous condition that may affect the safety of an operator or nearby person, an operator warning device issues a visual or audio alert to direct the operator's attention to the hazardous condition. One of ordinary skill in the art would have recognized that incorporating Marta's warning functionality into Zhang's safety monitoring system would have predictably improved operator awareness of hazardous conditions before or during performance of the specific operation, which further reduces the likelihood of injury while employing the known warning techniques according to their established functions.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments and amendments, see Remarks/Amendments submitted 02/20/2026with respect to the rejection of claims 1-5, and 7-10 have been carefully considered and are addressed below.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 101
Applicant's arguments have been fully considered but are not persuasive. Although Applicant characterizes the claims as reciting a "specific technical control sequence" and a "concrete safety control architecture," the claims, under their broadest reasonable interpretation, remain directed to the abstract idea of identifying the position of a terminal apparatus, evaluating whether safety conditions are satisfied for performing a specific operation, and permitting the operation based on that evaluation. The additional limitations of displaying a notification, receiving an operator acknowledgment, and displaying an operation screen merely implement the result of the completed safety evaluation using generic processing circuitry and a conventional graphical user interface. These limitations do not improve the functioning of the processing circuitry, the terminal apparatus, the medical machine, or any other underlying technology, but only automate and present the results of the abstract decision making process.
Applicant further states that the staged notification and acknowledgment sequence provides a technological improvement by preventing erroneous operations of the medical machine. However, the claimed notification, acknowledgment, and operation screen merely constitute conventional user-interface interactions that occur after the safety determination has been completed and therefore amount to insignificant extra-solution activity. As discussed in the Office Action, the specification describes the processing circuitry as generic processors executing software, and the claims do not recite any improvement to the processor, graphical user interface technology, communication protocol, or operation of the medical machine itself. Rather, the claims merely limit the use of the abstract idea to the field of medical machine control and implement the resulting decision through routine computer functions of displaying information, receiving user input, and presenting operational controls. Accordingly, the claims do not integrate the judicial exception into a practical application and do not recite an inventive concept sufficient to amount to significantly more than the abstract idea.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
Applicant’s arguments traversing the prior art rejection in the previous Office Action have been fully considered. However, those arguments are rendered moot because the present rejection under 35 U.S.C. §103 relies on a different set of prior art references (Zhang and Som, or Zhang, Som, and Maytal), which teach or suggest the limitations of the claims. Accordingly, Applicant’s prior arguments are not responsive to the current grounds of rejection. The rejection of claims 1-5, and 7-10 under 35 U.S.C. §103 is therefore maintained.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
Kagermeier et al. (US Patent Publication 2005/0004630 A1) teaches medical diagnosis and therapy system that uses a detachable wireless operator control device communicating through a console to establish an interface free wireless transmission path for sending control signals to the apparatus’s control unit.
Johannesson et al. (US Patent Publication 2022/0223277A1) teaches a method that allows a remote system to take control of a medical device’s actuator by transferring control from local medical processes to a remote control process when certain criteria are met, and then sending confirmation that the remote control is active.
Offermanns et al. (US Patent Publication 2023/0058803 A1) teaches a method and system for remotely monitoring a medical device located in a closed patient treatment room by wirelessly linking it to a terminal device based on a sensor detected patient ID, enabling data exchange and display of patient-related monitoring or treatment information on the terminal’s interface.
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/K.R.L./Examiner, Art Unit 3685
/KAMBIZ ABDI/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 3685
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