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 .
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 allowance or after an Office action under Ex Parte Quayle, 25 USPQ 74, 453 O.G. 213 (Comm'r Pat. 1935). 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, prosecution in this application has been reopened pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114. Applicant's submission filed on 28 April 2026 has been entered.
Examiner Note
Examiner notes claims 9-18, set forth in the claim set filed 30 December 2025, are renumbered as claims 8-17 as set forth in the Notice of Allowance dated 5 March 2026. Further, renumbered claim 15 (previously claim 16) was verified as depending from renumbered claim 14 (previously claim 15) during an interview with Applicant on 17 March 2026.
Claim Objections
Claims 1-6, 16 and 17 are objected to because of the following informalities: “the spline” in line 22 of claim 1 should state “the flexible spline”. Appropriate correction is required.
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 1-17 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.
Claim 1 recites the limitation "the shape" in line 1. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim.
Claim 1 states “a shape of the flexible spline” in line 9. It is unclear as to whether the claim is attempting to refer back to “the shape of a flexible spline” as set forth in the preamble or if the claim is attempting to define an additional shape.
Claim 1 recites the limitation “the first and second endpoints locations” in lines 11 and 13-14. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim.
Claim 1 recites the limitation "the length of a chord" in line 13. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim.
Claim 1 recites the limitation “the length of a control polyline” in line 14. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim.
Claim 1 recites the limitation “the quadrative Bezier curve parameters” in line 20. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim.
Claim 1 recites the limitation “the physical flexible spline” in lines 21-22.
Claim 1 recites the limitation “the first endpoint location” in line 35. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim.
Claim 1 recites the limitation “the second endpoint location” in line 36. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim.
Claim 7 states “a distal end of the distal end assembly” in line 7. It is unclear as to whether this limitation is attempting to refer back to “a distal end” as defined in line 5.
Claim 7 recites the limitation "the flexible spline" in line 14. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim. Examiner notes “a plurality of splines” is set forth in line 4 of the claim.
Claim 7 recites the limitation "the first and second endpoints locations" in lines 15-16. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim.
Claim 7 recites the limitation "the length of a chord" in lines 17-18. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim.
Claim 7 recites the limitation "the length of a control polyline" in 18-19. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim.
Claim 7 recites the limitation "the first endpoint location" in line 19. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim.
Claim 7 recites the limitation "the second endpoint location" in line 20. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim.
Claim 7 recites the limitation "the quadratic Bezier curve parameters" in line 24. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim.
Claim 7 recites the limitation "the physical flexible spline" in line 25. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim.
Claim 7 recites the limitation "the spline" in line 26. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim.
Claim 7 states “determined in step b)” in line 30; however, there are no steps listed in the claim.
Claim 7 recites the limitation "the known catheter spline length" in line 33. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim.
Claim 7 states “on a display” in line 39. It is unclear as to whether the limitation is attempting to further define “an electronic display” a set forth in line 38.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to ROCHELLE DEANNA TURCHEN whose telephone number is (571)270-7104. The examiner can normally be reached Mon - Fri 6:30-2:30.
Examiner interviews are available via telephone, in-person, and video conferencing using a USPTO supplied web-based collaboration tool. To schedule an interview, applicant is encouraged to use the USPTO Automated Interview Request (AIR) at http://www.uspto.gov/interviewpractice.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Christopher Koharski can be reached at (571)272-7230. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/ROCHELLE D TURCHEN/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3797
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