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 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and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114.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 6/29/2026 has been entered.
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments filed 6/29/2026 with respect to the amendments overcoming the prior art of Walzman in view of Stangenes have been fully considered but they are not persuasive. The examiner maintains that Walzman discloses arc shaped magnets (1080i-iii; see par. [0444] which describes the magnets as bars which can be “non-linear (e.g. curved)”) and a plurality of flexible legs (wires 1090i-iii) that connect the corresponding arc-shaped magnets to the steering part (proximal portion of catheter to which expandable part is attached; see figs. 10A-10C). Displacement of each of the arc-shaped magnets outward in a radial direction causes a corresponding leg (1090i-iii) connected thereto to bend radially outward in the radial direction. In particular, the legs bend outward when the expanding part (1040) moves from a constant diameter cylindrical shape shown in fig. 10b (described as collapsed configuration by Walzman) to the funnel shape shown in figs. 10a and 10c (described as the expanded configuration by Walzman).
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
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.
Claim(s) 7, 12, and 13 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Walzman (US 2021/0236257) in view of Stangenes et al. (US 2014/0316407).
Walzman discloses a steerable and expandable aspiration catheter (1000; fig. 10A) comprising a body (proximal half of solid walled tubular portion of 1000), a steering part provided at the distal end of the body (distal half of solid walled tubular portion of 1000, connected to and controlled by a pull wire; see [0181], [0558]), an expanding part (1004) provided at an end of the steering part (see magnets 1080i-1080iii; fig. 10A), wherein the expanding part includes a tip magnet part (magnets 1080i-1080iii) spaced distally from an end of the base magnet. The tip magnet part comprises a combination of a plurality of arc-shaped magnets ([0444] – as understood by “non-linear (e.g., curved)” bar) having polarities disposed along a circumferential direction ([0445]), and a plurality of legs (e.g., 1090i, 1090ii, 1090iii) each made of a flexible material and connecting to a corresponding one of the arc-shaped magnets to the steering part. Walzman discloses a magnetic field generator (1092) generating a magnetic field around the expanding part, wherein the magnetic field generator controls a diameter of an end of the catheter by adjusting a strength of the magnetic field ([0441]-[0444]). Displacement of each arc-shaped magnet outward in a radial direction (i.e., expansion from fig. 10B to 10A) causes a corresponding leg (1090i, 1090ii, 1090iii) connected thereto to bend outward in a radial direction (as the expandable part changes from a cylindrical shape to a funnel shape as understood in view of movement from fig. 10B to 10A).
Walzman fails to disclose that the steering part is made of a magnet, wherein the steering part controls steering of the steering part based on a direction of the magnetic field.
Stangenes discloses another steerable catheter having a lumen therethrough. Stangenes discloses a steering part (flexible distal segment 20; [0029]) provided at an end of a body (12, proximal of 20) of the catheter, wherein the steering part is a circular base magnet 42; figs. 7-9a) and polarities are disposed along a length direction of the catheter ([0064]). A magnetic field generator (22) controls steering of the steering part by adjusting a direction of the magnetic field applied by the magnetic field generator generating unit (22; [0034]; note also figs. 1, 11a,11b). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to have modified the prior art of Walzman to include a steering part comprising a circular base magnet as claimed in view of Stangenes, in place of the pull wire steering mechanism, since such a modification can be considered a substitution of one known steering mechanism (steering part comprising flexible segment and pull wire) for another (steering part comprising a flexible segment and circular base magnet controlled by direction of magnetic field), wherein the results of such a modification are predictable and one skilled in the art would have been a reasonable expectation of success.
Regarding claim 12, the plurality of arc-shaped magnets (1080i-iii) are circumferentially spaced apart from one another 120 degrees (see [0443] and fig. 10A of Walzman).
Regarding claim 13, Walzman discloses a magnetic field generator comprising a magnetic field generating unit (1092) configured to expand the aspiration catheter. Stangenes teaches a steering part controlled by a magnetic field generator (22) as discussed above and therefore it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to have modified the prior art of Walzman to include a steering part that can also be controlled by a magnetic field generator as discussed above in more detail. It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to use one magnetic field generator, which is considered to comprise a magnetic field generator unit, for the combination of Walzman as modified in view of Stangenes, to control both expansion of the aspiration catheter and steering of the steering part since both of these functions are controlled via a magnetic field produced by a magnetic field generator and separate generators are not necessary because different aspects of the same magnetic field generated by the magnetic field generator control the expansion (strength of field according to Walzman) and steering (direction of field according to Stangenes) as disclosed by Walzman and Stangenes.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to KATHLEEN SONNETT HOLWERDA whose telephone number is (571)272-5576. The examiner can normally be reached M-F, 8-5, with alternate Fridays off.
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KSH 8/26/2026
/KATHLEEN S HOLWERDA/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3771
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