VALVE PROSTHESIS WITH DURABLE PROSTHETIC VALVE

Application No. 18/464,036

• Filed: Sep 08, 2023
• Priority: Oct 04, 2022 — provisional 63/413,067
• Examiner: NERENBERG, RENEE FLORENCIA
• Art Unit: 3774
• Tech Center: 3700 — Mechanical Engineering & Manufacturing
• Assignee: Medtronic Vascular Inc.
• OA Round: 1 (Non-Final)

Office Action

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 .
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.
Election/Restrictions
Claim 1-6, 15-17 withdrawn from further consideration pursuant to 37 CFR 1.142(b) as being drawn to a nonelected species A, C, there being no allowable generic or linking claim. Election was made without traverse in the reply filed on 5/12/26

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) 7-14 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Gurovich (20220241070).
With regards to claim 7, Gurovich discloses a valve prosthesis comprising: a one piece prosthetic valve (10) comprising: a valve leaflet (20) comprising a cusp ([0097], FIG 1A); and a valve inflow cylinder (30) proximal of the valve leaflet (FIG 1B); and a reinforcement member (100) attached to the valve inflow cylinder adjacent the cusp (FIG 8).
With regards to claim 8, Gurovich discloses the valve prosthesis of claim 7 wherein the reinforcement member (100) is U-shaped (FIG 11A).
With regards to claim 9, Gurovich discloses the valve prosthesis of claim 7 further comprising a first reinforcement stitching (142, see annotated figure below) attaching the reinforcement member (100) to the valve inflow cylinder (30) (FIG 15C).
With regards to claim 10, Gurovich discloses the valve prosthesis of claim 9 further comprising a second reinforcement stitching (142, see annotated figure below) attaching the reinforcement member (100) to the valve inflow cylinder (30) (FIG 15C).
With regards to claim 11, Gurovich discloses the valve prosthesis of claim 10 wherein a space (see annotated figure below) between the first reinforcement stitching (142) and the second reinforcement stitching (142) defines a margin of attachment proximal to the cusp (see annotated figure below).

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With regards to claim 12, Gurovich discloses the valve prosthesis of claim 11 further comprising: a stent structure (12); and stent structure stitching (146) attaching the margin of attachment to the stent structure (FIG 15D).
With regards to claim 13, Gurovich discloses the valve prosthesis of claim 12 wherein the reinforcement member (100) prevents direct contact between the valve leaflet and the stent structure (FIG 15D).
With regards to claim 14, Gurovich discloses the valve prosthesis of claim 7 wherein the reinforcement member (100) extends distally from the valve inflow cylinder to overlap the cusp (FIG 11B).

Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to RENEE FLORENCIA NERENBERG whose telephone number is [phone]. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 7:30-5.
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, Melanie Tyson can be reached at [phone]. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/R.F.N./Patent Examiner, Art Unit 3774

/MELANIE R TYSON/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 3774

Prosecution Timeline

• Sep 08, 2023: Application Filed
• Jun 22, 2026: Non-Final Rejection mailed — §102 (current)