Prosecution Insights
Last updated: July 17, 2026
Application No. 18/477,405

DELIVERY SYSTEMS FOR IMPLANTS

Non-Final OA §102
Filed
Sep 28, 2023
Priority
Apr 14, 2021 — provisional 63/174,712 +1 more
Examiner
COCHRAN, KARI LEE
Art Unit
3774
Tech Center
3700 — Mechanical Engineering & Manufacturing
Assignee
Edwards Lifesciences Corporation
OA Round
1 (Non-Final)
Grant Probability
Favorable
1-2
OA Rounds

Examiner Intelligence

Grants only 0% of cases
0%
Career Allowance Rate
0 granted / 0 resolved
-70.0% vs TC avg
Minimal +0% lift
Without
With
+0.0%
Interview Lift
resolved cases with interview
Typical timeline
Avg Prosecution
21 currently pending
Career history
16
Total Applications
across all art units

Statute-Specific Performance

§103
86.5%
+46.5% vs TC avg
§102
7.7%
-32.3% vs TC avg
Black line = Tech Center average estimate • Based on career data from 0 resolved cases

Office Action

§102
DETAILED ACTION Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA . Election/Restrictions Applicant’s election without traverse of Claims 21-25 in the reply filed on 05/22/2026 is acknowledged. Claims 1-20 are withdrawn from further consideration pursuant to 37 CFR 1.142(b) as being drawn to a nonelected invention, there being no allowable generic or linking claim. 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. Claims 21-25 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Patel et al. (US PG Pub No. 2018/0318079 A1). Regarding claim 21, Patel discloses a system comprising: a docking coil (Figs. 2A-2C, anchoring device 1) configured to dock with an implant (Paragraph [0082], “secure a prosthetic valve in place’) within a portion of a patient's body (Paragraph [0083], “introduced into the patient’s heart”) and including a leading portion (Figs. 2A-2C, lower coil 12b) extending to a leading tip (See annotated Fig. 2B below) and having an orientation (Paragraph [0085]); and a docking coil sleeve (Fig. 2A-2C, delivery catheter 24) having an interior lumen (Paragraph [0084], “hollow tube”) configured for the docking coil (1) to slide within (Paragraphs [0084 and 0085]) and including a leading portion (Fig. 2B, flexible distal section 25, See annotated Fig. 2B below) extending to a leading tip (See annotated Fig. 2B below) and having an orientation (Paragraph [0085], “The flexible distal section 25 can also be bent into the same or in a different curved configuration”) that is different than the orientation (Paragraph [0085]) of the leading portion (12b) of the docking coil (1), the leading tip (See annotated Fig. 2B below) of the docking coil sleeve (24) configured to slide (Paragraphs [0084 and 0085]) relative to the leading tip (See annotated Fig. 2B below) of the docking coil (1) to deflect the leading tip (See annotated Fig. 2B below) of the docking coil (1) or the leading tip (See annotated Fig. 2B below) of the docking coil sleeve (24) radially inward (See annotated Fig. 2B below) or outward (Paragraph [0077], Paragraph [0085], flexible distal section 25). PNG media_image1.png 476 648 media_image1.png Greyscale Regarding claim 22, Patel discloses wherein the orientation of the leading portion (12b) of the docking coil (1) is configured to form a diameter that is less than a diameter (Paragraph [0084], “delivery catheter 24 is large enough to house and deploy an anchoring device, such as the anchoring device 1”, therefore the diameter of the coil is less than the diameter of the sleeve) of the leading portion (25) of the docking coil sleeve (24), and sliding the leading tip (See annotated Fig. 2B above) of the docking coil (1) distally relative (See annotated Fig. 2B above) to the leading tip (See annotated Fig. 2B above) of the docking coil sleeve (24) deflects the leading tip (See annotated Fig. 2B above) of the docking coil sleeve (24) radially inward (See annotated Fig. 2B above). Regarding claim 23, Patel discloses wherein sliding the leading tip (See annotated Fig. 2B above) of the docking coil (1) proximally relative (Paragraphs [0085 and 0087], removal of 24 after 1 was places), to the leading tip (See annotated Fig. 2B above) of the docking coil sleeve (25) deflects the leading tip (See annotated Fig. 2B above) of the docking coil sleeve (24) radially outward (Paragraphs [0085 and 0087], when 24 is removed it is opposite of when inserting). Regarding claim 24, Patel discloses wherein the leading portion (12b) of the docking coil (1) has a preset radius of curvature (Paragraph [0078], Figs. 2A-2B). Regarding claim 25, Patel discloses wherein the leading portion (24) of the docking coil sleeve (24) has a preset radius of curvature that is larger (Paragraph [0084], “delivery catheter 24 is large enough to house and deploy an anchoring device, such as the anchoring device 1”, therefore the radius of curvature of the sleeve is larger than the coil’s) than the preset radius of curvature (Paragraph [0078], Figs. 2A-2B) of the leading portion (12b) of the docking coil (1). Conclusion Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to KARI L COCHRAN whose telephone number is (571)272-9637. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Thursday 7:00-5:00. 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 5712729062. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300. Information regarding the status of published or unpublished applications may be obtained from Patent Center. Unpublished application information in Patent Center is available to registered users. To file and manage patent submissions in Patent Center, visit: https://patentcenter.uspto.gov. Visit https://www.uspto.gov/patents/apply/patent-center for more information about Patent Center and https://www.uspto.gov/patents/docx for information about filing in DOCX format. For additional questions, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000. /K.L.C./Patent Examiner, Art Unit 3774 /MELANIE R TYSON/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 3774
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Prosecution Timeline

Sep 28, 2023
Application Filed
Jun 10, 2026
Non-Final Rejection mailed — §102 (current)

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Prosecution Projections

1-2
Expected OA Rounds
Grant Probability
Low
PTA Risk
Based on 0 resolved cases by this examiner. Grant probability derived from career allowance rate.

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