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 .
Priority
Receipt is acknowledged of certified copies of papers required by 37 CFR 1.55.
Specification
The lengthy specification has not been checked to the extent necessary to determine the presence of all possible minor errors. Applicant’s cooperation is requested in correcting any errors of which applicant may become aware in the specification.
The title of the invention is not descriptive. A new title is required that is clearly indicative of the invention to which the claims are directed.
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 19 and 20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 101 because the claimed invention is directed to an abstract idea without significantly more.
Claim 19 recites a data processing method comprising steps of “calculating a first light emission probability model … on a basis of the first photon number information and a second light emission probability model … on a basis of the second photon number information; and specifying a probability distribution model related to a detection time difference along a Line of Response (LOR) …, on a basis of the first light emission probability model and the second light emission probability model.” The calculating step corresponds to mathematical concepts (mathematical calculations), and the specifying step corresponds to mental processes (including observation, evaluation, judgment, opinion) that can be performed in the human mind. Therefore, claim 19 recites an abstract idea (judicial exception).
This judicial exception is not integrated into a practical application because the remaining step of “obtaining first photon number information … and second photon number information …” amounts to gathering data for implementing the abstract idea, which is considered to be insignificant extra-solution activity. Also, first and second detectors provided for gathering the data are recited at a high level of generality, such that it amounts to no more than applying the exception using a generic component, as opposed to a particular machine. Therefore, claim 19 is directed to an abstract idea.
The claim does not include additional elements that are sufficient to amount to significantly more than the judicial exception because the combination of steps is not deemed to gather the data in an unconventional way. Therefore, claim 19 is not patent eligible.
Claim 20 is directed to a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium having stored therein a program for causing a computer to execute the identical steps to the steps of claim 19. The combination of the non-transitory computer-readable storage medium and computer is recited at a high level of generality, such that in amounts to nor more than applying the exception using a generic computer component. Therefore, claim 20 is not patent eligible, for the reasons set forth above regarding claim 19.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 1-18 and 21-23 are allowed.
Claims 19 and 20 would be allowable if rewritten or amended to overcome the rejections under 35 U.S.C. 101, set forth in this Office action.
The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter:
Regarding claim 1, no prior art has been found to disclose or suggest Applicant’s nuclear medicine diagnosis apparatus comprising processing circuitry configured to perform the following steps, in combination:
- to obtain first photon number information detected by a first detector and second photon number information detected by a second detector different from the first detector;
- to calculate a first light emission probability model corresponding to the first detector on a basis of the first photon number information and a second light emission probability model corresponding to the second detector on a basis of the second photon number information; and
- to specify a probability distribution model related to a detection time difference along a Line Of Response (LOR) defined by the first detector and the second detector, on a basis of the first light emission probability model and the second light emission probability model.
Claims 2-18 depend from claim 1.
Claims 19 and 20 similarly recite the steps of claim 1 (these claims are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 101 as being directed to an abstract idea, without significantly more (see above)).
Claim 21 recites a nuclear medicine diagnosis apparatus comprising a monolithic detector including at least a first detecting element array and a second detecting element array, and processor circuitry configured to perform each of the steps identical to the steps of claim 1.
Claims 22 and 23 are directed to a data processing method and non-transitory computer-readable storage medium, respectively, corresponding to the apparatus claim 21, and includes the monolithic detector for performing the obtaining step.
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
U.S. Patent Application Publication 2024/0193777 A1 (Otani) discloses a medical image processing device that can estimate temporal information in qn image to be processed even in a case where it is difficult to use information attached to the image to be processed.
U.S. Patent Application Publication 2025/0005405 A1 (Otani) discloses a regression estimation device that can improve accuracy of estimation in a case where estimation results obtained by performing a plurality of inputs are integrated to derive one estimated value.
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/THOMAS D LEE/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2681
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