Prosecution Insights
Last updated: July 17, 2026
Application No. 18/504,649

LEARNABLE VISUAL PROMPT ENGINEERING

Final Rejection §103§112
Filed
Nov 08, 2023
Examiner
TORRES, JOSE
Art Unit
2664
Tech Center
2600 — Communications
Assignee
GE Precision Healthcare LLC
OA Round
2 (Final)
82%
Grant Probability
Favorable
3-4
OA Rounds
3m
Est. Remaining
94%
With Interview

Examiner Intelligence

Grants 82% — above average
82%
Career Allowance Rate
528 granted / 644 resolved
+20.0% vs TC avg
Moderate +12% lift
Without
With
+12.1%
Interview Lift
resolved cases with interview
Typical timeline
2y 12m
Avg Prosecution
17 currently pending
Career history
668
Total Applications
across all art units

Statute-Specific Performance

§101
2.6%
-37.4% vs TC avg
§103
66.6%
+26.6% vs TC avg
§102
13.7%
-26.3% vs TC avg
§112
12.5%
-27.5% vs TC avg
Black line = Tech Center average estimate • Based on career data from 644 resolved cases

Office Action

§103 §112
CTFR 18/504,649 CTFR 82724 DETAILED ACTION Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status 07-03-aia AIA 15-10-aia The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA. Comments The Amendment – After Non-Final Rejection filed on March 18, 2026 has been entered and made of record. Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112 07-30-02 AIA 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. 07-34-01 Claims 17-20 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 17 recites the limitation “ parameters of the pre-trained machine learning model ” in line 8. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim. While claim 17 appears to be similar in scope to that of claims 1 and 9, the pre-trained machine learning model , as claimed in claims 1 and 9, is firstly introduced in the accessing step of accessing a medical image and a pre-trained machine learning model that is configured to perform a diagnostic or prognostic inferencing task. In claim 17, a pre-trained machine learning model is executed on the adapted version of the image to perform a visual inferencing task. It also unclear if the pre-trained machine learning model from which parameters remain unchanged is the same pre-trained machine learning model executed. Thus, indefinite for at least these reasons. Claims 18-20 depend upon claim 17. Appropriate correction is required. Allowable Subject Matter 12-151-07 AIA 07-97 12-51-07 Claim s 1-16 are allowed. 07-43-01 AIA Claim s 17, as best understood , and 18-20 would be allowable if rewritten or amended to overcome the rejection(s) under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA), 2nd paragraph, set forth in this Office action. 13-03-01 AIA The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter: the closest prior art made of record fails to disclose, teach, and/or suggest, inter alia, the performance of an inferencing task on an adapted version of an image, by at least, accessing an image and a pre-trained machine learning model that is configured to perform the inferencing task, applying a pre-processing transformation to one or more pixels or voxels of the image, thereby yielding the adapted version of the image, the pre-processing transformation converting an input pixel or voxel intensity value to an output pixel or voxel intensity value via one or more parameters that are iteratively learned while parameters of the pre-trained machine learning model remain unchanged and based on a confidence score generated by an auxiliary confidence predictor, and performing the inferencing task, by executing the pre-trained machine learning model on the adapted version of the image, as claimed . Response to Arguments Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103 With respect to claims 1, 2, 6-10, 14-18, and 20, Applicant’s arguments (Remarks dated March 18, 2026, pages 8-11) have been fully considered. However, in view of the instant amendment and upon further consideration and search, the previous ground(s) of rejection have been withdrawn. Claims 1-16 are allowed. Claims 17, as best understood , and 18-20 would be allowable if rewritten or amended to overcome the rejection(s) under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA), 2nd paragraph, set forth in this Office action. Conclusion 07-39 AIA THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. Applicant is reminded of the extension of time policy as set forth in 37 CFR 1.136(a). A shortened statutory period for reply to this final action is set to expire THREE MONTHS from the mailing date of this action. In the event a first reply is filed within TWO MONTHS of the mailing date of this final action and the advisory action is not mailed until after the end of the THREE-MONTH shortened statutory period, then the shortened statutory period will expire on the date the advisory action is mailed, and any nonprovisional extension fee (37 CFR 1.17(a)) pursuant to 37 CFR 1.136(a) will be calculated from the mailing date of the advisory action. In no event, however, will the statutory period for reply expire later than SIX MONTHS from the mailing date of this final action. Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to JOSE M TORRES whose telephone number is (571)270-1356. The examiner can normally be reached Monday thru Friday; 10:00 AM to 6:00 PM EST. 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, Jennifer Mehmood can be reached at 571-272-2976. 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. /JOSE M TORRES/Examiner, Art Unit 2664 05/29/2026 /JENNIFER MEHMOOD/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2664 Application/Control Number: 18/504,649 Page 2 Art Unit: 2664 Application/Control Number: 18/504,649 Page 3 Art Unit: 2664 Application/Control Number: 18/504,649 Page 4 Art Unit: 2664 Application/Control Number: 18/504,649 Page 5 Art Unit: 2664 Application/Control Number: 18/504,649 Page 6 Art Unit: 2664
Read full office action

Prosecution Timeline

Nov 08, 2023
Application Filed
Dec 29, 2025
Non-Final Rejection mailed — §103, §112
Mar 03, 2026
Interview Requested
Mar 16, 2026
Applicant Interview (Telephonic)
Mar 16, 2026
Examiner Interview Summary
Mar 18, 2026
Response Filed
Jun 05, 2026
Final Rejection mailed — §103, §112
Jul 15, 2026
Response after Non-Final Action

Precedent Cases

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Study what changed to get past this examiner. Based on 5 most recent grants.

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Prosecution Projections

3-4
Expected OA Rounds
82%
Grant Probability
94%
With Interview (+12.1%)
2y 12m (~3m remaining)
Median Time to Grant
Moderate
PTA Risk
Based on 644 resolved cases by this examiner. Grant probability derived from career allowance rate.

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