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 .
DETAILED ACTION
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
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.
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 1-13 and 15-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Arevalos et al (US 2019/0374254).
Regarding claims 1 and 16, Arevalos discloses a sensor implant system comprising: a shunt body 902 comprising a central flow portion configured for placement at least partially within an opening of a tissue wall 900; and a sensor implant device 901 comprising a sensor body, see paragraph [0167], the sensor implant device configured for placement within the opening of the tissue wall and between the central flow portion of the shunt body and an inner wall of the opening of the tissue wall, see FIG. 9.
Regarding claims 2, 17 and 19, Arevalos discloses the sensor implant device comprises one or more arms 1307 coupled to the sensor body.
Regarding claims 3 and 18, Arevalos discloses the one or more arms are configured to pierce the tissue wall, see paragraph [0187] and FIG. 13B.
Regarding claim 4, Arevalos discloses the one or more arms are configured to attach to the central flow portion of the shunt body, see paragraph [0187].
Regarding claim 5, Arevalos discloses the sensor implant device comprises a first set of two arms 1307 extending from an upper portion of the sensor body and a second set of two arms 1307 extending from a lower portion of the sensor body.
Regarding claim 6, Arevalos discloses the one or more arms 1307 are generally curved, see FIG. 13B.
Regarding claim 7, Arevalos discloses the one or more arms 1307 extend from an upper portion of the sensor body, and wherein the one or more arms 1307 have a convex curvature when viewed from above the upper portion of the sensor body, see FIG. 13B.
Regarding claim 8, Arevalos discloses the sensor implant device further comprises a sleeve 1301 encircling at least portion of the sensor body, and wherein the one or more arms 1307 extend from the sleeve.
Regarding claim 9, Arevalos discloses the one or more arms 1307 are configured to extend towards the shunt body, see FIG. 13B.
Regarding claim 10, Arevalos discloses the one or more arms 1307 are configured to extend away from the shunt body, see FIG. 13B.
Regarding claim 11, Arevalos discloses the shunt body is expandable from a compressed form to an expanded form, see paragraph [0187].
Regarding claim 12, Arevalos discloses the shunt body is configured to maintain the expanded form following expansion, see paragraph [0187].
Regarding claim 13, Arevalos discloses the shunt body has an hourglass shape in which a midsection of the shunt body1302 is configured for placement within the opening of the tissue wall 1320 and wherein the shunt body comprises a flared first end 1307 and a flared second end 1308 configured to extend out of the opening of the tissue wall, see FIG. 13B.
Regarding claim 15, Arevalos discloses the shunt body comprises a retaining device 904 configured to wrap at least partially around the sensor body, see paragraph [0166].
Regarding claim 20, Arevalos discloses a sleeve 1301 encircling at least portion of the sensor body, and wherein the one or more anchoring arms 1307 extend from the sleeve, see paragraph [0187].
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
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.
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 14 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Arevalos et al (US 2019/0374254) as applied to claim 1 above, and further in view of Browd et al (US 2017/0209056).
Regarding claim 14, Arevalos meets all of the claimed limitation except for the sensor implant device comprises a first sensor component configured to obtain measurements at a first side of the tissue wall and a second sensor component configured to obtain measurements at a second side of the tissue wall.
Browd teaches providing a first sensor assembly 106a at a first side of a fluid flow device and a second sensor assembly 106b at a second side of the fluid flow device.
One of ordinary skill in the art would have found it obvious to use the dual sensor location arrangement for measuring fluid through a catheter as taught by Browd for measuring the fluid flow through the shunt body 902 central flow portion because the teaching of Browd suggests using two sensor locations for measuring fluid flow between the two sensors. Since the fluid flow across the tissue wall occurs at the shunt body 902, the skilled artisan would have found it obvious to position first and second sensors on each side of the wall to measure fluid flow through the wall.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to George Manuel whose telephone number is (571) 272-4952.
The examiner can normally be reached on regular business days.
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, Benjamin Klein can be reached on (571) 270-5213. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
Information regarding the status of an application may be obtained from the Patent Application Information Retrieval (PAIR) system. Status information for published applications may be obtained from either Private PAIR or Public PAIR. Status information for unpublished applications is available through Private PAIR only. For more information about the PAIR system, see http://pair-direct.uspto.gov. Should you have questions on access to the Private PAIR system, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative or access to the automated information system, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000.
/George Manuel/
Primary Examiner
Art Unit: 3792
1/29/2026