Prosecution Insights
Last updated: April 19, 2026
Application No. 18/516,843

MEDICAL FLUID INJECTOR

Non-Final OA §102
Filed
Nov 21, 2023
Examiner
STIGELL, THEODORE J
Art Unit
3783
Tech Center
3700 — Mechanical Engineering & Manufacturing
Assignee
Astraporta, Inc.
OA Round
1 (Non-Final)
78%
Grant Probability
Favorable
1-2
OA Rounds
3y 4m
To Grant
93%
With Interview

Examiner Intelligence

Grants 78% — above average
78%
Career Allow Rate
975 granted / 1245 resolved
+8.3% vs TC avg
Moderate +15% lift
Without
With
+14.6%
Interview Lift
resolved cases with interview
Typical timeline
3y 4m
Avg Prosecution
45 currently pending
Career history
1290
Total Applications
across all art units

Statute-Specific Performance

§101
0.8%
-39.2% vs TC avg
§103
31.3%
-8.7% vs TC avg
§102
31.7%
-8.3% vs TC avg
§112
21.1%
-18.9% vs TC avg
Black line = Tech Center average estimate • Based on career data from 1245 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. Priority Receipt is acknowledged of certified copies of papers required by 37 CFR 1.55. Information Disclosure Statement The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on 11/21/2023 is in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statement is being considered by the examiner. Claim Objections Claim 3 is objected to because of the following informalities: On line 4 of claim 3, “the extendable portions” should read “the plurality of extendable portions” to provide proper antecedent basis. Appropriate correction is required. 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) 1 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102 (a)(1) as being anticipated by Corn (US 5,776,105 ) . In regard to claim 1, Corn discloses a medical fluid injector (see at least Fig. 1) comprising: a medical fluid bag holder ( 3 ) that holds a medical fluid bag (9) containing a medical fluid; a mounting supporter ( 2 ) that supports the medical fluid bag holder and in which is formed an attachment portion ( 2 is described as a “strap” or “belt” that affixes to the patient ) for attaching the medical fluid bag holder to a part of a body of a subject (see col. 2, line s 13-15 ) ; and a pressurizing means (1) for pushing out the medical fluid from the medical fluid bag by applying pressure to the medical fluid bag (see at least col. 2, lines 23-26 ) . Claim(s) 1-2 and 5 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102 (a)(1) as being anticipated by Parmelee et al. (US 4,504,267; hereafter Parmelee). In regard to claim 1, Parmelee discloses a medical fluid injector (see at least Fig. 1) comprising: a medical fluid bag holder (3) that holds a medical fluid bag ( see col. 2, lines 46-58 ) containing a medical fluid; a mounting supporter (2) that supports the medical fluid bag holder and in which is formed an attachment portion (2 is described as a “garment” that attaches to the patient) for attaching the medical fluid bag holder to a part of a body of a subject (see col. 4, lines 1-10 ) ; and a pressurizing means ( 7 ) for pushing out the medical fluid from the medical fluid bag by applying pressure to the medical fluid bag. In regard to claim 2, Parmelee discloses wherein the medical fluid bag extends in a predetermined length direction, and the pressurizing means (7) is an elastic member (7 includes double torsion spring 15) that applies a force in a direction in which the medical fluid bag contracts in the length direction (the examiner notes that the medical bag is functionally recited) . In regard to claim 5, Parmelee discloses wherein the mounting supporter further includes a flow rate adjusting mechanism (20a, 20b) that sandwiches a medical fluid tube connected to the medical fluid bag from the outside and changes a cross-sectional area of a flow path inside the medical fluid tube. Claim(s) 1-2 and 5 -7 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102 (a)(1) as being anticipated by Chi et al. (US 2014/0228758; hereafter Chi) . In regard to claim 1, Chi discloses a medical fluid injector ( 10 ) comprising: a medical fluid bag holder ( 2 ) that holds a medical fluid bag ( 1 ) containing a medical fluid; a mounting supporter ( 20 ) that supports the medical fluid bag holder and in which is formed an attachment portion (22) for attaching the medical fluid bag holder to a part of a body of a subject (see at least par. [0040] and [0082]-[0083]) ) ; and a pressurizing means ( see pressurizing means in par. [0049]-[0050] ) for pushing out the medical fluid from the medical fluid bag by applying pressure to the medical fluid. In regard to claim 2, Chi discloses wherein the medical fluid bag extends in a predetermined length direction, and the pressurizing means ( see par. [0050] ) is an elastic member that applies a force in a direction in which the medical fluid bag contracts in the length direction (the examiner notes that the medical bag is functionally recited) . In regard to claim 5, Chi discloses wherein the mounting supporter further includes a flow rate adjusting mechanism ( see par. [0041] ) that sandwiches a medical fluid tube connected to the medical fluid bag from the outside and changes a cross-sectional area of a flow path inside the medical fluid tube. In regard to claim 6, Chi discloses wherein the attachment portion has a ring shape or C shape so as to be attached to an arm of the subject (see par. [0082]-[0083]) . In regard to claim 7, Chi discloses wherein the medical fluid bag holder includes a plurality of extendable portions (9) having a hollow structure (9 is a tube with a plurality of extendable portions and is hollow) extending along respective sides of the medical fluid bag, and the attachment portion (20) extends in a direction intersecting with an extension direction of the extendable portions (see Figs. 1 and 4-5) . Allowable Subject Matter Claim s 3-4 are objected to as being dependent upon a rejected base claim, but would be allowable if rewritten in independent form including all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims. Conclusion The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. See 892. Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to FILLIN "Examiner name" \* MERGEFORMAT THEODORE J STIGELL whose telephone number is FILLIN "Phone number" \* MERGEFORMAT (571)272-8759 . The examiner can normally be reached FILLIN "Work Schedule?" \* MERGEFORMAT M-F 9-5:30 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, FILLIN "SPE Name?" \* MERGEFORMAT Michael Tsai can be reached at FILLIN "SPE Phone?" \* MERGEFORMAT 571-270-5246 . 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. FILLIN "Examiner Stamp" \* MERGEFORMAT THEODORE J. STIGELL Primary Examiner Art Unit 3783 /THEODORE J STIGELL/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3783
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Prosecution Timeline

Nov 21, 2023
Application Filed
Mar 09, 2026
Non-Final Rejection — §102 (current)

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

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Prosecution Projections

1-2
Expected OA Rounds
78%
Grant Probability
93%
With Interview (+14.6%)
3y 4m
Median Time to Grant
Low
PTA Risk
Based on 1245 resolved cases by this examiner. Grant probability derived from career allow rate.

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