DETAILED ACTION
Status of Claims
This action is in reply to the communication filed on 19 January, 2026.
Claims 1, 10, 11, 17 and 18 have been amended.
Claim 9 has been cancelled.
Claims 1 – 8 and 10 - 20 are currently pending and have been examined.
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 .
Continued Examination Under 37 CFR 1.114
A request for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, including the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e), was filed in this application after final rejection. Since this application is eligible for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114. Applicant's submission filed on 19 January, 2026 has been entered.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
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.
The factual inquiries for establishing a background for determining obviousness under 35 U.S.C. 103 are summarized as follows:
1. Determining the scope and contents of the prior art.
2. Ascertaining the differences between the prior art and the claims at issue.
3. Resolving the level of ordinary skill in the pertinent art.
4. Considering objective evidence present in the application indicating obviousness or nonobviousness.
Claims 1 – 4, 10 – 12, 17 and 18 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Mulumudi et al.: (US PGPUB 2015/0104027 A1); in view of Chong et al.: (US PGPUB 2015/0190110 A1); in view of Farr: (US PGPUB 2020/0121189 A1).
CLAIMS 1, 10 and 17
Mulumudi discloses an attachment mounting system for a smartphone that includes the following limitations:
A method performed in a telephone to cause said telephone, in conjunction with a stethoscope, to facilitate interaction between a physician and a patient, said stethoscope comprising an auscultation piece, a windpipe and a coupling piece, said coupling piece being placed proximate to a microphone of said telephone, said windpipe connecting said auscultation piece to said coupling piece; (Mulumudi 0001, 0006, 0008, 0009, 0012, 0014, 0018, 0043, 0056 - 0058, 0075 - 0077, 0083, 0085, 0086 Figure 7A and 7B); comprising:
receiving from said microphone of said telephone, an analog electrical signal representing an auscultation audio signal, said auscultation audio signal being one of a heart auscultation audio and a lung auscultation audio, said analog electrical signal representing said heart auscultation audio and said lung auscultation audio when said auscultation piece is placed close to heart and lung in corresponding durations respectively of said patient; (Mulumudi 0044, 0094, 0095);
wherein said telephone is designed to enable a two-way communication with said remote communication device; (Mulumudi 0001, 0043, 0085).
Mulumudi discloses an attachment mounting system for a smartphone (i.e. a telephone) that provides for coupling a stethoscope chest piece, (i.e. an auscultation piece); to the smartphone microphone via a microphone end (i.e. a coupling piece), and a length of flexible tubing (i.e. a windpipe) between the chest piece and the microphone end. The telephone receives and records analog audio representing one of heart sounds or lungs sounds through the microphone when placed in respective proximity thereto. Mulumudi contemplates the attachment as a medical stethoscope “to be used in conjunction with medical evaluations” – i.e. to facilitate interaction between a physician and a patient. Mulumudi discloses a handheld electronic device such as a smartphone or tablet. Such devices are inherently “designed to enable a two-way communication with said remote communication device”.
With respect to the following limitations:
wherein said windpipe is of sufficient length and disposed such that a display on said telephone is placed at least 15 centimeters away from eyes of said patient when said auscultation piece is placed close to said heart or said lung; (Mulumudi 0009, 0014, 0056, 0058).
Mulumudi discloses that known systems include having “the chest piece to be physically separate from the main body of the electronic device, and in some cases connected only by a long length of tubing”. Mulumudi contemplates connecting the chest piece with a length of flexible tubing. (@ 0009, 0058). The chest piece may be “removably mounted” (@ 0014); or the chest piece may be acoustically coupled directly to the device’s microphone and attached to the edge of the case (i.e. disposed) (@ 0056). Mulumudi allows for “a wide range of stethoscope chest pieces and tubing of the user’s selection” (@ 0080) – i.e. a design choice. Nonetheless, the length of tubing as shown in Figure 7A & 7B, together with a physically separate and independently moveable chest piece, is sufficient to allow the chest piece to be placed close to the heart or lungs while the display is at least 15 centimeters away from the eyes. The length depicted in Mulumudi Figure 7A & 7B is similar to the length depicted in Figured 1 , 3 and 5B of the present application. In addition, even an edge mounted chest piece may be placed close to the heart/lungs while the display is facing the patient and at least 15 cm away from the eyes.
With respect to the following limitations:
converting, in said telephone, said analog electrical signal into a sequence of digital values to represent said auscultation audio signal in said corresponding durations; (Chong 0020, 0024, 0046);
transmitting, from said telephone, said auscultation audio signal in real-time in the form of said sequence of digital values to a remote communication device for analysis by said physician; (Chong 0087).
Mulumudi discloses receiving and recording analog heart and lung auscultation sounds using a stethoscope chest piece connected to the microphone of a smart phone with a length of flexible tubing and a coupling piece. Mulumudi does not disclose converting analog signals to digital. Chong discloses a stethoscope system that includes receiving analog audio signals, such as analog heart and lung auscultation sounds obtained in real time from a conventional stethoscope. The analog audio is transferred to a user device such as a mobile phone. The mobile phone converts the analog audio signal to a digital format, and transmits the digital data to a remote computer for analysis. Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing data of the claimed invention, to have modified the remote monitoring system of Mulumudi so as to have included digitizing the collected analog audio data, and transmitting the data for analysis, in accordance with the teaching of Chong, in order to allow digital data transfers.
With respect to the following limitations:
transmitting said auscultation audio signal to a remote communication device; to enable a consultation with said physician, said physician to provide treatment advice for said patient; (Farr 0003, 0006, 0007, 0025 – 0027, 0032, 0034); and
playing, synchronous with said transmission, said auscultation audio on an audio rendering unit in said telephone; (Farr 0025, 0034).
whereby: (1) said patient can place said auscultation piece close to either heart or lung; (2) listen and converse with said physician; and (3) view said physician on a display of said telephone, simultaneously with said transmitting of said sequence of digital values; (Farr 0006, 0007, 0025, 0034).
Mulumudi/Chong discloses receiving analog heart/lung sounds using a stethoscope coupled to the microphone port of a telephone with flexible tubing; converting the analog sounds to digital values in the telephone; and transmitting the digital values to a remote computer for analysis. Mulumudi/Chong does not disclose transmitting the digital values to a remote computer to enable a consultation or to provide advice using video conferencing techniques – i.e. the ability to listen and converse and view the physician on the display. Farr discloses a virtual telescope system that includes a smart phone for receiving and converting analog audio to digital data, and transmitting the digital data to a remotely located medical professional. The system allows the medical professional to listen to the patient and communicate feedback (i.e. advice) with video chat techniques. In particular, during a scheduled video appointment the patient uses the stethoscope to obtain audio signals which are transmitted to the medical professional simultaneously with video chat communications. Using the video chat communication, the medical professional can listen to the heart/lung sounds, and provide medical advice to the patient. Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing data of the claimed invention, to have modified the remote monitoring system of Mulumudi/Chong so as to have included video conferencing capabilities while collecting heart/lung sounds remotely, in accordance with the teaching of Farr, in order to enable diagnosis and treatment for remotely located medical professionals or patients. (Farr 0036).
With respect to Claim 1, Mulumudi discloses the following features:
A non-transitory machine readable storage medium storing one or more sequences of instructions for causing a telephone to facilitate interaction between a physician and a patient, wherein execution of said one or more instructions by one or more processors contained in said telephone causes said telephone to perform the actions [recited in Claim 10]; (Mulumudi 0018) – disclosing that the smartphone is equipped with software.
With respect to Claim 17, Mulumudi discloses the following features:
A telephone comprising: a microphone interface block; a transmit block; and an audio play block; (Mulumudi 0007, 0018, 0089) – disclosing a smartphone with microphone, transmitter and speaker.
CLAIM 2, 11 and 18
The combination of Mulumudi/Chong/Farr discloses the limitations above relative to Claim 1. Additionally, Farr discloses the following limitations:
receiving a first set of images generated in a camera of said telephone by light coupled via an otoscope; and transmitting said first set of images in real-time to a remote communication device for analysis by said physician; (Farr 0003 – 0008, 0034).
Mulumudi/Chong does not disclose an otoscope. Farr discloses acquiring and transmitting otoscope data to a physician for analysis. Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing data of the claimed invention, to have modified the remote monitoring system of Mulumudi/Chong so as to have included an otoscope, in accordance with the teaching of Farr, in order to allow for remote monitoring of patient ears.
CLAIMS 3, 4 and 12
The combination of Mulumudi/Chong/Farr discloses the limitations above relative to Claims 2 and 11. Additionally, Farr discloses the following limitations:
filtering, by a first filter and a second filter to respectively, said heart auscultation audio and lung auscultation audio prior to transmitting said heart auscultation audio and lung auscultation audio; filtering, by a third filter, each of said first set of images prior to transmitting said first set of images; (Farr 0017, 0030, 0045).
Mulumudi does not disclose filtering data or images prior to transmitting. Chong discloses filtering audio (@ 0051, 0059 – 0061), but does not disclose filtering otoscope images. Farr discloses filtering patient audio and otoscope image data prior to transmitting including heart/lung sounds and otoscope images. Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing data of the claimed invention, to have modified the remote monitoring system of Mulumudi/Chong so as to have included filtering data before transmitting, in accordance with the teaching of Farr, in order to allow for removal of unwanted noise of frequencies.
Claims 5, 13 and 19 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Mulumudi et al.: (US PGPUB 2015/0104027 A1); in view of Chong et al.: (US PGPUB 2015/0190110 A1); in view of Farr: (US PGPUB 2020/0121189 A1) in view of Bhagat et al.: (US PGPUB 2017/0071516 A1).
CLAIMS 5, 13 and 19
The combination of Mulumudi/Chong/Farr discloses the limitations above relative to Claims 1, 10 and 17. With respect to the following limitations:
receiving a second set of images generated in said camera by a finger-press of a user on said camera; determining one or more of a blood pressure, a heart rate, a temperature and a blood-oxygen saturation level of said user; (Bhagat 0004, 0025 – 0029, 0037, 0071 – 0077);
transmitting said one or more of a blood pressure, a heart rate, a temperature and a blood-oxygen saturation level to said remote communication device; (Bhagat 0006, 0048).
Mulumudi/Chong/Farr does not disclose receiving PPG data and determining blood pressure, heart rate, temperature, and SpO2 data, and transmitting the data to a remote device for analysis by said physician. Bhagat discloses a patient monitoring system that includes using a set of PPG image of the patient’s finger to determine heart rate, heart rate variability, SpO2, velocity, flow and blood pressure. (Here, Examiner also asserts that using PPG imaging techniques to determine hemodynamic parameters are known in the art.) Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing data of the claimed invention, to have modified the remote monitoring system of Mulumudi/Chong/Farr so as to have included determining hemodynamic properties using PPG imaging techniques, in accordance with the teaching of Bhagat, in order to allow for remote monitoring of hemodynamic properties.
Claims 6, 14 and 20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Mulumudi et al.: (US PGPUB 2015/0104027 A1); in view of Chong et al.: (US PGPUB 2015/0190110 A1); in view of Farr: (US PGPUB 2020/0121189 A1) in view of Bhagat et al.: (US PGPUB 2017/0071516 A1) in view of Official Notice.
CLAIMS 6, 14, and 20
The combination of Mulumudi/Chong/Farr/Bhagat discloses the limitations above relative to Claims 5, 13 and 19. With respect to the following limitations:
wherein said second set of images comprises a series of RGB (red, green, blue) images,
wherein said determining said blood pressure comprises: marking a region of interest (ROI) within each of said series of RGB images; determining a third set of images within said series that represent systolic peaks based on the intensity of red in said series; subtracting from each of said third set of images the average value of red intensities of said third set of images, wherein the average value is representative of blood oxygen content in said third set of images; determining changes of a first blood volume around a first one of said systolic peaks and a second blood volume around a first one of diastolic peaks in said series based on changes in intensity of red around said systolic peak and said diastolic peak; determining a first rate of change with respect to time and a second rate of change with respect to time respectively of each of said first blood volume and said second blood volume; and transforming said first rate of change and said second rate of change using a linear transformation to respectively obtain systolic and diastolic blood pressure values; (Bhagat 0004, 0025 – 0029, 0037, 0047, 0071 – 0077).
The combination of Mulumudi/Chong/Farr/Bhagat, as shown above, discloses using PPG techniques to measure hemodynamic properties. The techniques include obtaining a series of images, marking a region of interest, determining peak intensities in red, average intensities and intensity differences, as well as blood volumes, blood flows, and their differences over time, based on changes in light absorption, using discrete and fast Fourier transforms. Mulumudi/Chong/Farr/Bhagat does not disclose RGB images; however, Examiner takes Official Notice that PPG techniques use RGB images. Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing data of the claimed invention, to have modified the remote monitoring system of Mulumudi/Chong/Farr/Bhagat so as to have included determining hemodynamic properties using RGB imaging techniques, in accordance with the Official Notice taken, in order to allow for remote monitoring of hemodynamic properties.
Claims 7 and 15 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Mulumudi et al.: (US PGPUB 2015/0104027 A1); in view of Chong et al.: (US PGPUB 2015/0190110 A1); in view of Farr: (US PGPUB 2020/0121189 A1) in view of Bhagat et al.: (US PGPUB 2017/0071516 A1) in view of Official Notice and in view of Crump et al.: (US PGPUB 2010/0016745 A1).
CLAIMS 7 and 15
The combination of Mulumudi/Chong/Farr/Bhagat/Official Notice discloses the limitations above relative to Claims 6 and 14. With respect to the following limitations:
wherein said determining said heart rate comprises: averaging time periods between said systolic peaks to obtain an average time period; and computing an inverse of said average time period as said heart rate; (Crump 0010, 0067, 0070 – 0073, 0080 – 0084, Claim 19).
The combination of Mulumudi/Chong/Farr/Bhagat/Official Notice as shown above, discloses using PPG techniques to measure hemodynamic properties including heart rate, but does not disclose calculating the inverse of the average peak-peak time periods. Crump discloses a health monitor that includes determining an average peak-to peak time and determining the heart rate. Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing data of the claimed invention, to have modified the remote monitoring system of Mulumudi/Venkatraman so as to have included determining heart rate by inverting average peak to peak time, in accordance with the teachings of Crump, in order to allow for remote monitoring of hemodynamic properties.
Claims 8 and 16 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Mulumudi et al.: (US PGPUB 2015/0104027 A1); in view of Chong et al.: (US PGPUB 2015/0190110 A1); in view of Farr: (US PGPUB 2020/0121189 A1) in view of Uehara: (US PGPUB 2006/0101016 A1).
CLAIMS 8 and 16
The combination of Mulumudi/Chong/Farr discloses the limitations above relative to Claims 2 and 11. With respect to the following limitations:
receiving a fourth image of a display area of an external diagnostic device; applying optical character recognition techniques on said fourth image to extract one or more of text, numbers and symbols displayed on said display area; and transmitting said one or more of said text, numbers and symbols to said remote communication device; (Uehara 0006, 0007, 0015, 0017, 0069, 0070, 0078).
Mulumudi/Chong/Farr does not disclose OCR techniques to extract text, number and symbols from an image. Uehara discloses a medical image transfer system that includes performing OCR to extract text. Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing data of the claimed invention, to have modified the remote monitoring system of Mulumudi/Chong/Farr so as to have included using OCR to extract text from images, in accordance with the teachings of Uehara, in order to allow for image organization.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments filed on 19 January, 2026, with respect to the U.S.C. 103 rejections of the claims have been fully considered and are persuasive. Therefore, the rejection has been withdrawn. However, upon further consideration, a new grounds of rejection is made in view of Chong et al. and Farr. Venkatraman is not longer relied on.
Examiner understands Applicant’s discussion relative to the length of the windpipe, and for the most part, agrees. As a result, the U.S.C. §112 rejection is withdrawn.
Examiner maintains that what constitutes the recited “windpipe of sufficient length” is a design choice, (even though “design choice” is not invoked in the rejection), provided that the chosen length permits the recited display placement. For example, the windpipe may be relatively short or “just long enough” to allow the display to be placed “exactly 15 cm from the eyes” and no more. Examiner considers the windpipe shown in Figure 1 of the present specification to be “relatively short” or “just long enough” to place the display as required; in view of the disclosed maximum length of 300 cm.
A phone display placed 15 cm from your eyes is “very close” (try it). However, the claim encompasses a windpipe of any “sufficient length” - up to the 300 cm maximum discloses in the specification. A stethoscope piece with a windpipe of 300 cm is of sufficient length to place the display “exactly 15 cm from the eyes”, or at any distance greater than 15 cm that may be allowed according to the chosen length.
Nonetheless, Examiner asserts, contrary to Applicant’s argument, that Mulumudi teaches a windpipe of sufficient length such that the display on the phone is at least 15 cm away from the patient’s eyes. This limitation can be met with a stethoscope piece directly attached to the bottom edge of a smart phone. In this example, if the stethoscope piece is placed over the heart, the display is placed at least 15 cm away from the eyes by virtue of the physical dimensions involved. In particular, Mulumudi discloses a windpipe in Figure 7A and 7B that appears to have a length similar to the length of the windpipe shown in Figure 1 of the pending application. As such, Mulumudi discloses a windpipe of sufficient length to place the display at least 15 cm from the eyes.
CONCLUSION
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
US PGPUB 2003/0095148 A1 to Dinstein et al. discloses an system for evaluating audio signals from a stethoscope that includes converting analog audio into digital data and transmitting the data to a remote computer for analysis.
Any inquiry of a general nature or relating to the status of this application or concerning this communication or earlier communications from the Examiner should be directed to John A. Pauls whose telephone number is (571) 270-5557. The Examiner can normally be reached on Mon. - Fri. 8:00 - 5:00 Eastern. If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the Examiner’s supervisor, Robert Morgan can be reached at (571) 272-6773.
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/JOHN A PAULS/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3683
Date: 19 February, 2026