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
Claims 1-13 are pending in this application.
Drawings
The drawings were received on 11/24/2023 are accepted for examination purposes.
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 11/24/2023 is in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statement is being considered by the examiner.
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 Interpretation
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(f):
(f) Element in Claim for a Combination. – An element in a claim for a combination may be expressed as a means or step for performing a specified function without the recital of structure, material, or acts in support thereof, and such claim shall be construed to cover the corresponding structure, material, or acts described in the specification and equivalents thereof.
The following is a quotation of pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph:
An element in a claim for a combination may be expressed as a means or step for performing a specified function without the recital of structure, material, or acts in support thereof, and such claim shall be construed to cover the corresponding structure, material, or acts described in the specification and equivalents thereof.
The claims in this application are given their broadest reasonable interpretation using the plain meaning of the claim language in light of the specification as it would be understood by one of ordinary skill in the art. The broadest reasonable interpretation of a claim element (also commonly referred to as a claim limitation) is limited by the description in the specification when 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, is invoked.
As explained in MPEP § 2181, subsection I, claim limitations that meet the following three-prong test will be interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph:
(A) the claim limitation uses the term “means” or “step” or a term used as a substitute for “means” that is a generic placeholder (also called a nonce term or a non-structural term having no specific structural meaning) for performing the claimed function;
(B) the term “means” or “step” or the generic placeholder is modified by functional language, typically, but not always linked by the transition word “for” (e.g., “means for”) or another linking word or phrase, such as “configured to” or “so that”; and
(C) the term “means” or “step” or the generic placeholder is not modified by sufficient structure, material, or acts for performing the claimed function.
Use of the word “means” (or “step”) in a claim with functional language creates a rebuttable presumption that the claim limitation is to be treated in accordance with 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph. The presumption that the claim limitation is interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, is rebutted when the claim limitation recites sufficient structure, material, or acts to entirely perform the recited function.
Absence of the word “means” (or “step”) in a claim creates a rebuttable presumption that the claim limitation is not to be treated in accordance with 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph. The presumption that the claim limitation is not interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, is rebutted when the claim limitation recites function without reciting sufficient structure, material or acts to entirely perform the recited function.
Claim limitations in this application that use the word “means” (or “step”) are being interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, except as otherwise indicated in an Office action. Conversely, claim limitations in this application that do not use the word “means” (or “step”) are not being interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, except as otherwise indicated in an Office action.
This application includes one or more claim limitations that do not use the word “means,” but are nonetheless being interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, because the claim limitation(s) uses a generic placeholder that is coupled with functional language without reciting sufficient structure to perform the recited function and the generic placeholder is not preceded by a structural modifier. Such claim limitation(s) is/are: “acquisition section”, “display processing section”, “step of acquiring” and “step of executing” in claims 1-12.
Because this/these claim limitation(s) is/are being interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, it/they is/are being interpreted to cover the corresponding structure described in the specification as performing the claimed function, and equivalents thereof.
Acquisition section corresponds to the information processing unit composed of a CPU that executes a program functioning as the acquisition section [Fig 1 (42), par 0039-0040]
Display processing section corresponds to the information processing unit composed of a CPU that executes a program functioning as the display processing section [Fig 1 (46), par 0039-0040]
If applicant does not intend to have this/these limitation(s) interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, applicant may: (1) amend the claim limitation(s) to avoid it/them being interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph (e.g., by reciting sufficient structure to perform the claimed function); or (2) present a sufficient showing that the claim limitation(s) recite(s) sufficient structure to perform the claimed function so as to avoid it/them being interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph.
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)(2) the claimed invention was described in a patent issued under section 151, or in an application for patent published or deemed published under section 122(b), in which the patent or application, as the case may be, names another inventor and was effectively filed before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claim(s) 1-4, 8, and 12-13 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by Kruecker et al (US-2024/0074738).
As to Claim 1, Kruecker teaches ‘An ultrasound diagnostic apparatus comprising: an acquisition section configured to acquire an image data group obtained in a past examination for a subject from a server in a current ultrasound examination for the subject [par 0006-0010, 0057, 0070, 0103-0105 – acquiring same ultrasound images from a previous imaging procedure stored in servers along with an anatomical scan window, probe orientation, and/or patient position for the earlier image in relation to a present procedure]; and a display processing section configured to, in a case where specific image data is selected from within the image data group in the current ultrasound examination, execute display processing of displaying a current image, which is a real-time ultrasound image, and a past image generated based on the specific image data [Figs 7 (705), 8, par 0061-0062, 0068, 0104, 0111-0113 – displaying a previous ultrasound image from the previous procedure and one or more ultrasound images acquired in real time during the present ultrasound imaging procedure], wherein the acquisition section is configured to start background acquisition processing of acquiring the image data group from the server based on subject information specified at a start of the current ultrasound examination, prior to a start of the display processing [Fig 6, par 0062, 0089-0090, 0094-0097 – acquiring previous ultrasound images based on target parameters a time point T2, a time point after T1 which acquires a baseline image (i.e. current ultrasound) and prior to displaying ultrasound images]’.
Further, in regards to claim 12 the ultrasound diagnostic apparatus performs the image data processing method of claim 12.
Further, in regards to claim 13, the image data processing method of claim 12 is fully embodied on the non-transitory storage medium of claim 13.
As to Claim 2, Kruecker teaches ‘wherein the subject information is information input to an initial image which is displayed at the start of the current ultrasound examination [par 0062, 0104 – target parameters may be input into the system through a user input device representative of a target anatomical scan window and a target probe orientation]’.
As to Claim 3, Kruecker teaches ‘wherein an extraction condition is designated before the start or at the start of the current ultrasound examination, and the acquisition section is configured to acquire an image data group generated in the past examination for the subject and satisfying the extraction condition from the server as the image data group [par 0006, 0090, 0094-0095 – identifying an anatomical scan window, ultrasound probe orientation, and/or patient position associated with an ultrasound image when acquiring a current baseline image at a time point T1 to retrieve stored ultrasound images from previous procedure]’.
As to Claim 4, Kruecker teaches ‘wherein the extraction condition includes at least one of a condition for limiting a timing of the past examination, a condition for limiting a medical apparatus used to perform the past examination, or a condition for limiting a tissue examined in the past examination [par 0036, 0038, 0045 – the object may include anatomical locations and tissue types when acquiring previous ultrasound images with parameters of anatomical scan window, probe orientation, and/or patient position during imaging procedure]’.
As to Claim 8, Kruecker teaches ‘wherein the image data group includes moving image data, and the display processing section is configured to display information indicating that data is being acquired in a thumbnail image display region corresponding to the moving image data during acquisition of the moving image data [par 0045, 0049, 0103-0104, 0108, 0112 – performing real-time processing on image data to provide a streaming video of ultrasound images of the object, storing ultrasound videos and displaying ultrasound images, image videos, and/or any imaging information of the object, as the current image stream is continuously obtained]’.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claim 5 is 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.
Claim 6 (and claims 7, 10 and 11 based on dependency) is 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.
Claim 9 is 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.
The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter: Kruecker in view of the prior art searched and/or cited does not teach nor suggest the combination of limitations including “wherein the acquisition section is configured to, in a case where the image data group to be acquired from the server includes still image data and moving image data, start acquisition of the still image data in the background acquisition processing prior to a start of acquisition of the moving image data” as recited in dependent claim 5; “wherein the acquisition section is configured to, in a case where the image data group to be acquired from the server includes still image data and volume data, start acquisition of the still image data in the background acquisition processing prior to a start of acquisition of the volume data” as recited in dependent claim 6; and “wherein the information indicating that data is being acquired includes information indicating the number of pieces of frame data constituting the moving image data” as recited in dependent claim 9.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record
a. US Publication No. 2024/0074738
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
b. US Publication No. 2019/0012432
c. US Publication No. 2019/0125298
d. US Publication No. 2023/0255602
e. US Patent No. 8,731,264
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/MIYA J CATO/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2681