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 .
Specification
The lengthy specification has not been checked to the extent necessary to determine the presence of all possible minor errors. Applicant’s cooperation is requested in correcting any errors of which applicant may become aware in the specification.
Claim Objections
3. Claims 1 and 11 are objected to because of the following informalities:
Regarding claim 1, on page 4 of “Claims” section, line 25, “remain organ volume” (emphasis added) should be changed to -- remaining organ volume --;
Regarding claim 11, on page 8 of “Claims” section, line 7, “remain organ volume” (emphasis added) should be changed to -- remaining organ volume --.
Appropriate correction is required.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 101
4. 35 U.S.C. 101 reads as follows:
Whoever invents or discovers any new and useful process, machine, manufacture, or composition of matter, or any new and useful improvement thereof, may obtain a patent therefor, subject to the conditions and requirements of this title.
5. Claims 1-10 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 101 because the claimed invention is directed to non-statutory subject matter. The claims do not fall within at least one of the four categories of patent eligible subject matter because the claims are directed to a “tumor resection planning tool” comprising a series of components “having a computer-accessible medium.” It is unclear whether the claims recite a series of mechanical components, each of which having a computer-accessible medium, or whether the components themselves are computer-accessible media. Given its broadest reasonable interpretation, the claims may be directed to a plurality of computer-accessible media having instructions for directing a processor to execute a series of instructions. The components themselves are not defined, other than that they “have a computer-accessible medium,” and as such, by its broadest reasonable interpretation, may be no more than propagating signals carrying such instructions. The broadest reasonable interpretation of a “computer-accessible medium” can encompass non-statutory transitory forms of signal transmission, such as a propagating electrical or electromagnetic signal per se. When the broadest reasonable interpretation encompasses transitory forms of signal transmission, a rejection under 35 U.S.C. 101 as failing to claim statutory subject matter would be appropriate. Thus, a claim to a computer-accessible medium that can be a compact disc or a carrier wave covers a non-statutory embodiment and therefore should be rejected under 35 U.S.C. 101 as being directed to non-statutory subject matter. See MPEP section 2106.03, subsection II.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
6. 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.
7. Claims 1-20 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 language in independent claims 1 and 11 use exemplary claim language “such as.” Examples or preferences, if stated in the claims, may lead to confusion over the intended scope of a claim. It is not clear whether the claimed narrower subset of organs (“different organs such as a liver, pancreas, a lung, and a brain” (page 2 of “Claims” section, lines 5-6, and page 7 of “Claims” section, line 9, emphasis added)) is a limitation. Therefore, independent claims 1 and 11, along with corresponding dependent claims 2-10 and 12-20, are rejected as being indefinite. See MPEP 2173.05(d).
Claim 1 recites “a component having the computer-accessible medium having executable instructions capable of directing the processor to segment and digitally label surgery-related structures, from fused DICOMs, yielding segmentation results, the component having the computer-accessible medium having executable instructions capable of directing the processor to segment being operably coupled to the component having the computer-accessible medium having executable instructions capable of directing the processor to synchronously navigate,” (page 1 of “Claims” section, lines 13-19, emphasis added). It is unclear as to what is being navigated by the processor in this limitation, and thus this limitation is indefinite.
Similar to claim 1, claim 11 recites a step “segment and digitally label surgery-related structures, from fused DICOMs, yielding segmentation results, and to synchronously navigate” (page 7 of “Claims” section, lines 4-5, emphasis added). As with claim 1, it is unclear as to what is being navigated in this step. Therefore, independent claims 1 and 11, along with corresponding dependent claims 2-10 and 12-20, are rejected as being indefinite.
Allowable Subject Matter
8. Claims 1-20 would be allowable if rewritten or amended to overcome the rejection(s) under 35 U.S.C. 101 and/or 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), 2nd paragraph, set forth in this Office action.
9. The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter:
First, regarding claim 11, no prior art has been found to disclose or suggest Applicant’s tumor resection planning tool in mixed reality comprising a microprocessor configured to perform each of the recited steps in combination, including:
- provide a step-by-step surgical tumor resection plan workflow that is adaptable to different organs such as a liver, pancreas, a lung, and a brain;
- display a set of segmented structures as 3D polygonal objects with assigned predefined textures to enhance a perception by a surgeon of relationships between anatomical structures;
- adjust a visualization of objects in terms of transparency and color to meet user's custom needs;
- display different levels of risk margins offset from a tumor surface, with user-defined margin values that can be changed on demand, the apparatus that is operable to display the different levels of the risk margins being operably coupled to the apparatus that is operable to adjust the visualization of objects;
- provide vessel clip plan tools to simulate a blood flow and behavior of vascular structures after a resection according to the step-by-step surgical tumor resection plan workflow, the apparatus that is operable to provide vessel clip plan tools being operably coupled to the apparatus that is operable to display the different levels of the risk margins;
- create, move, remove, and modify the step-by-step surgical tumor resection plan workflow around a set of target tumor(s);
- divide a target organ structure into remain and to-be-resected parts based on a user- defined resection plan(s) by applying cloud-based boolean mesh operations yielding a division;
- calculate and display remaining target organ volume based on the division;
- offer an ability to edit the step-by-step surgical tumor resection plan workflow and reapply the division;
- indicate a surgery plan includes divided polygonal objects, remain(ing) organ volume, and vessel clip information;
- provide an option to load a previously saved surgery plan; and
- provide a mixed reality shared experience to remotely discuss the surgery plan with other tumor board members.
Claims 12-20 depend from claim 11.
Claim 1 recites components having a computer-accessible medium having executable instructions capable of directing a processor to perform each of the recited steps in claim 11.
Claims 2-10 depend from claim 1.
10. The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
U.S. Patent US 7,228,165 B1 (Sullivan) discloses an apparatus and method for performing a tissue resection procedure.
U.S. Patent US 2013/0077842 A1 (El-Zehiry et al.) discloses semi-automated preoperative resection planning.
U.S. Patent Application Publication US 2015/0063668 A1 (You et al.) discloses three-dimensional virtual liver surgery planning system.
U.S. Patent Application Publication US 2019/0035156 A1 (Wei et al.) discloses a method and system for surgical planning in a mixed reality environment.
U.S. Patent Application Publication US 2024/0366306 A1 (Sudarsky et al.) discloses a computer implemented method for planning a liver resection.
International Application Publication WO 2022/081862 A1 (Chidambaram et al.) discloses mixed-reality systems for enhancing stereotactic radiosurgery case planning.
European Application Publication EP 4 245 242 A1 (Hill et al.) discloses bone resection scoring and planning.
11. Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to THOMAS D LEE whose telephone number is (571)272-7436. The examiner can normally be reached Mon-Fri 7:30AM-5:00PM.
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/THOMAS D LEE/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2683