DETAILED ACTION
Applicant's amendments and remarks, filed 6/22/26, are fully acknowledged by the Examiner. Currently, claims 1-9 and 11 are pending with claims 1 amended. Applicant's amendment to claim 1 has overcome the previously filed 35 USC 112(a) and 112(b) rejections. The following is a complete response to the 6/22/26 communication.
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 .
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.
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and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114.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 6/22/26 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.
Claim(s) 1-3, 5, 7-9, 11 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Jeong (US 2019/0133681) in view of O'Keefe (US 2020/0170701).
Regarding claim 1, Jeong teaches an electrode apparatus for nerve denervation or modulation in vivo, comprising:
a main body including a shaft (10 as in Fig. 5);
an electrode unit formed to be drawn out from one end of the shaft and configured to denervate or modulate at least part of nerves on a tube in a subject's body (electrode unit 23);
an electrode guide configured to guide the electrode unit (body 21), the electrode unit is interposed between the electrode guide and the tube in the subject’s body while the electrode guide encloses the tube (Fig. 11a-b with the electrode unit 23 between the guide 21 and the tissue to be treated).
Jeong is silent regarding the electrode guide including a plurality of joint units connected sequentially to each other, a wire connecting the plurality of joint units to each other, and a tip joint connected to an end of the plurality of joint units and coupled to the electrode unit; and
a driving unit located inside the main body and configured to drive the joint units and the wire to protrude from the one end of the shaft,
wherein the driving unit drives the joint units in conjunction with the wire to have different displacements, and wherein the tip joint and the plurality of joint units are configured to be drawn out from the one end of the shaft to form a curved winding path such that the electrode unit is interposed between the electrode guide and the tube in the subject's body while the electrode guide encloses the tube.
However, O’Keefe teaches an electrode guide including a plurality of joint units connected sequentially to each other (joints of 80 connected to each other to flex), a wire connecting the plurality of joint units to each other (electrode guide as flex spine 80 with wires 220 to articulate the joints of spine 80), and a tip joint (end effector mount 210) connected to an end of the plurality of joint units (210 connected to 80 as in Fig. 2) and coupled to the electrode unit (80 connected to the electrode unit as one cohesive device), joint units of the plurality of joint units being connected sequentially to each other (joints of 80 connected to each other to flex), the plurality of joint units coupled to an end of the electrode unit and the wire (80 coupled to electrode unit and wire as in Fig. 2); and a driving unit located inside the main body and configured to drive the joint units and the wire to protrude from the one end of the shaft (drive unit as thumbstick 385 outside of the main body), wherein the driving unit drives the joint units in conjunction with the wire to have different displacements (385 to adjust the position of the device using the articulation).
O'Keefe further teaches wherein the tip joint and the plurality of joint units are configured to be drawn out from the one end of the shaft to form a curved winding path (210 and the joints of 80 are drawn out to form a curved winding path as in at least Fig. 2 with 80 flexible to curve) such that the electrode guide encloses the tube (30 encloses nerves using jaws 216 and 217).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to modify Jeong with the electrode guide as the joint unit structure of O’Keefe, as a way to dictate how a flexible joint structure bends, with the slots between joints biasing bending in a desired direction and at a desired rate of bend, to control the shape of the electrode guide to surround the tube of the body.
Regarding claim 2, Jeong is not explicit regarding the electrode guide structure.However, O'Keefe teaches wherein the driving unit includes:
a rod block of which one end is connected to the joint units and which is moved in forward and backward directions (290 as in Fig. 28 and par. [0247]);
a wire block configured to support the wire and moved in forward and backward directions (330 as in par. [0226]); and
a variable connection unit configured to connect the rod block and the wire block to each other and vary a distance between the rod block and the wire block (variable connection unit 310).It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to modify Jeong with the electrode guide as the joint unit structure of O’Keefe, as a way to dictate how a flexible joint structure bends, with the slots between joints biasing bending in a desired direction and at a desired rate of bend, to control the shape of the electrode guide to surround the tube of the body.
Regarding claim 3, Jeong is not explicit regarding the electrode guide structure. However, O'Keefe teaches wherein the variable connection unit includes:
a rod link rotatably connected to the rod block (block 290 with link 326);
a wire link rotatably connected to the wire block (330);
a hinge pin configured to rotatably connect the rod link and the wire link to each other (330 and 290 connected via cam 370 having a pin to rotate); and
a pin slot formed to slidably accommodate the hinge pin and extending in a tilted direction with respect to the forward and backward directions (par. [0247] cam 370 rotatably mounted in handle 10).It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to modify Jeong with the electrode guide as the joint unit structure of O’Keefe, as a way to dictate how a flexible joint structure bends, with the slots between joints biasing bending in a desired direction and at a desired rate of bend, to control the shape of the electrode guide to surround the tube of the body.
Regarding claim 5, Jeong is not explicit regarding the electrode guide structure.O'Keefe teaches wherein the driving unit includes:
a frame including a guide slit (frame of handle 10 with slot to hold 370 to pivot);
a rod block including a rod that supports the plurality of joint units and a rod slider slidably inserted into the guide slit (290 as in Fig. 28 and par. [0247]); and
a wire block including a wire slider slidably inserted into the guide slit and configured to support the wire (330 as in par. [0226]).It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to modify Jeong with the electrode guide as the joint unit structure of O’Keefe, as a way to dictate how a flexible joint structure bends, with the slots between joints biasing bending in a desired direction and at a desired rate of bend, to control the shape of the electrode guide to surround the tube of the body.
Regarding claim 7, Jeong is not explicit regarding the electrode guide structure.O'Keefe teaches wherein the wire is protruded from one end of the shaft
with a smaller displacement than the joint units and provides a force of pulling the joint units in a direction to be wound around the tube (cables 220 protrudes less than the flex spine 80 as in par. [0224]).It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to modify Jeong with the electrode guide as the joint unit structure of O’Keefe, as a way to dictate how a flexible joint structure bends, with the slots between joints biasing bending in a desired direction and at a desired rate of bend, to control the shape of the electrode guide to surround the tube of the body.
Regarding claim 8, Jeong is not explicit regarding the electrode guide structure.O'Keefe teaches wherein each joint unit includes:
a hinge unit formed on one or both sides of the joint unit in a longitudinal direction to be connected to an adjacent joint unit (cutouts in 140 form hinges as in Fig. 5); and
a wire hole formed to allow insertion of the wire at a location spaced apart from a rotation center of the hinge unit (holes 145).It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to modify Jeong with the electrode guide as the joint unit structure of O’Keefe, as a way to dictate how a flexible joint structure bends, with the slots between joints biasing bending in a desired direction and at a desired rate of bend, to control the shape of the electrode guide to surround the tube of the body.
Regarding claim 9, Jeong is not explicit regarding the electrode guide structure.O'Keefe teaches wherein each joint unit includes:
a hinge unit formed on one or both sides of the joint unit in a longitudinal direction to be connected to an adjacent joint unit (hinge as portions that are not cutout allowing for bending); and a winding support unit formed on one or both sides of the joint unit in the longitudinal direction to support the adjacent joint unit (winding support 35), and since adjacent joint units are supported by means of the winding support unit, a force of supporting the joint units is provided to the joint units in an opposite direction to a direction to be wound around the tube (joint units spaced apart from tube 270).It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to modify Jeong with the electrode guide as the joint unit structure of O’Keefe, as a way to dictate how a flexible joint structure bends, with the slots between joints biasing bending in a desired direction and at a desired rate of bend, to control the shape of the electrode guide to surround the tube of the body.
Regarding claim 11, Jeong is not explicit regarding the electrode guide structure.O'Keefe teaches wherein the plurality of joint units is made of an elastically deformable material and formed as one body (80 as one body with cutouts), and a winding support groove of which at least a part of a space is deformed to be closed by a force of the wire is formed between adjacent joint units of the electrode guide (support groove between the coil spirals, as in Fig. 7 and par. [0091)).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to modify Jeong with the electrode guide as the joint unit structure of O’Keefe, as a way to dictate how a flexible joint structure bends, with the slots between joints biasing bending in a desired direction and at a desired rate of bend, to control the shape of the electrode guide to surround the tube of the body.
Claim(s) 4 and 6 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Jeong in view of O'Keefe, in view of Barrish (US 2016/0279388).
Regarding claim 4, Jeong is not explicit regarding the electrode guide structure.O'Keefe teaches wherein the driving unit includes:
a rod block including a rod of which one end is connected to the plurality of joint units (block 290 with link 326); and
a wire block configured to support wire and move in forward and backward directions in parallel to the rod block (330 as in par. [0226]), and
when the rod block is moved in the forward direction, a distance between the rod block and the wire block increases (cam pushes rod block and wire away from each other in a first position), and when the rod block is moved in the backward direction, the distance between the rod block and the wire block decreases (cam in a second position has rod block and wire block closer to each other, as in par. [0247]).It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to modify Jeong with the electrode guide as the joint unit structure of O’Keefe, as a way to dictate how a flexible joint structure bends, with the slots between joints biasing bending in a desired direction and at a desired rate of bend, to control the shape of the electrode guide to surround the tube of the body.
Jeong is silent wherein the driving unit includes a motor unit; the rod which is moved in forward and backward directions by means of the motor unit.
However, Barrish teaches a motor for actuating pull wires to articulate an end effector (par. [0222]).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to modify Jeong with the motor controlling the articulation as in Barrish, to automate control of the device.
Regarding claim 6, Jeong is silent regarding the electrode guide structure.O'Keefe teaches the rod block is moved in the forward and backward directions in engagement with the rotation shaft (290 as in Fig. 28 and par. [0247]), and the wire block includes a sliding hole slidably accommodating the rotation shaft and moves in the forward and backward directions while the wire block and the rod block are connected to each other to have a variable distance therebetween (variable connection unit 310).It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to modify Jeong with the electrode guide as the joint unit structure of O’Keefe, as a way to dictate how a flexible joint structure bends, with the slots between joints biasing bending in a desired direction and at a desired rate of bend, to control the shape of the electrode guide to surround the tube of the body.
Jeong is silent regarding wherein the driving unit further includes a motor unit including a rotation shaft rotatably supported by the frame.
However, Barrish teaches a motor for actuating pull wires to articulate an end effector (par. [0222]).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to modify Jeong with the motor controlling the articulation as in Barrish, to automate control of the device.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments, see the remarks, filed 6/22/26, with respect to the rejection(s) of claim(s) 1-9 and 11 under 35 USC 102(a)(1) or 103 have been fully considered and are persuasive. Therefore, the rejection has been withdrawn. However, upon further consideration, a new ground(s) of rejection is made in view of Jeong as a primary reference.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to BO OUYANG whose telephone number is (571)272-8831. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 8-5 EST.
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/BO OUYANG/Examiner, Art Unit 3794
/JOANNE M RODDEN/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 3794
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