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. 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)(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. Claims 1, 13, and 19-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102 (a)(1) as being anticipated by Nicholls et al (US 2010/0324582) . Regarding claim 1 , Nicholls discloses: A needle insertion assistant (Fig. 1) , comprising: a housing assembly (10, 11) defining a first inner lumen (Fig. 3) axially extending therethrough; a pusher assembly (20) disposed within the first inner lumen, the pusher assembly (20) comprising an inner core (22) and an energy storage element (70) , the inner core (22) configured to be axially movable, the energy storage element (28) disposed between the inner core (22) and the housing assembly (10, 11) (¶0020 – energy storage element 70 is radially disposed between the inner core 22 and the housing assembly 10, 11) ; and a drive assembly (16; ¶0019) , wherein the drive assembly (16) is configured to drive the inner core (22) to move from distal to proximal (Fig. 5) to cause the energy storage element (70) to store elastic potential energy (¶0020 – movement to cocked position compresses energy storage element 70 to drive movement of the pusher 20) , and the drive assembly (16) is further configured to cause the energy storage element (28) to release the stored elastic potential energy to drive the inner core (22) to move from proximal to distal (Fig. 6) . Regarding claim 13 , Nicholls discloses: The needle insertion assistant according to claim 1, further comprising a first circumferential stopper (36) for maintaining the inner core (22) to be circumferentially stationary with respect to the housing assembly (10, 11) . Regarding claim 19 , Nicholls discloses: The needle insertion assistant according to claim 1, further comprising an interface component ( inner surface of core 22) connected to a distal end of the inner core (22) and configured for connection with an object of interest (24) . Regarding claim 20 , Nicholls discloses: A medical device (Fig. 1) , comprising an object of interest (24) and the needle insertion assistant (Fig. 1) according to claim 1 (see rejection of claim 1) , the object of interest (24) comprising a needle ( a lancet comprises a needle ) , wherein a distal end of the inner core (22) is configured for connection with the object of interest (24) and for insertion of the needle to a target site (¶0024) . Allowable Subject Matter Claims 2-12 and 14-18 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 Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to FILLIN "Examiner name" \* MERGEFORMAT TASNIM M AHMED whose telephone number is FILLIN "Phone number" \* MERGEFORMAT (571)272-9536 . The examiner can normally be reached FILLIN "Work Schedule?" \* MERGEFORMAT M-F 9am-5pm Pacific time . 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 Bhisma Mehta can be reached at FILLIN "SPE Phone?" \* MERGEFORMAT (571)272-3383 . 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. /TASNIM MEHJABIN AHMED/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3783