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 .
Election/Restrictions
Claims 15-16 are withdrawn from further consideration pursuant to 37 CFR 1.142(b) as being drawn to a nonelected Group II, there being no allowable generic or linking claim. Election was made without traverse in the reply filed on December 29, 2025. Currently claims 1-16 are pending in this application with claims 15-16 withdrawn from consideration.
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 1-2 and 7-10 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Rheinwald et. al (US 2008/0158629).
Regarding claim 1, Rheinwald discloses an endoscopic surgical device (see par. [0021], [0053]), comprising:
a laser source (e.g. laser 8 in Fig. 2; also see par. [0047], [0048]);
a laser fiber optically coupled to the laser source, the laser fiber comprising an optical core and a fiber tip (light guide 1 in Fig. 2; also see e.g. par. [0038], [0044]),
the optical core comprising a plurality of grating patterns forming a diffraction grating (photorefractive area 2 in Fig. 2; also see par. [0010], [0039]-[0047]); and
an endoscopic probe housing an imager and the fiber tip (par. [0053]).
Regarding claim 2, Rheinwald additionally discloses wherein the laser source is a high-energy pulsed laser (e.g. laser 8 in Fig. 2).
Regarding claim 7, Rheinwald additionally discloses wherein each of the plurality of grating patterns is inscribed on the optical core by mechanical, chemical, or laser etching (e.g. writing of the volume holograph as taught in par. [0042]-[0044]).
Regarding claim 8, Rheinwald additionally discloses wherein each of the plurality of grating patterns is inserted into the optical core by implantation or material compositing (e.g. writing of the volume holograph as taught in par. [0042]-[0044]).
Regarding claim 9, Rheinwald additionally discloses wherein the diffraction grating is disposed within the fiber tip (e.g. tip as shown in Figure 1-2).
Regarding claim 10, Rheinwald additionally discloses wherein a distal end surface of the fiber tip is inscribed with one of the plurality of grating patterns (e.g. writing of the volume holograph as taught in par. [0042]-[0044]).
Claims 1-3, 11-12 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Toledo-Crow et al (US 2020/0261153).
Regarding claim 1, Toledo-Crow discloses an endoscopic surgical device (e.g. endoscopic laser scalpel system as shown in Figure 1), comprising:
a laser source (e.g. laser 140);
a laser fiber optically coupled to the laser source, the laser fiber comprising
an optical core (e.g. optical fiber 145) and
a fiber tip (e.g. endoscopic head 250as shown in Figure 2),
the optical core comprising a plurality of grating patterns forming a diffraction grating (e.g. grating as shown in Figure 4A; par. [0072]; and
an endoscopic probe housing an imager and the fiber tip (e.g. imaging device as taught in [0063]).
Regarding claim 2, Toledo-Crow additionally discloses wherein the laser source is a high-energy pulsed laser (e.g. laser 140).
Regarding claim 3, Toledo-Crow additionally discloses wherein the plurality of grating patterns are spaced evenly along a length of the optical core (e.g. as shown in Figure 2).
Regarding claim 11, Toledo-Crow additionally discloses a display device configured to display imaging data received from the imager while the endoscopic probe is deployed (e.g. image display and graphical interface 120 as shown in Figure 1).
Regarding claim 12, Toledo-Crow additionally discloses a controller configured to, while the endoscopic probe is deployed: receive imaging data from the imager; and activate the laser source to discharge laser energy through the laser fiber, the laser energy emitted from the fiber tip (e.g. computer controller 130 and input 125 as shown in Figure 1).
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.
Claims 4-6 and 13-14 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Toledo-Crow.
Regarding claims 4-6 and 13-14, Toledo-Crow discloses the claimed invention but does not disclose expressly wherein the grating patterns are spaced at intervals of between 1.9 and 35 microns along the optical core (claim 4), wherein the intervals are between 7.5 and 7.9 microns (claim 5), wherein the optical core has a diameter of between 200 and 550 microns (claim 6), wherein the laser energy is dispersed over an area exceeding ten times the diameter of the laser tip (claim 13) or wherein the laser energy is dispersed over an area that includes a plurality of regions of high intensity separated by regions of lower intensity (claim 14). It would have been an obvious matter of design choice to a person of ordinary skill in the art to modify the device as taught by Toledo-Crow with the desired dimensions, because Applicant has not disclosed that such dimensions provides an advantage, is used for a particular purpose, or solves a stated problem. Because Applicants fail to disclose that the claimed range(s) provides a criticality to the invention that separates it from the other ranges in the specification, and is absent unexpected results, it would therefore have been obvious for one of ordinary skill to discover the optimum workable range(s) as disclosed above. One of ordinary skill in the art, furthermore, would have expected Applicant’s invention to perform equally well with the dimensions as taught by Toledo-Crow, because it provides a reliable and since it appears to be an arbitrary design consideration which fails to patentably distinguish over the prior art. Therefore, it would have been an obvious matter of design choice to modify Toledo-Crow to obtain the invention as specified in the claims.
Conclusion
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/Amanda K Hulbert/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3792