DETAILED ACTION
Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status
The present application is being examined under the pre-AIA first to invent provisions.
Response to Amendment
Applicant’s amendment filed on 4/27/2026 has been entered. Claims 1 and 11 are amended. Claims 1-3, 5-7, 11 are pending.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
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 pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 103(a) which forms the basis for all obviousness rejections set forth in this Office action:
(a) A patent may not be obtained though the invention is not identically disclosed or described as set forth in section 102, if the differences between the subject matter sought to be patented and the prior art are such that the subject matter as a whole would have been obvious at the time the invention was made to a person having ordinary skill in the art to which said subject matter pertains. Patentability shall not be negated by the manner in which the invention was made.
The factual inquiries for establishing a background for determining obviousness under pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 103(a) are summarized as follows:
1. Determining the scope and contents of the prior art.
2. Ascertaining the differences between the prior art and the claims at issue.
3. Resolving the level of ordinary skill in the pertinent art.
4. Considering objective evidence present in the application indicating obviousness or nonobviousness.
This application currently names joint inventors. In considering patentability of the claims under pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 103(a), the examiner presumes that the subject matter of the various claims was commonly owned at the time any inventions covered therein were made absent any evidence to the contrary. Applicant is advised of the obligation under 37 CFR 1.56 to point out the inventor and invention dates of each claim that was not commonly owned at the time a later invention was made in order for the examiner to consider the applicability of pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 103(c) and potential pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 102(e), (f) or (g) prior art under pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 103(a).
Claim 1-3, 5, 7, 11 rejected under pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 103(a) as being unpatentable over Music (US 7,706,896), and further in view of Tolmie (US 20070180129 A1), Zhou (US 20080221399 A1), and Silver (US 20090210252 A1).
Regarding claim 1, 11, Music discloses a medical patient monitoring device and method for monitoring physiological information, the medical patient monitoring device comprising:
an interface configured to receive current physiological information associated with at least one patient (via interface 20 coupled to sensor 16 configured to be connected to a body part to sense a patient's physiological parameters, col. 3, line 63-66, col. 4, lines 5-10 and Fig. 1); and
a detector for detecting a physical presence of a clinician token within a detection area in a vicinity of the medical patient monitoring device (door sensors 172A and 172B, col. 10, line 43-col. 12, line 10),
wherein the medical patient monitoring device further comprises a processor that is configured to take a predetermined action in response to detection of the clinician token in the detection area (if the ID tag corresponds to a caregiver, the technique 210 may next include unlocking access to the medical device at an appropriate permissions level. For example, in one embodiment, an access control system in the medical device 164 may be configured to unlock the medical device 164 and allow the medical device control system 262 to execute instructions and/or commands commensurate with the permission level of the caregiver 62, col. 12, lines 3-10).
Music fails to disclose the predetermined action comprises receiving patient physiological data and displaying the patient physiological data on the medical patient monitoring device.
Tolmie teaches a device to detect the presence of an identity token and perform a predetermined action on a medical device including receiving patient physiological data and displaying the patient physiological data on the medical device (Para. 29).
From the teachings of Tolmie, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was made to modify Music to include the predetermined action comprises receiving patient physiological data and displaying the patient physiological data on the medical patient monitoring device in order to automatically present useful information to a medical professional, thereby improve convenience.
The combination of Music and Tolmie fail to disclose the patient data comprises historical physiological data from a central monitoring system and displaying the patient historical physiological data on the medical patient monitoring device, wherein the patient historical physiological data is stored remotely and made available at the medical patient monitoring device only after it is received from the central monitoring system.
Zhou teaches a system to store patient historical physiological data at a database of a central system and sharing of the stored patient historical physiological data with a medical professional at a monitor upon request by the professional (Para. 41, 52, 56).
From the teachings of Zhou, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was made to modify Music and Tolmie to include the patient data comprises historical physiological data from a central monitoring system and displaying the patient historical physiological data on the medical patient monitoring device, wherein the patient historical physiological data is stored remotely and made available at the medical patient monitoring device only after it is received from the central monitoring system in order to allow viewing of remotely stored and shared information by the clinician to improve convenience.
The prior arts cited fail to disclose displaying the patient historical physiological data with the current physiological information in a single user interface.
Silver teaches display patient historical data with current patient data in a single user interface (reports 117 comprising current results and historical trends on a computer display, Para. 43).
From the teachings of Silver, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the prior arts cited to include displaying the patient historical physiological data with the current physiological information in a single user interface in order to provide comprehensive information regarding the patient to the clinician.
Regarding claim 2, Music discloses wherein the predetermined action is based on a time of day that the clinician token is detected (via any time of day, an access control system in the medical device 164 may be configured to unlock the medical device 164 and allow the medical device control system 262 to execute instructions and/or commands commensurate with the permission level of the caregiver 62, col. 12, lines 3-10).
Regarding claim 3, Music discloses wherein the processor is configured to take the predetermined action if the clinician token is detected during normal waking hours, and to take a second predetermined action if the clinician token is detected during normal sleeping hours (via first action of unlock the medical device 164 and second action of unlock the medical device 164 during normal waking hours and during normal sleeping hours, col. 12, lines 3-10).
Regarding claim 5, Music discloses wherein the predetermined action is based on a length of uninterrupted time that the clinician token remains in the vicinity of the medical patient monitoring device after having been detected (via detecting caregiver ID 168 in a duration, an access control system in the medical device 164 may be configured to unlock the medical device 164 and allow the medical device control system 262 to execute instructions and/or commands commensurate with the permission level of the caregiver 62, col. 12, lines 3-10).
Regarding claim 7, Music discloses wherein the clinician token is indicative of an identity of a clinician, and wherein the predetermined action is also associated with an attribute of the identity of the clinician (via detecting caregiver ID 168, an access control system in the medical device 164 may be configured to unlock the medical device 164 and allow the medical device control system 262 to execute instructions and/or commands commensurate with the permission level of the caregiver 62, col. 12, lines 3-10).
Claim(s) 6 is/are rejected under pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Music in view of Tolmie, Zhou, Silver and further in view of Koblasz (US 20090051545 A1).
Regarding claim 6, Music, Tolmie, Zhou, Silver fail to disclose wherein the processor is further configured to determine whether or not a sanitation device in proximity to the medical patient monitoring device has been used within a predetermined period of time before the clinician token is detected in the vicinity of the medical patient monitoring device, and prevent operation of medical patient monitoring device based on determining that the sanitation device was not used within a predetermined period of time.
Koblasz teaches a system to detect whether a sanitation device in proximity to an identification device has been used before granting access to a medical service (Para. 78-81).
From the teachings of Koblasz, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was made to modify Music, Tolmie, Silver and Zhou to include the limitations cited above in order to improve safety by preventing use of the medical monitoring device unless sanitation is done.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments with respect to the claims have been considered but are moot because the new ground of rejection includes a new reference not presented before.
Conclusion
Applicant's amendment necessitated the new ground(s) of rejection presented in this Office action. Accordingly, THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. See MPEP § 706.07(a). Applicant is reminded of the extension of time policy as set forth in 37 CFR 1.136(a).
A shortened statutory period for reply to this final action is set to expire THREE MONTHS from the mailing date of this action. In the event a first reply is filed within TWO MONTHS of the mailing date of this final action and the advisory action is not mailed until after the end of the THREE-MONTH shortened statutory period, then the shortened statutory period will expire on the date the advisory action is mailed, and any nonprovisional extension fee (37 CFR 1.17(a)) pursuant to 37 CFR 1.136(a) will be calculated from the mailing date of the advisory action. In no event, however, will the statutory period for reply expire later than SIX MONTHS from the mailing date of this final action.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to YONG HANG JIANG whose telephone number is (571)270-3024. The examiner can normally be reached Monday - Friday 9:30-6 EST.
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, Davetta Goins can be reached at (571)272-2957. 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.
/YONG HANG JIANG/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2689
Prosecution Insights