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Claims 18-24 are withdrawn from further consideration pursuant to 37 CFR 1.142(b) as being drawn to a nonelected group II, there being no allowable generic or linking claim.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 12/18/2025.
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 1-3 and 25 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by East US 20150339954
Claim 1: The East reference provides a teaching of a system for a surgical procedure comprising:
a physical anatomical model (see FIG. 1 item 110) including a main body representative of anatomy (see FIG. 1 item 110 showing the lumbar), the main body comprising:
one or more bone components each having a surface contour representative of a respective bone (see FIG. 2 item 138 vertebrae); and
one or more soft tissue components on the one or more bone components, wherein the one or more soft tissue components are representative of soft tissue and are transparent or translucent (see paragraph 30 translucent vertebral disc); and
a light source embedded in the main body (see paragraph 33 light source postioned within the vertebral column).
Claim 2: The East reference provides a teaching of wherein the light source is at least partially embedded in the one or more bone components (see paragraph 33 light source positioned within the vertebral column).
Claim 3: The East reference provides a teaching of wherein the light source is situated between the one or more bone components and the one or more soft tissue components (see paragraph 33 light position within the vertebral column or disc between the vertebrae).
Claim 25: The East reference provides a teaching of comprising: an imaging fixture dimensioned to engage an imaging device such that the imaging device faces the physical anatomical model (see paragraph 36 surgical hardware to aid the imaging hardware).
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 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 4-8, 10-13 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over East US 20150339954 and in view of Lazarus US 8,827,720
Claim 4: The East reference is silent on the teaching of the light source includes first and second modes associated with first and second frequency ranges, respectively; the one or more bone components comprise a first material responsive to light in the first frequency range, but not the second frequency range; and the one or more soft tissue components comprise a second material responsive to light in the second frequency range, but not the first frequency range.
However, the Lazarus reference provides a teaching of the light source includes first and second modes associated with first and second frequency ranges, respectively (see col. 11:20-25); the one or more bone components comprise a first material responsive to light in the first frequency range, but not the second frequency range (see col. 11:30-40); and the one or more soft tissue components comprise a second material responsive to light in the second frequency range, but not the first frequency range (see col. 12:7-21).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the with the feature of the light source includes first and second modes associated with first and second frequency ranges, respectively; the one or more bone components comprise a first material responsive to light in the first frequency range, but not the second frequency range; and the one or more soft tissue components comprise a second material responsive to light in the second frequency range, but not the first frequency range; as taught by the Lazarus reference, in order to provide a realistic training model that respond to the user’s action (see abstract).
Claims 5 and 12: The East reference is silent on the teaching of wherein the light source includes a first light module and a second light module spaced apart from the first light module, the first and second light modules being independently controllable.
However, the Lazarus reference provides a teaching of wherein the light source includes a first light module and a second light module spaced apart from the first light module, the first and second light modules being independently controllable (see cool. 10:25-35 different LEDs reacting to different application force that is detected by the sensor).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the East reference with the feature of wherein the light source includes a first light module and a second light module spaced apart from the first light module, the first and second light modules being independently controllable, as taught by the Lazarus reference, in order to provide a realistic training model that respond to the user’s action (see abstract).
Claim 6: The East reference is silent on the teaching of wherein: the main body extends along a first axis; the first light module extends along a first reference plane extending along the first axis; the second light module extends along a second reference plane extending along the first axis; and the first and second reference planes are circumferentially offset to establish an angle.
However, the Lazarus reference provides a teaching of wherein: the main body extends along a first axis; the first light module extends along a first reference plane extending along the first axis (see col. 11:30-35; the second light module extends along a second reference plane extending along the first axis; and the first and second reference planes are circumferentially offset to establish an angle (see col. 11:35-45).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the East reference with the feature of wherein: the main body extends along a first axis; the first light module extends along a first reference plane extending along the first axis; the second light module extends along a second reference plane extending along the first axis; and the first and second reference planes are circumferentially offset to establish an angle, as taught by the Lazarus reference, in order to provide a realistic training model that respond to the user’s action (see abstract).
Claim 7: The East reference is silent on the teaching of wherein the first light module and/or the second light module includes an array of light emitting diodes distributed along a respective one of the first and second reference planes.
However, the Lazarus reference provides a teaching of wherein the first light module and/or the second light module includes an array of light emitting diodes distributed along a respective one of the first and second reference planes (see col. 11:30-40).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the East reference with the feature of wherein the first light module and/or the second light module includes an array of light emitting diodes distributed along a respective one of the first and second reference planes
Claim 8 and 13: The east reference provides a teaching of wherein: the angle is approximately 90 degrees or more; and/or the first reference plane is associated with an anterior-posterior view of the physical anatomical model, and the second reference plane is associated with a lateral view of the physical anatomical model.
However, the Lazarus reference provides a teaching of wherein: the angle is approximately 90 degrees or more; and/or the first reference plane is associated with an anterior-posterior view of the physical anatomical model, and the second reference plane is associated with a lateral view of the physical anatomical model (see col. 12:10-25).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the East reference with the feature of wherein: the angle is approximately 90 degrees or more; and/or the first reference plane is associated with an anterior-posterior view of the physical anatomical model, and the second reference plane is associated with a lateral view of the physical anatomical model; as taught by the Lazarus reference, in order to provide a realistic training model that respond to the user’s action (see abstract).
Claim 10: While the East reference provides a teaching of least one indicator embedded in the main body (see paragraph 33); the East reference is silent on the teaching of at least one indicator adapted to selectively illuminate in response to the light source. However, the Lazarus reference provides a teaching of at least one indicator adapted to selectively illuminate in response to the light source (see col. 10:15-24).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the East reference with the feature of at least one indicator adapted to selectively illuminate in response to the light source, as taught by the Lazarus reference, in order to provide a realistic training model that respond to the user’s action (see abstract).
Claim 11: The East reference provide a teaching of A physical anatomical model for a surgical procedure (see abstract) comprising:
an opaque bone component representative of bone (see FIG. 2 item 138 vertebrae opaque material and paragraph 26);
a transparent or translucent soft tissue component representative of soft tissue, the soft tissue component disposed along a circumference of the bone component (see paragraph 30 translucent vertebral disc);
and a light source between the bone component and the soft tissue component (see paragraph 33 light position within the vertebral column or disc between the vertebrae).
The East reference is silent on the teaching of the light source including a plurality of light modules distributed about the circumference of the bone component. However, the Lazarus reference provides a teaching of the light source including a plurality of light modules distributed about the circumference of the bone component (see col. 12:10-25).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the East reference with the feature of the light source including a plurality of light modules distributed about the circumference of the bone component, as taught by the Lazarus reference, in order to provide a realistic training model that respond to the user’s action (see abstract).
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to ROBERT J UTAMA whose telephone number is (571)272-1676. The examiner can normally be reached 9:00 - 17:30 Monday - Friday.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Kang Hu can be reached at (571)270-1344. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/ROBERT J UTAMA/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3715