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
Applicant’s election without traverse of Invention I in the reply filed on 8/3/2026 is acknowledged. Claims 11-16 are withdrawn from further consideration pursuant to 37 CFR 1.142(b) as being drawn to a nonelected Invention II, there being no allowable generic or linking claim. Election was made without traverse in the reply filed on 8/3/2026. The requirement is deemed proper and is therefore made FINAL.
Information Disclosure Statement
Applicant should note that the large number of references in the attached IDS have been considered by the examiner in the same manner as other documents in Office search files are considered by the examiner while conducting a search of the prior art in a proper field of search. See MPEP 609.05(b). Applicant is requested to point out any particular references in the IDS which they believe may be of particular relevance to the instant claimed invention in response to this office action.
Claim Objections
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(d):
(d) REFERENCE IN DEPENDENT FORMS.—Subject to subsection (e), a claim in dependent form shall contain a reference to a claim previously set forth and then specify a further limitation of the subject matter claimed. A claim in dependent form shall be construed to incorporate by reference all the limitations of the claim to which it refers.
The following is a quotation of pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, fourth paragraph:
Subject to the following paragraph [i.e., the fifth paragraph of pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112], a claim in dependent form shall contain a reference to a claim previously set forth and then specify a further limitation of the subject matter claimed. A claim in dependent form shall be construed to incorporate by reference all the limitations of the claim to which it refers.
Claims 4-10 are objected to under 37 CFR 1.75(c) as being in improper form because of the multiple dependent claims listed in the preambles. See MPEP § 608.01(n). Appropriate correction is required.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
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.
Claim(s) 1-10 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Knox et al. (Pub. No.: US 2012/0310340 A1; hereinafter “Knox”).
Knox discloses the following regarding claim 1: a method for improving vision in a subject having an implanted intraocular lens (IOL) (paras. 0131-0137), the method comprising: determining at least one modification to be made to an IOL implanted in a subject to improve the vision of the subject (paras. 0029-0032, 0134-0135, 0175-0179), wherein the IOL has a first index of refraction (paras. 0137, 0219); and based on the determination, applying laser radiation to at least one selected area of the IOL to form, within the IOL, at least one additional layer having a different index of refraction than the first index of refraction and a particular shape within the IOL configured to improve the vision of the subject (Figs. 5-7, 21-22; paras. 0011, 0018, 0094, 0118-0128, 0137, 0213, 0228).
Knox discloses the following regarding claim 2: the method of claim 1, wherein the applied laser radiation changes the index of refraction of the at least one selected area from the first refractive index to the different index of refraction in forming the at least one additional layer (Figs. 5-7, 21-22; paras. 0011, 0018, 0094, 0118-0128, 0137, 0213, 0228).
Knox discloses the following regarding claim 3: the method of claim 1 or 2, wherein the index of refraction of the at least one additional layer is uniform throughout the respective layer (paras. 0223-0224).
Knox discloses the following regarding claim 4: the method of any one of claims 1-3, wherein the at least one additional layer is formed with a series of transitions within the IOL (paras. 0202-0204).
Knox discloses the following regarding claim 5: the method of any one of claims 1-4, wherein the at least one additional layer is formed to have a shape defined by portions having different depths within the IOL (Fig. 21; paras. 0129, 0179, 0203).
Knox discloses the following regarding claim 6: the method of any one of claims 1-5, wherein the at least one additional layer is formed to have a particular thickness, and wherein, when formed, at least one of the layers has a different thickness than another one of the layers (paras. 0210).
Knox discloses the following regarding claim 7: the method of any one of claims 1-6, wherein the applied laser radiation comprises one or more selected optical energies focused in the at least one selected area and one or more selected durations of exposure of the focused optical energy in the at least one selected area, determined at least in part based on the determined at least one modification to be made to the IOL (Figs. 5-7, 21-22; paras. 0011, 0018, 0094, 0118-0128, 0134-0137, 0175-0179, 0213, 0228).
Knox discloses the following regarding claim 8: the method of any one of claims 1-7, wherein the at least one additional layer comprises more than two additional layers, each of the more than two additional layers having a respective index of refraction and being formed with a particular shape within the IOL, the more than two additional layers comprising at least two different shapes (Figs. 5-7, 21-22; paras. 0011, 0018, 0094, 0118-0128, 0134-0137, 0175-0179, 0213, 0228).
Knox discloses the following regarding claim 9: the method of any one of claims 1-8, wherein the at least one modification to be made to the IOL corresponds to correcting at least one of incorrect IOL power, uncorrected astigmatism, IOL placement error, higher order aberration, spectacle dependence, negative dysphotopsia, peripheral aberrations, and chromatic aberrations (paras. 0005, 0118-0120, 0136, 0210-0212).
Knox discloses the following regarding claim 10: the method of any one of claims 1-9, wherein applying the laser radiation comprises refractive index writing with a plurality of focused laser pulses applied to the at least one selected area of the IOL according to a predetermined pattern, the predetermined pattern being based at least in part on the determined at least one modification to be made to the IOL (abstract; paras. 0055, 0197-0198).
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Ann Hu whose telephone number is (571) 272-6652. The examiner can normally be reached on Monday-Friday (9:00 am-5:30 pm EST).
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, please contact the examiner’s supervisor, Jerrah Edwards, at (408) 918-7557. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is (571) 273-8300.
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/ANN HU/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3774
