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 .
Claims 16 & 19 are canceled.
Claims 21 & 22 are added.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
The following is a quotation of the first paragraph of 35 U.S.C. 112(a):
(a) IN GENERAL.—The specification shall contain a written description of the invention, and of the manner and process of making and using it, in such full, clear, concise, and exact terms as to enable any person skilled in the art to which it pertains, or with which it is most nearly connected, to make and use the same, and shall set forth the best mode contemplated by the inventor or joint inventor of carrying out the invention.
The following is a quotation of the first paragraph of pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112:
The specification shall contain a written description of the invention, and of the manner and process of making and using it, in such full, clear, concise, and exact terms as to enable any person skilled in the art to which it pertains, or with which it is most nearly connected, to make and use the same, and shall set forth the best mode contemplated by the inventor of carrying out his invention.
Claim 21 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(a) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), first paragraph, as failing to comply with the written description requirement. The claim(s) contains subject matter which was not described in the specification in such a way as to reasonably convey to one skilled in the relevant art that the inventor or a joint inventor, or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112,
the inventor(s), at the time the application was filed, had possession of the claimed invention.
There does not appear to be any support in the Specification for “signal conversion” that is called out in the claim. Therefore, the claim constitutes “new matter” and will also be rejected with a 103 rejection and the additional new art of Huang (CN-101599773-A).
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, 4, 7, 9, 10, 14, 15 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being unpatentable over Riehl (DE-102016203614-A1).
Regarding claim 1
Riehl discloses
A magnetic resonance (MRI) system (¶ 1 under 2. Discussion of the Related Art), comprising:
a storage device including a set of instructions (¶ 7 under Summary); and
at least one processor in communication with the storage device (¶ 4 under Summary), wherein when executing the set of instructions, the at least one processor is configured to direct the system to perform operations including:
obtaining, via a contactless signal transmitter of a data transmission device, one or more magnetic resonance (MR) signals wherein the MRI signals are collected by and obtained from a radio frequency (RF) coil device of an MR device (¶ 11 & 12 under Detailed Description, the coil gets MRI signal data and transmits it wirelessly), the contactless signal transmitter is coupled to the RF coil device (Fig. 2, Ref 206, ¶ 9 & 10 under Detailed Description);
transmitting, via a wireless communication between the contactless signal transmitter and a contactless signal receiver of the data transmission device, the MR signals collected by the RF coil device to the contactless signal receiver (¶ 2 below "Summary").
Regarding claim 4
Riehl teaches the system of claim 1,
Riehl, applied to claim 4, further teaches wherein the wireless communication is implemented by one of an optical field, an electrical field, and a magnetic field between the contactless signal transmitter and the contactless signal receiver (¶ 7 under Detailed Description, the implementation is wireless with a EM field).
Regarding claim 7
Riehl discloses the system of claim 1, Riehl, applied to claim 7, further teaches
the contactless signal transmitter includes a data transmitting coil (¶ 3 – 5 under "Summary"):
the contactless signal receiver includes a data receiving coil (¶ 3 – 5 under "Summary"); and
the magnetic field is generated between the data transmitting coil and the data receiving coil (¶ 3 – 5 under "Summary").
Regarding claim 9
Riehl teaches the system of claim 1,
further comprising a pick-up coil, wherein
Riehl, applied to claim 9, further teaches
the pick-up coil is coupled to the RF coil device and the contactless signal transmitter (¶ 1 – 4, under Summary),
the pick-up coil is configured to receive the one or more MR signals from the RF coil device and transmit the one or more MR signals to the contactless signal transmitter (¶ 1 – 4, under Summary).
Regarding claim 10
Riehl teaches the system of claim 9
Riehl, applied to claim 10, further teaches wherein
the one or more MR signals are transmitted from the RF coil device to the pick-up coil via a magnetic field between the pick-up coil and the RF coil device (¶ 57 under "Summary"), and
the one or more MR signals are transmitted from the pick-up coil to the contactless signal transmitter via a wired connection between the pick-up coil and the contactless signal transmitter (¶ 5 – 7 under "Summary").
Regarding claim 14
Riehl teaches the data transmission device of claim 12,
Riehl, applied to claim 14, further teaches wherein the wireless communication is implemented by one of an optical field, an electrical field, or a magnetic field between the contactless signal transmitter and the contactless signal receiver (¶ 7 under Detailed Description).
Regarding claim 15
Riehl teaches the data transmission device of claim 12,
Riehl, applied to claim 15, further teaches
Wherein the contactless signal transmitter includes a data transmitting coil: the contactless signal receiver includes a data receiving coil; and the data is wirelessly transmitted from the contactless signal transmitter to the contactless
signal via a magnetic field generated between the data transmitting coil and the data receiving coil (¶1-7 under Detailed Description).
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.
Claim(s) 2, 3, 12, 13 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Riehl (DE-102016203614-A1) in view of Anderson (US-20150087966-A1).
Regarding claim 2
Riehl teaches the system of claim 1,
Riehl does not teach
"wherein the contactless signal transmitter is disposed in the RF coil device or arranged on a surface of the RF coil device".
Anderson, however, teaches wherein the contactless signal transmitter is disposed in the RF coil device or arranged on a surface of the RF coil device (Claim 20).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to include the "wireless/contactless transmitter disposed in the coil device" as taught by Anderson in the system of Riehl.
The justification for this modification would be to have an RF coil with a built-in transmitter for quick convenience to transmit the detected signal.
Regarding claim 3
Riehl teaches the system of claim 1,
Riehl does not teach
"wherein the contactless signal receiver is disposed in a couch, or arranged on a surface of the couch, or within a bore of the MR device".
Anderson, however, teaches
wherein the contactless signal receiver is disposed in a couch, or arranged on a surface of the couch, or within a bore of the MR device (Fig. 1, Ref 19, 18, 51, 52, [0002] - [0012], the wireless receiver coils are incorporated into a “restraining belt”, [0007] which is inside the bore of the MRI machine).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to include the "wireless receiver inside the MRI bore" as taught by Anderson in the system of Riehl.
The justification for this modification would be to have a receiver/transceiver that can receive and send signals without the complications of hard-wiring.
Regarding claim 13
Riehl teaches the data transmission device of claim 12,
Riehl does not disclose
“Wherein the contactless signal transmitter is disposed in the RF coil device or arranged on a surface of the RF coil device, and
the contactless signal receiver is disposed in a couch, or arranged on a surface of the couch, or within a bore of the MR device”.
Anderson, however, teaches
Wherein the contactless signal transmitter is disposed in the RF coil device or arranged on a surface of the RF coil device (Claim 20), and
the contactless signal receiver is disposed in a couch, or arranged on a surface of the couch, or within a bore of the MR device (Fig. 1, Ref 19, 18, 51, 52, [0002] - [0012], the wireless receiver coils are incorporated into a “restraining belt”, [0007] which is inside the bore of the MRI machine).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to include the "contactless transceiver disposed near couch/inside bore" as taught by Anderson in the device of Riehl.
The justification for this modification would be to wireless way of transmitting and receiving data.
Regarding claim 12
Riehl discloses
A data transmission device (¶ 1 under 2. Discussion of the Related Art), comprising:
a contactless signal transmitter configured to transmit one or more magnetic resonance (MR) signals to a contactless signal receiver via a wireless communication between the contactless signal transmitter and the contactless signal receiver (¶ 11 & 12 under Detailed Description, the coil gets MRI signal data and transmits it wirelessly), the one or more MR signals being collected by a radio frequency (RF) coil device of an MR device; and
the contactless signal receiver configured to receive the one or more MR signals from the contactless signal transmitter (¶2 below "Summary").
Riehl does not teach
“the pick-up coil is configured to receive the one or more MR signals from the RF coil device and transmit the one or more MR signals to the data transmitting coil” .
Anderson, however, teaches
the pick-up coil is configured to receive the one or more MR signals from the RF coil device and transmit the one or more MR signals to the data transmitting coil (Fig. 1, Ref 18, 52, 54, [0011] – [0015] & [0055]).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to include the "wireless transceivers from coil device transmitting one of more MRI signals" as taught by Anderson in the device of Riehl.
The justification for this modification would be to have a wireless way to transmit data so as to avoid wires.
Claim(s) 5 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Riehl (DE-102016203614-A1) in view of Hsieh (FR-2802686-A1).
Regarding claim 5 Riehl teaches the system of claim 1,
Riehl, applied to claim 5 further teaches
wherein the wireless communication is implemented by an electrical field between the contactless signal transmitter and the contactless signal receiver (¶ 7 under Detailed Description);
Riehl does not disclose
“the contactless signal transmitter includes a first capacitor coupled with an encoder and a driver:
the contactless signal receiver includes a second capacitor coupled with a comparator and a decoder; and
the electrical field is generated between the first capacitor and the second capacitor”.
Hsieh, however, teaches
the contactless signal transmitter includes a first capacitor coupled with an encoder and a driver (Claims):
the contactless signal receiver includes a second capacitor coupled with a comparator and a decoder (Claims); and
the electrical field is generated between the first capacitor and the second capacitor (Claims. Capacitors store energy in electric fields).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to include the "comparator with capacitors and decoder" as taught by Hsieh in the device of Riehl.
The justification for this modification would be to be able to digitize the MRI data.
Claim(s) 6 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Riehl (DE-102016203614-A1) in view of Chai (CN-202866883-U).
Regarding claim 6
Riehl teaches the system of claim 1,
Riehl does not disclose “wherein
the wireless communication is implemented by an optical field between the contactless signal transmitter and the contactless signal receiver;
the contactless signal transmitter includes a light emitting element operably coupled with an electro-optical converter and one or more lenses;
the contactless signal receiver includes a light receiving element operably coupled with a fiber bundle and an optical-electrical converter; and the optical field is generated between the one or more lenses and the fiber bundle”.
Chai, however, teaches the wireless communication is implemented by an optical field between the contactless signal transmitter and the contactless signal receiver;
the contactless signal transmitter includes a light emitting element operably coupled with an electro-optical converter and one or more lenses;
the contactless signal receiver includes a light receiving element operably coupled with a fiber bundle and an optical-electrical converter; and
the optical field is generated between the one or more lenses and the fiber bundle (Abstract & [0040]).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to include the "optical connection" as taught by Chai in the device of Riehl.
The justification for this modification would be to be able to transmit the MRI data optically as well as with conventional WIFI.
Claim(s) 8 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Riehl (DE-102016203614-A1) in view of Katsushiro (JP-2017076653-A).
Regarding claim 8
Riehl discloses the system of claim 7,
Riehl does not disclose
"wherein a diameter of the data transmitting coil is equal to or smaller than 1/3 of a diameter of a coil unit of the RF coil device".
Katsushiro, however, teaches .
wherein a diameter of the data transmitting coil is equal to or smaller than 1/3 of a diameter of a coil unit of the RF coil device (I 21 under DESCRIPTION-OF-EMBODIMENTS)
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to include the “similar coil sizes” as taught by Katsushiro in the device of Riehl.
The justification for this modification would be to have power transmission efficiency.
Claim(s) 11 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Riehl (DE-102016203614-A1) in view of Kim (KR-200338892-Y1).
Regarding claim 11
Riehl teaches the system of claim 10,
Riehl does not teach
“wherein the pick-up coil and the contactless signal transmitter are integrated into a device that is detachably mounted on the RF coil device”.
Kim, however, teaches
wherein the pick-up coil and the contactless signal transmitter are integrated into a device that is detachably mounted on the RF coil device (¶ 2 under TECH- SOLUTION).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to include the "detachable coil" as taught by Kim in the device of Riehl.
The justification for this modification would be for ease of maintenance- i.e., removing a part of the transceiver that is more complicated and needs repair without removing the “docking portion” of it.
Claim(s) 17 - 18 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Anderson (US-20150087966-A1) in view of Bennett (US- 8093900-B2).
Regarding claim 17
Anderson discloses
A data transmission device ([0014]), comprising:
a contactless signal transmitter configured to transmit data transformed from one or more magnetic resonance (MR) signals to a contactless signal receiver, the one or more MR signals being collected by a radio frequency (RF) coil device of an MR device (Claim 20); and
Wherein the contactless signal transmitter is disposed in the RF coil device or arranged on a surface of the RF coil device (Claim 20), and the contactless signal receiver is disposed in a couch, or arranged on a surface of the couch, or within a bore of the MR device (Fig. 1, Ref 19, 18, 51, 52, [0002] – [0012], the wireless receiver coils are incorporated into a "restraining belt", [0007] which is inside the bore of the MRI machine).
Anderson does not disclose “the contactless signal receiver configured to receive the data from the contactless signal transmitter and transmit the data to a signal resolver for restoring the one or more magnetic resonance (MR) signals from the data”.
Bennet, however, teaches
the contactless signal receiver configured to receive the data from the contactless signal transmitter and transmit the data to a signal resolver for restoring the one or more magnetic resonance (MR) signals from the data (Claim 1, the wireless receiver receives MRI calibration data, converts it digitally, compares to a desired value, then adjusts the MRI machine accordingly).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to include the "the contactless receiver with the additional signal resolver for data restoration" as taught by Bennet in the device of Anderson.
The justification for this modification would be to have a feedback mechanism to re-calibrate the MRI machine.
Regarding claim 18
Anderson in view of Bennet teach the data transmission device of claim 17, further comprising:
Anderson, applied to claim 18, further teaches a data converter coupled to the RF coil device and the contactless signal transmitter, the data converter being configured to convert the MR signals into the data ([0028]).
Claim(s) 20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Anderson (US-20150087966-A1) in view of Bennett (US-8093900-B2) in view of Riehl (DE-102016203614-A1)
Regarding claim 20
Anderson in view of Bennet teach the data transmission device of claim 17,
Although strongly implied, Anderson in view of Bennett do not explicitly teach
“wherein the data is wirelessly transmitted from the contactless signal transmitter to the contactless signal receiver via one of an optical field, an electrical field, or a magnetic field between the contactless signal transmitter and the contactless signal receiver”.
Riehl, however, teaches
wherein the data is wirelessly transmitted from the contactless signal transmitter to the contactless signal receiver via one of an optical field, an electrical field, or a magnetic field between the contactless signal transmitter and the contactless signal receiver (¶ 7 under Detailed Description).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to include the "signal transceiver using an electrical/magnetic field for transmission" as taught by Riehl in the device of Anderson in view of Bennet.
The justification for this modification would be to wireless medium to transmit the data over.
Claim(s) 21 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Riehl (DE-102016203614-A1) in view of Huang (CN-101599773-A).
Regarding claim 21
Riehl taught the system of claim 1 under 102a1.
Riehl does not teach
“wherein the one or more MR signals are transmitted from the RF coil device to the contactless signal transmitter without signal conversion”.
Huang, however, teaches
wherein the one or more MR signals are transmitted from the RF coil device to the contactless signal transmitter without signal conversion (¶ 1 under Invention Contents).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to include the “contactless signal transmitter without signal conversion” as taught by Huang in the system of Riehl.
The justification for this modification would be to realize a low-cost simple transmission structure with high speed.
Claim(s) 22 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Riehl (DE-102016203614-A1) in view of DeLeo et al. (US-20100223018-A1).
Regarding claim 22
Riehl teach the data transmission device of claim 12,
Riehl does not teach
wherein the one or more MR signals are transmitted from the RF coil device to the pick-up coil via a magnetic field between the pick-up coil and the RF coil device, and the one or more MR signals are transmitted from the pick-up coil to the
contactless signal transmitter via a wired connection between the pick-up coil and the contactless signal transmitter”.
DeLeo, however, teaches
and the one or more MR signals are transmitted from the pick-up coil to the contactless signal transmitter via a wired connection between the pick-up coil and the contactless signal transmitter ([0016]).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to include the “wired connection” as taught by DeLeo in the system of Riehl.
The justification for this modification would be to the ability to hard-wire the communication channel in addition to using wireless technology.
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments filed 2/11/2026 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive. Riehl (DE-102016203614-A1) teaches a wireless transmitter connected to coils that can be used for multiple purposes—including a wide range of MRI technologies (¶ 1 under 2. Discussion of the Related Art & ¶ 3 & 4 under Summary). This wireless technology can be used for a wide range of purposes. Moreover, nowhere does the claim language call out an application “high fidelity, and safe transmission of diagnostic MR signals”—although in “broadest reasonable interpretation” Riehl would read on that as well. As far as amended
claim one citing “a contactless signal transmitter”, this is covered by the wireless facility of Riehl —unless Applicant narrows the definition to exclude this option.
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.
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/Frederick Wenderoth/
Examiner, Art Unit 2852
/WALTER L LINDSAY JR/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2852