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 .
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments with respect to the prior art rejection of the independent claims have been considered but are moot because the new ground of rejection does not rely on any reference applied in the prior rejection of record for any teaching or matter specifically challenged in the argument.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(b):
(b) CONCLUSION.—The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor regards as the invention.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph:
The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the applicant regards as his invention.
Claims 8 and 17 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph, as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor (or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the applicant), regards as the invention.
Claim 8 recites the limitation "the one or more volume regions". There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim.
Claim 17 recites the limitation "the one or more volume regions". There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim.
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 1-5, 7-8, 10-14, 16-17, 19, 21-23 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102 (a)(1) as being anticipated by Neji (US 2014/0159723).
Regarding claim 1, Neji teaches a method, comprising:
controlling, by a device comprising a processor, acquisition of signal data associated with a region of interest (ROI) within an anatomical region of a subject using a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) system and a two-dimensional (2D) MRI process that satisfies a defined image quality constraint [¶0066, see resolution of the region of interest or volume of interest. See also rest of reference.], wherein the controlling comprises:
employing a combination of an outer volume suppression (OVS) protocol and a no phase wrap (NPW) protocol with the two-dimensional (2D) MRI process, wherein the 2D MRI process comprises applying a pulse sequence for acquiring respective portions of the signal data corresponding to respective slices of the ROI, wherein the OVS protocol comprises integrating a pair of radio frequency (RF) suppression pulses into the pulse sequence prior to an excitation pulse of the pulse sequence [See OVS. ¶0066 and Fig. 4, wherein the tissue surrounding the acquisition volume is saturated. See Fig. 5 and ¶0085, wherein the saturation module 29 is shown. ¶0085, teaches the saturation module 29 includes a number of successive excitation pulses 30 and spoiler gradients 31 as well as slice selection gradients 32, of which one is respectively shown as an example. Therefore, “a number” and “excitation pulses” means that two saturation pulses are also an option. See also rest of reference.], and wherein the NPW protocol comprises applying a NPW parameter value that controls a phase field-of-view (PFOV) and a number of phase-encoding steps in a phase encoding direction [¶0066, wherein the FoV can be reduced and the number of phase steps are disclosed. See also Fig. 4. See also field of view disclosed throughout reference. See also rest of reference.], and
setting the NPW parameter to a first value that is less than a second value employable in a variation of the 2D MRI process that satisfies the defined image quality constraint, the variation comprising the NPW protocol and excluding the OVS protocol [¶0066, “The same resolution could be achieved with a smaller number of repetitions with changing strength of the phase gradients (thus with fewer acquisition steps in the phase direction) if the field of view can be reduced. This is possible in the same manner as described with regard to localized spectroscopy. Because the tissue surrounding the acquisition volume is saturated, the FoV can be reduced and the number of phase steps can be reduced accordingly without changing the resolution.” See Fig. 4. See also rest of reference.]; and
reconstructing, by the device, an image of the ROI from the signal data [¶0084-0085. See also rest of reference.].
Regarding claim 2, Neji further teaches wherein based on employing the combination, a duration of the acquisition of the signal data is reduced relative to another acquisition duration of the variation of the 2D MRI process [¶0066, “The same resolution could be achieved with a smaller number of repetitions with changing strength of the phase gradients (thus with fewer acquisition steps in the phase direction) if the field of view can be reduced.” Less repetitions will shorten the acquisition. See Fig. 4. See also rest of reference.].
Regarding claim 3, Neji further teaches wherein the defined image quality corresponds to a quality of the image [¶0066, see resolution. See also rest of reference.].
Regarding claim 4, Neji further teaches wherein the defined image quality comprises a defined resolution [¶0066, see resolution. See also rest of reference.] and absence of wrap-around artifacts or an amount of the wrap- around artifacts being less than a defined amount [¶0007 and ¶0028, see avoid aliasing (folding). See also rest of reference.].
Regarding claim 5, Neji further teaches wherein the defined image quality comprises a defined resolution and an amount of wrap-around artifacts being less than a defined amount [¶0066, see resolution. ¶0007 and ¶0028, see avoid aliasing (folding).See also rest of reference.], wherein the first value is variable, wherein varying the first value controls the amount of the wrap-around artifacts, the duration, and PFOV [See ¶0066, wherein the number of phase steps controls the field of view and number of repetitions (duration), according ¶0028, will also avoid aliasing (folding). See also Figs. 3-5. See also rest of reference.].
Regarding claim 7, Neji further teaches wherein the NPW parameter value is variable, and wherein the PFOV, the number sampling steps, and a duration of the acquisition of the signal data increases as the NPW parameter value increases [¶0066, “The same resolution could be achieved with a smaller number of repetitions with changing strength of the phase gradients (thus with fewer acquisition steps in the phase direction) if the field of view can be reduced. This is possible in the same manner as described with regard to localized spectroscopy. Because the tissue surrounding the acquisition volume is saturated, the FoV can be reduced and the number of phase steps can be reduced accordingly without changing the resolution.” Therefore, as number of phase steps increases, so does the repetitions (acquisition time) and FOV in the phase direction. See also rest of reference.].
Regarding claim 8, Neji further teaches wherein the ROI corresponds to a portion of a target anatomical object, and wherein the employing the combination comprises: determining, by the device, the NPW parameter value [¶0066, see number of phase encoding steps. See also rest of reference.], and a spatial position of the one or more volume regions in the phase encoding direction based on the ROI, a total length of the target anatomical object in the phase encoding direction [Fig. 3-4, wherein the length of the rectangle is shown. See also rest of reference.], and in accordance with defined optimization criteria, the defined optimization criteria comprising balancing minimizing a duration of the acquisition of the signal data and minimizing an amount of wrap-around artifacts included in the image [¶0007 and ¶0028, see avoid aliasing (folding), the rectangle is extended slightly. ¶0066 and Fig. 4, wherein the region of interest is reduced to the desired rectangle (so as to also avoid aliasing), but the rectangle and overall acquisition duration is reduced compared to acquiring the full field of view (shown in Fig. 4). See also rest of reference.].
Regarding claim 10, Neji further teaches wherein the 2D MRI process is selected from the group consisting of: a spin echo process, a fast spin echo process, and a turbo spin echo process [¶0015. See also rest of reference.].
Regarding claims 11-14, 16-17 and 19, the same reasons for rejections as claims 1-3, 5, 7-8, and 10 above also apply to claims 11-14, 16-17 and 19. Claims 11-14, 16-17 and 19 are merely the apparatus version of method claims 1-3, 5, 7-8, and 10.
Regarding claim 21, Neji further teaches wherein the configuration component defines the MRI pulse sequence in accordance with the OVS protocol and determines the NPW parameter value based on the MRI pulse sequence integrating the pair of RF suppression pulses [¶0066-0067, See Fig. 3-5 and corresponding descriptions. See also rest of reference.].
Regarding claim 22, the same reasons for rejections as claim 21 above also apply to claim 22. Claim 22 are merely the method version of apparatus claim 21.
Regarding claim 23, Neji teaches a non-transitory machine-readable storage medium, comprising executable instructions that, when executed by a processor, facilitate performance of operations, comprising:
configuring a two-dimensional (2D) magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) pulse sequence for acquiring signal data associated with a region of interest (ROI) within an anatomical region of a subject via an MRI system, the configuring comprising integrating an outer volume suppression (OVS) protocol into the MRI pulse sequence, the OVS protocol comprising a pair of radiofrequency (RF) suppression pulses applied prior to an excitation pulse of the MRI pulse sequence [See OVS. ¶0066 and Fig. 4, wherein the tissue surrounding the acquisition volume is saturated. See Fig. 5 and ¶0085, wherein the saturation module 29 is shown. ¶0085, teaches the saturation module 29 includes a number of successive excitation pulses 30 and spoiler gradients 31 as well as slice selection gradients 32, of which one is respectively shown as an example. Therefore, “a number” and “excitation pulses” means that two saturation pulses are also an option. See also rest of reference.],
determining a value of a no phase wrap (NPW) parameter based on the configuring comprising integrating the OVS protocol, wherein the value of the NPW parameter is less than an alternative value for the NPW parameter employable in a variation of the MRI pulse sequence excluding the OVS protocol and satisfying a same defined image quality constraint [¶0066, wherein the FoV can be reduced and the number of phase steps are disclosed. ¶0066, “The same resolution could be achieved with a smaller number of repetitions with changing strength of the phase gradients (thus with fewer acquisition steps in the phase direction) if the field of view can be reduced. This is possible in the same manner as described with regard to localized spectroscopy. Because the tissue surrounding the acquisition volume is saturated, the FoV can be reduced and the number of phase steps can be reduced accordingly without changing the resolution.” See Fig. 4. See also field of view disclosed throughout reference. See also rest of reference.];
controlling acquisition of the signal data via the MRI system in accordance with the 2D MRI pulse sequence and the value of the NPW parameter [¶0066. See Figs. 3-5. See also rest of reference.]; and
reconstructing an image of the ROI from the signal data [¶0084-0085. See also rest of reference.].
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to RISHI R PATEL whose telephone number is (571)272-4385. The examiner can normally be reached Mon-Thurs 7 a.m. - 5 p.m..
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/RISHI R PATEL/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2858
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