Prosecution Insights
Last updated: July 17, 2026
Application No. 18/663,522

IMPLANTABLE MEDICAL DEVICE AND METHOD FOR MANAGING A PHYSICAL LAYER UTILIZED DURING A WIRELESS CONNECTION

Non-Final OA §112
Filed
May 14, 2024
Priority
Oct 30, 2020 — continuation of 12/021,555
Examiner
LE, LANA N
Art Unit
2648
Tech Center
2600 — Communications
Assignee
Pacesetter Inc.
OA Round
1 (Non-Final)
82%
Grant Probability
Favorable
1-2
OA Rounds
8m
Est. Remaining
96%
With Interview

Examiner Intelligence

Grants 82% — above average
82%
Career Allowance Rate
493 granted / 602 resolved
+19.9% vs TC avg
Moderate +14% lift
Without
With
+13.8%
Interview Lift
resolved cases with interview
Typical timeline
2y 11m
Avg Prosecution
42 currently pending
Career history
638
Total Applications
across all art units

Statute-Specific Performance

§101
0.7%
-39.3% vs TC avg
§103
74.3%
+34.3% vs TC avg
§102
7.0%
-33.0% vs TC avg
§112
5.3%
-34.7% vs TC avg
Black line = Tech Center average estimate • Based on career data from 602 resolved cases

Office Action

§112
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 . Claim Objections Claims 2, 15, 17 and 20 are objected to because of the following informalities: - claim 2, lines 1-2, recites “a transceiver configured to transmit a communications packet represents at least one of….” does not appear to have proper sentence structure. Suggestion to change to “a transceiver configured to transmit a communications packet that/which represents at least one of….”; or alternatively “a transceiver configured to transmit a communications packet representing at least one of….”.; - claim 15, line 4, “the multiple PHY” should be “the multiple PHYs” to correspond with the antecedent basis of “multiple physical layers (PHYs)” from claim 10. - claim 17, line 3, “the multiple PHY” should be “the multiple PHYs” to correspond with antecedent basis of “multiple physical layers (PHYs)” from the preceding phrase. - claim 20, line 2, “the multiple PHY” should be “the multiple PHYs” to correspond with antecedent basis of “multiple physical layers (PHYs)” from claim 17. - claim 20, line 4, “the multiple PHY” should be “the multiple PHYs” to correspond with antecedent basis of “multiple physical layers (PHYs)” from claim 17. Appropriate correction is required. 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 1 and 6 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 1, line 8, recites “configured to execute instructions”, it is unclear if “instructions” is the same instructions as the “program instructions” from claim 1, line 7, the specification at paragraph [0092], the processor appears to be executing the same stored “program instructions” of claim 1 line 7, however, the specification at paragraph [0009], the “instructions” of claim 1, line 8 appears to be different instructions from the “program instructions” of claim 1, line 7. Clarification is required. Claim 6 recites the limitation “the LE Coded PHY" in line 1. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim. The antecedent basis appears to come from claim 5, lines 2-3 which recites “the first and second PHY corresponding to two of LE 1M, LE 2M and LE Coded PHYs, respectively…”; otherwise “the LE Coded PHY" should be “an LE Coded PHY" in claim 6. Allowable Subject Matter Claims 1-20 would be allowable if rewritten or amended to overcome the rejection(s) under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), 2nd paragraph and the claim objections, set forth in this Office action. The following is an examiner’s statement of reasons for allowance: Regarding independent claim 1, the closest prior art, Doerr (US 2009/0,043,360) disclose an implantable medical device (implantable medical device 10) (¶ [0001]; Fig. 1), comprising: a transceiver configured to communicate wirelessly, with an external device (ED), utilizing a protocol that utilizes multiple physical layers (Fig. 1, paras. [0010], [0043]-[0044]). Tang (US 2022/0,014,940) disclose device comprising a transceiver configured to transmit information indicating that the transceiver is configured with first and second physical layers for wireless communication (paras. [0154]-[0156], [0162]-[0163]). However, the cited prior art fails to further disclose or fairly suggest: memory configured to store program instructions; one or more processors configured to execute instructions to: obtain an instruction designating one of the first and second PHY to be utilized for at least one of transmission or reception, during a communication session, with the external device, wherein the one of the first and second PHY is designated based on connection criteria for a communications link; and manage the transceiver to utilize, during the communications link, the one of the first and second PHY as designated (see applicant’s remarks in appeal brief of parent application 17/085,017 filed 12/31/2023, pages 24-33). Regarding independent claim 10 and 17, Doerr disclose (US 2009/0,043,360) an external device (external intermediary device 30) configured to wirelessly communicate with an implantable medical device (implantable medical device 10) utilizing a protocol that supports multiple physical layers (PHYs) (paras. [0001], [0043]-[0045]) the external device comprising: an external transceiver (31) configured to wirelessly communicate with the IMD (10); the external transceiver (31) configured to receive a communications packet (data packet) (paras. [0008], [0045]-[0046]), the multiple PHY having at least one of different data rates or error detection capabilities (para. [0010]). However, the cited prior art fails to further disclose or fairly suggest: memory configured to store program instructions; one or more processors that are configured, when implementing the program instructions, to: analyze the communications packet for information indicating whether the IMD is configured with multiple physical layers (PHYs) for wireless communication; selecting one of the multiple PHYs, at one of the external device or implantable medical device, for wireless communication based on a connection criteria for a communications link; and transmitting an instruction, to the external device or implantable medical device, to utilize the one of the multiple PHYs selected for at least one of transmission or reception during the communications link (see applicant’s remarks in appeal brief of parent application 17/085,017, filed 12/31/2023, pages 33-51). Conclusion The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. - Rondoni et al (US 11,207,531) disclose an apparatus having a transceiver configured to communicate using a first communication link of a plurality of disparate sequential communication links between an implantable medical device and a programmer - Seeberger et al (US 7,406,349) disclose an implantable device that allows exchange of data with an external device using a physical telemetry link dynamically selected from multiple physical telemetry links based on a selected criteria. Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to LANA N LE whose telephone number is (571)272-7891. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 8:30-4:30pm. 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, Wesley Kim, can be reached at (571) 272-7867. 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. /LANA N LE/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2648
Read full office action

Prosecution Timeline

May 14, 2024
Application Filed
Apr 02, 2026
Examiner Interview (Telephonic)
Jun 22, 2026
Request for Continued Examination
Jun 25, 2026
Response after Non-Final Action
Jul 01, 2026
Non-Final Rejection mailed — §112 (current)

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Study what changed to get past this examiner. Based on 5 most recent grants.

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Prosecution Projections

1-2
Expected OA Rounds
82%
Grant Probability
96%
With Interview (+13.8%)
2y 11m (~8m remaining)
Median Time to Grant
Low
PTA Risk
Based on 602 resolved cases by this examiner. Grant probability derived from career allowance rate.

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