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 .
Drawings
The drawings are objected to under 37 CFR 1.83(a). The drawings must show every feature of the invention specified in the claims. Therefore, the isocenter of the treatment component coinciding with an isocenter of the second imaging component (claim 1) must be shown or the feature(s) canceled from the claim(s). No new matter should be entered.
Corrected drawing sheets in compliance with 37 CFR 1.121(d) are required in reply to the Office action to avoid abandonment of the application. Any amended replacement drawing sheet should include all of the figures appearing on the immediate prior version of the sheet, even if only one figure is being amended. The figure or figure number of an amended drawing should not be labeled as “amended.” If a drawing figure is to be canceled, the appropriate figure must be removed from the replacement sheet, and where necessary, the remaining figures must be renumbered and appropriate changes made to the brief description of the several views of the drawings for consistency. Additional replacement sheets may be necessary to show the renumbering of the remaining figures. Each drawing sheet submitted after the filing date of an application must be labeled in the top margin as either “Replacement Sheet” or “New Sheet” pursuant to 37 CFR 1.121(d). If the changes are not accepted by the examiner, the applicant will be notified and informed of any required corrective action in the next Office action. The objection to the drawings will not be held in abeyance.
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) 1-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Yamaya et al.(U.S. Patent Application Publication 20120150017) in view of Kruip (U.S. Patent Application Publication 20140135615).
U.S. Patent Application Publication 20120150017
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Technical Field
[0001] The present invention relates to a PET/MRI hybrid machine that combines a PET device with an MRI device.
[0037] MRI device 26 … having two magnets 22 and 24
[0037] PET device (38) having detector rings 32 and 34
[0053] FIG. 6 shows an example where an image acquisition unit and an irradiation device 72
As per claim 1, Yamaya et al. disclose a system comprising:
a first imaging component (PET device (38)) and
a second imaging component (MRI device (26)),
configured to determine a target region of an object (8) and/or guide an emission of treatment rays (see for example, Figs. shown above)
[Examiner note: selection of first and second imaging components is based on subsequent dependent claims, provided below].
Yamaya et al. do not explicitly disclose a treatment component, configured to emit the treatment rays toward a target region, wherein an isocenter of the treatment component coincides with an isocenter of the second imaging component. [Examiner note: Yamaya et al. teaches an irradiation device (72) but is silent as to whether the radiation produced is capable of treatment (radiation therapy)]
U.S. Patent Application Publication 20140135615
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Abstract: A combined MRI and radiation therapy system has MRI imaging equipment and radiation therapy equipment … The radiation therapy equipment includes a LINAC assembly, that includes a linear electron accelerator.
Kruip discloses a radiation therapy system comprising a treatment component comprising a LINAC (5), configured to emit treatment rays toward a target region of an object (P). Kruip further teaches therapeutic radiation applied to at least a portion of a region of an object imaged by MRI imaging equipment (see for example, Fig. shown above).
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was made to modify system of Yamaya et al. with the treatment component of Kruip, such that the treatment component isocenter coincides with a second imaging isocenter (MRI). One would have been motivated to make such a modification because coincidence of treatment and imaging isocenters is a well-known design requirement in image guided radiotherapy to improve targeting accuracy and reduce registration error as suggested by Yamaya et al. and Kruip (Figs. shown above).
As per claim 2, Yamaya et al. as modified above, disclose a system wherein the treatment component comprises a gantry and a radiation source disposed within the gantry (see for example, Kruip Fig. shown above).
As per claim 3, Yamaya et al. as modified above, disclose a system wherein the first imaging component is disposed at an end of the second imaging component along an axial direction of the second imaging component (see for example, Yamaya et al. Fig. shown above).
As per claims 4-5, Yamaya et al. as modified above, disclose a system wherein the second imaging component comprises a main magnet and a gradient coil, the gradient coil is disposed on an inner side of the main magnet along a radial direction of the main magnet, an axial length of the gradient coil is smaller than an axial length of the main magnet, a hollow space is formed on a side of the gradient coil along an axial direction of the gradient coil, and the first imaging component is located within the hollow space (Kruip teaches an MRI imaging equipment comprising a solenoidal magnet with coaxial coils; Yamaya et al. teaches positioning an imaging unit (PET) within an open space of an MRI field of view; see Figs. above)
As per claim 6, Yamaya et al. as modified above, disclose a system wherein the second imaging component comprises a gradient coil and a radio frequency coil, and the first imaging component is disposed between the gradient coil and the radio frequency coil (Kruip teaches an MRI imaging equipment which include gradient coils and RF coils; Yamaya et al. teach a PET integrated within an MRI space).
As per claim 7, Yamaya et al. as modified above, disclose a system wherein the first imaging component is disposed on an inner side of the second imaging component along a radial direction of the second imaging component (see for example, Figs. shown above).
As per claim 8, Yamaya et al. as modified above, disclose a system wherein an isocenter of the first imaging component coincides with the isocenter of the second imaging component (see for example, Figs. shown above).
As per claim 9, Yamaya et al. as modified above, disclose a system wherein the first imaging component is disposed adjacent to the second imaging component along an axial direction (see for example, Figs. shown above).
As per claim 10, Yamaya et al. as modified above, disclose a system, wherein the treatment component is rotatable and the first imaging component and the second imaging component are stationary (see for example, Kruip Linac in Fig. above).
As per claims 11-15, Yamaya et al. as modified above, disclose a system wherein the second imaging component includes a first portion and a second portion, and at least one of the treatment component or the first imaging component are disposed between the first portion and the second portion (see for example, Yamaya et al. Fig. shown above).
As per claim 16, Yamaya et al. as modified above, disclose a system wherein the treatment component is disposed on the second imaging component (see for example, Figs. shown above).
As per claim 17, Yamaya et al. as modified above, disclose a system wherein the first imaging component is a positron emission computed tomography (PET) device, the treatment component is a linear accelerator (Linac), and the second imaging component is a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) device (see for example, Figs. shown above).
As per claim 18, Yamaya et al. as modified above disclose system configured to carry out a method comprising the step(s) of: determining a first image and/or a second image including a target region of an object via a first imaging component and/or a second imaging component; and directing a treatment component to emit treatment rays toward the target region based on the first image and/or the second image, wherein an isocenter of the treatment component coincides with an isocenter of the second imaging component (see for example, Figs. shown above).
As per claim 19, Yamaya et al. as modified above, disclose a system wherein the first imaging component is disposed within the second imaging component, and the second imaging component is rotatable. (see for example, Figs. shown above).
As per claim 20, Yamaya et al. as modified above, disclose a non-transitory computer readable medium, comprising at least one set of instructions, wherein when executed by one or more processors of a computing device, the at least one set of instructions causes the computing device to perform a method, the method comprising: determining a first image and/or a second image including a target region of an object via a first imaging component and/or a second imaging component; and directing a treatment component to emit treatment rays toward the target region based on the first image and/or the second image, wherein an isocenter of the treatment component coincides with an isocenter of the second imaging component (see for example, Fig. shown above).
Conclusion
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/COURTNEY D THOMAS/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2884