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 .
Continued Examination Under 37 CFR 1.114
A request for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, including the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e), was filed in this application after final rejection. Since this application is eligible for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114. Applicant's submission filed on 02/20/2026 has been entered.
Response to Amendment
The amendment of 02/20/2026 has been entered and fully considered by the examiner. Claims 1, 2, 16, and 17 have been amended. Claims 1-20 are pending in the application with claims 1 and 16 being independent.
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.
The factual inquiries for establishing a background for determining obviousness under 35 U.S.C. 103 are summarized as follows:
1. Determining the scope and contents of the prior art.
2. Ascertaining the differences between the prior art and the claims at issue.
3. Resolving the level of ordinary skill in the pertinent art.
4. Considering objective evidence present in the application indicating obviousness or nonobviousness.
This application currently names joint inventors. In considering patentability of the claims the examiner presumes that the subject matter of the various claims was commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the claimed invention(s) absent any evidence to the contrary. Applicant is advised of the obligation under 37 CFR 1.56 to point out the inventor and effective filing dates of each claim that was not commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the later invention in order for the examiner to consider the applicability of 35 U.S.C. 102(b)(2)(C) for any potential 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) prior art against the later invention.
Claims 1-3, 5, 6, 9, and 10-18 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Claims 1, 2, 5, 11-18, and 81 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Koch et al. (U.S. Publication No. 2017/0251924) hereinafter “Koch” in view of Huang et al. (“Real time 3D and 4D Fourier domain doppler optical coherence tomography based on dual graphics processing units”, Bio. Opt. Express, 2012) hereinafter “Huang” and MacDougall et al. (“”. Bio, Optic, Exp. Vol. 7, issue 11, 2016) hereinafter “MacDougal”
Regarding claim 1, Koch discloses a system for optically interrogating a surface [see abstract of Koch], the system comprising:
an audio source [loudspeaker; see [0007] the sound source could be a loudspeaker] configured to deliver a sound stimulus for inducing motion of a structure; [see [0016], [0027] and [0033]; sound source 6; the structure being of an ear drum]
a Doppler optical coherence tomography imaging system [device 1 for Doppler optical coherence tomography; see [0026]-[0027] of Koch] configured to optically interrogate the structure in a spatially-resolved manner; [see [0033]: “in Doppler OCT it is possible to determine phase relationship between stimulation of eardrum and the movement (amplitude) of the ear drum measured by doppler shift”] and
a processor [evaluation unit of the central unit 20 performs image processing for the doppler signals and inherently includes a processor to be able to perform such complex image processing; see [0019] and [0036]] configured to:
process structural optical coherence tomography data obtained from the Doppler optical coherence tomography imaging system [see [0036] of Koch] .
Koch does not expressly disclose that the processor constructs the surface of the structure, the surface including a plurality of voxels lying thereon, the plurality of voxels defining the shape of the surface and that the processor further processes Doppler optical coherence tomography data obtained from the Doppler optical coherence tomography imaging system to determine spatially being applied to the surface, resolved phase and amplitude values characterizing motion of the surface at the plurality of voxels in response to the sound stimulus being applied to the surface; and process the spatially-resolved phase and amplitude values to determine an integrated measure associated with motion normal to the surface by integrating the spatially-resolved phase and amplitude values over each of the plurality of voxels.
Huang, directed towards Doppler vibrational studies using OCT [see abstract of MacDougall]. the processor further processes Doppler optical coherence tomography data obtained from the Doppler optical coherence tomography imaging system to determine spatially- resolved phase and amplitude values characterizing motion of the surface at the plurality of voxels in response to the sound stimulus being applied to the surface; [see equation 3 disclosing calculation of the velocity at each point on the surface based on the amplitude and phase (φ and θ). see also page 2170, last paragraph disclosing calculation of the “volume velocity” based on the data; see also FIG. 7 showing the amplitude of the velocity for a plurality of points on the surface; see Also FIG. 4 showing the phase at various points on the surface]
McDougall, directed towards Doppler vibrational study of ear [see abstract of MacDougall] further discloses that the processor constructs the surface of the structure, the surface including a plurality of voxels lying thereon, the plurality of voxels defining the shape of the surface, [see Fig. 4C and 4D of McDougal showing a constructed image of the surface of the eardrum including a plurality of voxels on it defining the shape] and determines integrated measure associated with motion of the surface [section 2.3, equation 7 and the paragraph above it describe calculating Axy (f) by integrating amplitude and phase of the vibrational velocity over all points on the surface;] in particular, a processor [PC; see FIG. 1] configured to process the spatially-resolved phase and amplitude values to determine an integrated measure associated with motion normal to the surface at the plurality of voxels by integrating the spatially-resolved phase and amplitude values over each of the plurality of voxels. [section 2.3, equation 7 and the paragraph above it describe calculating Axy (f) by integrating amplitude and phase of the vibrational velocity over all points on the surface; since the amplitude and phase of the plurality of points are calculated by Huang (see above), the integration of already known amplitude and phase across the surface would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art]
It would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill level in the art at the time of the filing of the invention to modify the system of Koch further make the processor be configured to further processes Doppler optical coherence tomography data obtained from the Doppler optical coherence tomography imaging system to determine spatially- resolved phase and amplitude values characterizing motion of the surface in response to the sound stimulus at multiple different points along the surface according to the teachings of Huang in order to acquire more information regarding motion of the surface under study and reconstruct cross sectional structure image of the eardrum [see page 2163, last 5 lines to page 2164-first 3 lines]
It would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill level in the art at the time of the filing of the invention to modify the system of Koch further and configure the processor to process the spatially-resolved phase and amplitude values to determine an integrated measure associated with motion normal to the surface at the multiple different points along the surface by integrating the spatially-resolved phase and amplitude values over each of the plurality of voxels according to the teachings of McDougall in order to clinically study and diagnose patients with ossicular prosthesis [see introduction of McDougall, last paragraph]
Regarding claim 2, Koch in view of Huang and McDougall discloses all the limitations of claim 1 [see rejection of claim 1 above]
Koch further discloses that the audio source is further configured to deliver the sound stimulus within an ear canal, wherein the surface is an eardrum surface. [see [0016], [0027] and [0033]; sound source 6; the structure being of an ear drum]
Koch does not disclose wherein the Doppler optical coherence tomography data is processed to determine the spatially resolved phase and amplitude values characterizing motion of the surface across at least a majority of the surface, and the spatially-resolved phase and amplitude values are processed to determine the integrated measure associated with the motion normal to the surface across at least the majority of the surface.
Huang further discloses that the Doppler optical coherence tomography data is processed to determine the spatially resolved phase and amplitude values characterizing motion of the surface across at least a majority of the surface, [see equation 3 disclosing calculation of the velocity at each point on the surface based on the amplitude and phase (φ and θ). see also page 2170, last paragraph disclosing calculation of the “volume velocity” based on the data; see also FIG. 7 showing the amplitude of the velocity for all points on the surface; see Also FIG. 4 showing the phase at all points on the surface]
McDougall further discloses that the Doppler optical coherence tomography data is processed to determine the spatially resolved phase and amplitude values characterizing motion of the surface across at least a majority of the surface, [section 2.3, equation 7 and the paragraph above it describe calculating Axy (f) by integrating amplitude and phase of the vibrational velocity over all points on the surface; since the amplitude and phase of all of points are calculated by Huang (see above), the integration of already known amplitude and phase across all of the points across the surface would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art]
It would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill level in the art at the time of the filing of the invention to modify the system of Koch further such that the Doppler optical coherence tomography data is processed to determine the spatially resolved phase and amplitude values characterizing motion of the surface across at least a majority of the surface according to the teachings of Huang in order to acquire more information regarding motion of the surface under study and reconstruct cross sectional structure image of the eardrum [see page 2163, last 5 lines to page 2164-first 3 lines]
It would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill level in the art at the time of the filing of the invention to modify the system of Koch further such that Doppler optical coherence tomography data is processed to determine the spatially resolved phase and amplitude values characterizing motion of the surface across at least a majority of the surface according to the teachings of McDougall in order to clinically study and diagnose patients with ossicular prosthesis [see introduction of McDougall, last paragraph]
Regarding claim 3, Koch in view of Huang and McDougall discloses all the limitations of claim 2 [see rejection of claim 2 above]
Koch does not disclose that the processor is further configured such that the integrated measure is calculated by determining a volume velocity associated with motion normal to the eardrum surface.
McDougall further discloses that the processor is further configured such that the integrated measure is calculated by determining a volume velocity associated with motion normal to the eardrum surface. [see FIG. 5 of McDougal showing that the displacement is normal to the eardrum; Further, since the eardrum is structurally bounds on all sides in the xy plane, it can inherently only have motion in the normal direction to the surface]
It would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill level in the art at the time of the filing of the invention to modify the system of Koch as modified by Huang and McDougall further and make the processor further configured such that the integrated measure is calculated by determining a volume velocity associated with motion normal to the eardrum surface according to the teachings of McDougall to clinically study and diagnose patients with ossicular prosthesis [see introduction of McDougall, last paragraph]
Regarding claim 5, Koch in view of Huang and McDougall discloses all the limitations of claim 3 [see rejection of claim 3 above]
MacDougall further discloses that the processor is further configured to determine the volume velocity by performing steps comprising: determining local surface normal vectors associated with the surface; [see section 2.3. equation 1; the sinusoidal function acts as a normalizer to only show the values that are normal to the surface of the eardrum] and employing the spatially-resolved phase and amplitude values, the local surface normal vectors, and one or more frequencies of the sound stimulus to calculate the volume velocity. [see section 2.3. of MacDougal and especially equation 7 ]
It would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill level in the art at the time of the filing of the invention to modify the system of Koch as modified by Huang and McDougall further and make the processor is further configured to determine the volume velocity by performing steps comprising: determining local surface normal vectors associated with the surface; and employing the spatially-resolved phase and amplitude values, the local surface normal vectors, and one or more frequencies of the sound stimulus to calculate the volume velocity according to the teachings of MacDougall in order to calculate the volume velocity of the eardrum surface more accurately.
Regarding claim 6, Koch in view of Huang and McDougall discloses all the limitations of claim 3 [see rejection of claim 3 above]
MacDougall further discloses that the processor is further configured such that, prior to calculating the acoustic impedance, the following operation is performed: employing the fraction of the eardrum surface to scale the volume velocity to compensate for obscuring of the eardrum surface. [see section 2.2. a calibration is done when the invalid data (which could correspond to any occlusion) is discarded and the rest is calibrated]
It would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill level in the art at the time of the filing of the invention to modify the system of Koch as modified by Huang and McDougall further and make the processor further configured such that, prior to calculating the acoustic impedance, the following operations are performed: processing the structural optical coherence tomography data to determine a fraction of the eardrum surface that has been obscured during image acquisition; and employing the fraction of the eardrum surface to scale the volume velocity to compensate for obscuring of the eardrum surface according to the teachings of MacDougall in order to compensate for any occlusion and invalid data and stitching the rest together [see section 2.2. of MacDougall, first paragraph]
Regarding claim 9, Koch in view of Huang and McDougall discloses all the limitations of claim 2 [see rejection of claim 2 above]
Koch further discloses that the audio source is configured such that the sound stimulus is operative to elicit an acoustic reflex response, [see [0016] and [0027]; sound source 6]
Koch does not disclose that the system configured to measure motion of at least one of a malleus, incus, stapes and stapedius tendon when the acoustic reflex response is active.
MacDougall further discloses that the system is configured to measure motion of at least one of a malleus, incus, stapes and stapedius tendon when the acoustic reflex response is active. [see FIG. 4 and its caption disclosing measuring and graphing the motion of the malleus, and incus]
It would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill level in the art at the time of the filing of the invention to modify the system of Koch as modified by Huang and McDougall further and make the system configured to measure motion of at least one of a malleus, incus, stapes and stapedius tendon when the acoustic reflex response is active according to the teachings of MacDougall in order to measure and determine the vibrational response of the middle ear structures individually. [see introduction of McDougall, last paragraph]
Regarding claim 10, Koch in view of Huang and McDougall discloses all the limitations of claim 2 [see rejection of claim 2 above]
McDougal further disclose that the Doppler optical coherence tomography imaging system comprises a scanning subsystem configured perform optical coherence tomography data acquisition along a plurality of image lines. [see section. 2.1 discloses a scanning subsystem for performing the imaging A line modality (i.e. along a plurality of image lines)]
It would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill level in the art at the time of the filing of the invention to modify the system of Koch as modified by Huang and McDougall further such that the Doppler optical coherence tomography imaging system comprises a scanning subsystem configured perform optical coherence tomography data acquisition along a plurality of image lines according to the teachings of MscDougall in order to perform both kinds of imaging at the same time and improve the accuracy of study and diagnosis [see Fig. 10 of MacDougall]
Regarding claim 11, Koch as modified by Huang and MacDougall discloses all the limitations of claim 1 above. [see rejection of claim 1]
McDougall further discloses that operation of the Doppler optical coherence tomography imaging system is synchronized with an acoustic phase of the sound stimulus. [see section 2.; first and second paragraphs disclosing the synchronizing of the laser with phase of sound stimulus]
It would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill level in the art at the time of the filing of the invention to modify the system of Koch as modified by Huang and MacDougal further and make operation of the Doppler optical coherence tomography imaging system is synchronized with an acoustic phase of the sound stimulus according to the teachings of McDougall in order to maintain synchronization between the optical and acoustic stimulus applied to achieve accurate measurements and increase the accuracy of the measurements.
Regarding claim 12, Koch as modified by Huang and MacDougall discloses all the limitations of claim 1 above. [see rejection of claim 1]
Koch does not disclose that the OCT imaging system comprises one of a swept-source laser and a broadband light source.
MacDougal further discloses that the optical coherence tomography imaging system comprises one of a swept-source laser [Bragg-reflector (VT-DBR) akinetic swept laser; see section 2.1. first paragraph] and a broadband light source.
It would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill level in the art at the time of the filing of the invention to modify the system of Koch as modified by Huang and MacDougall further such that the OCT imaging system comprises one of a swept-source laser and a broadband light source according to the teachings of MacDougall in order to take advantage of fast sweeping of the laser to image the full depth of human middle ear [see section 2.1. first paragraph of MacDougall]
Regarding claim 13, Koch as modified by Huang and MacDougall discloses all the limitations of claim 11 above. [see rejection of claim 11]
McDougall further discloses that the swept-source laser is synchronized with a sweep clock signal, the sweep clock signal synchronizing the laser with an acoustic phase of the sound stimulus.[see section 2.; first and second paragraphs disclosing the synchronizing of the laser with phase of sound stimulus]
It would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill level in the art at the time of the filing of the invention to modify the system of Koch as modified by Huang and MacDougall further and make the swept-source laser be synchronized with a sweep clock signal, the sweep clock signal synchronizing the laser with an acoustic phase of the sound stimulus according to the teachings of McDougall in order to maintain synchronization between the optical and acoustic stimulus applied to achieve accurate measurements and increase the accuracy of the measurements [see section 2.1. first paragraph of MacDougall]
Regarding claim 14, Koch as modified by Huang and MacDougall discloses all the limitations of claim 1 above. [see rejection of claim 1]
Koch further discloses an imaging head, [see FIG. 1; imaging head 1 and [0027]] the imaging head being operably coupled to the Doppler optical coherence tomography imaging system for transmitting and detecting light, the imaging head further comprising one or more tubes for carrying the sound stimulus. [sound conductor tubes 11 and 12; see FIG. 1 and [0031]]
Regarding claim 15, Koch as modified by Huang and MacDougall discloses all the limitations of claim 1 above. [see rejection of claim 1]
MacDougall further discloses that the processor is further configured to generate one or more structural images of the eardrum surface simultaneously with generating the integrated measure .[see section 3.2. in vivo imaging of Huang and FIG. 5]
It would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill level in the art at the time of the filing of the invention to modify the system of Koch as modified by Huang and MacDougall further such that the processor is further configured to generate one or more structural images of the eardrum surface simultaneously with generating the integrated measure according to the teachings of MacDougall in order to visualize the macroscopic dynamics of the middle [see section 3.2. in vivo imaging of MacDougall]
Regarding claim 16, Koch disclose a method of optically interrogating a surface to determine an integrated measure associated with motion of the surface, the method comprising:
employing an audio source [loudspeaker; see [0007] the sound source could be a loudspeaker] to deliver a sound stimulus for inducing motion of a structure; [see [0016], [0027] and [0033]; sound source 6; the structure being of an ear drum]
employing a Doppler optical coherence tomography imaging system [device 1 for Doppler optical coherence tomography; see [0026]-[0027] of Koch] to optically interrogate the structure in a spatially-resolved manner; [see [0033]: “in Doppler OCT it is possible to determine phase relationship between stimulation of eardrum and the movement (amplitude) of the ear drum measured by doppler shift”]
processing structural optical coherence tomography data obtained from the Doppler optical coherence tomography imaging system [see [0036] of Koch] to identify the surface of the structure; [see [0029]-[0030] disclosing that only reflected and scattered beams by the surface of the eardrum are analyzed which in effect identifies the structure of the eardrum]
Koch does not expressly disclose that the processor is configured to determine the spatially resolved phase and amplitude values characterizing motion of the surface across at least a majority of the surface further processes Doppler optical coherence tomography data obtained from the Doppler optical coherence tomography imaging system to determine spatially- resolved phase and amplitude values characterizing motion of the surface in response to the sound stimulus at multiple different; and process the spatially-resolved phase and amplitude values to determine an integrated measure associated with motion normal to the surface at the multiple different points.
Huang, directed towards Doppler vibrational studies using OCT [see abstract of MacDougall]. the processor further processes Doppler optical coherence tomography data obtained from the Doppler optical coherence tomography imaging system to determine spatially- resolved phase and amplitude values characterizing motion of the surface in response to the sound stimulus at multiple different points along the surface; [see equation 3 disclosing calculation of the velocity at each point on the surface based on the amplitude and phase (φ and θ). see also page 2170, last paragraph disclosing calculation of the “volume velocity” based on the data; see also FIG. 7 showing the amplitude of the velocity for a plurality of points on the surface; see Also FIG. 4 showing the phase at various points on the surface]
McDougall, directed towards Doppler vibrational study of ear [see abstract of MacDougall] further discloses that the processor constructs the surface of the structure, the surface including a plurality of voxels lying thereon, the plurality of voxels defining the shape of the surface, [see Fig. 4C and 4D of McDougal showing a constructed image of the surface of the eardrum including a plurality of voxels on it defining the shape] and that the claimed system determines integrated measure associated with motion of the surface [section 2.3, equation 7 and the paragraph above it describe calculating Axy (f) by integrating amplitude and phase of the vibrational velocity over all points on the surface] in particular, a processor [PC; see FIG. 1] configured to process the spatially-resolved phase and amplitude values to determine an integrated measure associated with motion normal to the surface at the plurality of voxels in response to the sound stimulus being applied to the surface. [section 2.3, equation 7 and the paragraph above it describes calculating Axy (f) by integrating amplitude and phase of the vibrational velocity over all points on the surface; since the amplitude and phase of all of points are calculated by Huang (see above), the integration of already known amplitude and phase across all of the points across the surface would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art]
It would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill level in the art at the time of the filing of the invention to modify the system of Koch further make the processor be configured to further processes Doppler optical coherence tomography data obtained from the Doppler optical coherence tomography imaging system to determine spatially- resolved phase and amplitude values characterizing motion of the surface in response to the sound stimulus at multiple different points along the surface according to the teachings of Huang in order to acquire more information regarding motion of the surface under study and reconstruct cross sectional structure image of the eardrum [see page 2163, last 5 lines to page 2164-first 3 lines]
It would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill level in the art at the time of the filing of the invention to modify the system of Koch further and configure the processor to to process the spatially-resolved phase and amplitude values to determine an integrated measure associated with motion normal to the surface at the multiple different points along the surface according to the teachings of McDougall in order to clinically study and diagnose patients with ossicular prosthesis [see introduction of McDougall, last paragraph]
Regarding claim 17, Koch further discloses that the audio source is configured to deliver the sound stimulus within an ear canal, and wherein the surface is an eardrum surface. see [0016], [0027] and [0033]; sound source 6; the structure being of an ear drum]
Koch further discloses that the audio source is further configured to deliver the sound stimulus within an ear canal, wherein the surface is an eardrum surface. [see [0016], [0027] and [0033]; sound source 6; the structure being of an ear drum]
Koch does not disclose wherein the Doppler optical coherence tomography data is processed to determine the spatially resolved phase and amplitude values characterizing motion of the surface across at least a majority of the surface, and the spatially-resolved phase and amplitude values are processed to determine the integrated measure associated with the motion normal to the surface across at least the majority of the surface.
Huang further discloses that the Doppler optical coherence tomography data is processed to determine the spatially resolved phase and amplitude values characterizing motion of the surface across at least a majority of the surface, [see equation 3 disclosing calculation of the velocity at each point on the surface based on the amplitude and phase (φ and θ). see also page 2170, last paragraph disclosing calculation of the “volume velocity” based on the data; see also FIG. 7 showing the amplitude of the velocity for all points on the surface; see Also FIG. 4 showing the phase at all points on the surface]
McDougall further discloses that the Doppler optical coherence tomography data is processed to determine the spatially resolved phase and amplitude values characterizing motion of the surface across at least a majority of the surface, [section 2.3, equation 7 and the paragraph above it describe calculating Axy (f) by integrating amplitude and phase of the vibrational velocity over all points on the surface; since the amplitude and phase of all of points are calculated by Huang (see above), the integration of already known amplitude and phase across all of the points across the surface would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art]
It would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill level in the art at the time of the filing of the invention to modify the system of Koch further such that the Doppler optical coherence tomography data is processed to determine the spatially resolved phase and amplitude values characterizing motion of the surface across at least a majority of the surface according to the teachings of Huang in order to acquire more information regarding motion of the surface under study and reconstruct cross sectional structure image of the eardrum [see page 2163, last 5 lines to page 2164-first 3 lines]
It would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill level in the art at the time of the filing of the invention to modify the system of Koch further such that Doppler optical coherence tomography data is processed to determine the spatially resolved phase and amplitude values characterizing motion of the surface across at least a majority of the surface according to the teachings of McDougall in order to clinically study and diagnose patients with ossicular prosthesis [see introduction of McDougall, last paragraph]
Regarding claim 18, Koch in view of Huang and McDougall discloses all the limitations of claim 17 [see rejection of claim 17 above]
Koch does not disclose that the processor is further configured such that the integrated measure is calculated by determining a volume velocity associated with motion normal to the eardrum surface.
McDougall further discloses that the processor is further configured such that the integrated measure is calculated by determining a volume velocity associated with motion normal to the eardrum surface. [see FIG. 5 of McDougal showing that the displacement is normal to the eardrum; Further, since the eardrum is structurally bounds on all sides in the xy plane, it can inherently only have motion in the normal direction to the surface]
It would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill level in the art at the time of the filing of the invention to modify the system of Koch as modified by Huang and McDougall further and make the processor further configured such that the integrated measure is calculated by determining a volume velocity associated with motion normal to the eardrum surface according to the teachings of McDougall to clinically study and diagnose patients with ossicular prosthesis [see introduction of McDougall, last paragraph]
Regarding claim 20, Koch in view of Huang and McDougall discloses all the limitations of claim 18 [see rejection of claim 18 above]
MacDougall further discloses that the processor is further configured to determine the volume velocity by performing steps comprising: determining local surface normal vectors associated with the surface; [see section 2.3. equation 1; the sinusoidal function acts as a normalizer to only show the values that are normal to the surface of the eardrum] and employing the spatially-resolved phase and amplitude values, the local surface normal vectors, and one or more frequencies of the sound stimulus to calculate the volume velocity. [see section 2.3. of MacDougal and especially equation 7 ]
It would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill level in the art at the time of the filing of the invention to modify the system of Koch as modified by Huang and McDougall further and make the processor is further configured to determine the volume velocity by performing steps comprising: determining local surface normal vectors associated with the surface; and employing the spatially-resolved phase and amplitude values, the local surface normal vectors, and one or more frequencies of the sound stimulus to calculate the volume velocity according to the teachings of MacDougall in order to calculate the volume velocity of the eardrum surface more accurately.
Claims 4, 7, 8, and 19 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Koch in view of Huang and MacDougall as applied to claim 3 and 18 above, and further in view of Keefe (DE 69738629T2) hereinafter “Keefe”.
Regarding claims 4 and 19, Koch as modified by McDougall and Huang discloses all the limitations of claims 3 and 18 above [see rejection of claims 3 and 18]
Koch as modified by McDougall and Huang further disclose a microphone operable to measure a pressure of the sound stimulus on the surface [sound receiver 7 in the form of a microphone; see [0027] of Koch]; and calculate volume velocity and measured pressure. [see equation 3 disclosing calculation of the velocity at each point on the surface based on the amplitude and phase (φ and θ). see also page 2170, last paragraph disclosing calculation of the “volume velocity” based on the data]
Koch does not disclose that the processor is configured to process the volume velocity and measured pressure to calculate an acoustic impedance.
Keefe further discloses process the volume velocity and measured pressure to calculate an acoustic impedance. [see [0189] disclosing that the system measures acoustic impedance function in time domain]
It would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill level in the art at the time of the filing of the invention to modify the system of Koch as modified by Huang and MacDougall further and include a processor configured to calculate a volume velocity of the surface by integrating the contribution to the volume velocity made by the motion of the surface at a plurality of locations on the surface according to the teachings of MacDougall in order to acquire more information regarding motion of the surface under study. It would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill level in the art at the time of the filing of the invention to modify the system of Koch further and calculate the acoustic impedance of the middle ear as a ratio of the measured pressure of the sound stimulus on the ear drum to the volume velocity according to the teachings of Keefe in order to acquire more information about the acoustic characteristics of the eardrum.
Regarding claim 7 Koch discloses a device for applying a quasi-static pressure to an ear canal [see [0033] of Koch; discloses generating static pressure and change thereof (quasi-static pressure) in the ear canal] and an earpiece that creates an acoustic seal with the ear canal [see [0014] and [0033] disclosing an ear mould for sealing the ear canal]
Koch as modified by Huang and MacDougall does not disclose wherein the system is configured to report a change in the volume velocity or acoustic impedance as the quasi-static pressure is varied.
Keefe, directed towards measurement of acoustic transmission function in the ear [see abstract of Keefe] further discloses that the system is configured to report a change in the volume velocity or acoustic impedance as the quasi-static pressure is varied. [see [0021] disclosing measuring impedance as a function of pressure p(f).]
It would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill level in the art at the time of the filing of the invention to modify the system of Koch as modified by Huang and MacDougall further and make the system be configured to report a change in the volume velocity or acoustic impedance as the quasi-static pressure is varied according to the teachings of Keefe in order to study the response of the surface to varying pressure applied to the surface by measuring the impedance of the surface in time.
Regarding claim 8, Koch discloses wherein the audio source [sound source 6 could be a loud speaker; see [0007] and [0031] of Koch] is configured such that a sound stimulus is operative to elicit an acoustic reflex response [see [0031] of Koch],
Koch as modified by Huang and MacDougall does not disclose that the system configured to measure a change in acoustic impedance resulting from the acoustic reflex response.
Keefe further discloses that the system is configured to measure a change in acoustic impedance resulting from the acoustic reflex response. [see [0189] disclosing that the system measures acoustic impedance function in time domain]
It would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill level in the art at the time of the filing of the invention to modify the system of Koch as modified by Huang and MacDougall further and make the system be configured to measure a change in acoustic impedance resulting from the acoustic reflex response according to the teachings of Keefe in order to study the response of the surface to varying pressure applied to the surface by measuring the impedance of the surface in time.
Response to Arguments
Rejection of Claims under U.S.C. 103
Applicant's arguments filed 02/20/2026 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive.
The applicant has merely stated that the references used in the rejection do not disclose some of the limitations of the claims.
The examiner respectfully disagrees and notes that the rejection section of the claims above clearly discloses citations for each and every limitation of the claim. Applicant should submit an argument under the heading “Remarks” pointing out disagreements with the examiner’s contentions. Applicant must also discuss the references applied against the claims, explaining how the claims avoid the references or distinguish from them. Therefore, in the absence of any such arguments, it is clear that the references as combined disclose the limitations of the claims and therefore, they read on the claims as they are currently stated.
In particular, with regards to the added amendment to claims 1 and 16, the applicant has stated that none of the cited references disclose: “the processor constructs the surface of the structure, the surface including a plurality of voxels lying thereon, the plurality of voxels defining the shape of the surface”
In response the examiner respectfully disagrees and notes that FIG. 4 of McDougal reference clearly shows a constructed image of the surface of the eardrum which is made up of a plurality of voxels defining it’s surface.
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Conclusion
No claim is allowed.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to MARJAN - SABOKTAKIN whose telephone number is (303)297-4278. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 9 am-5pm CT.
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/MARJAN SABOKTAKIN/Examiner, Art Unit 3797
/MICHAEL J CAREY/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 3795