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 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 1-8, 11-14 and 17-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Sawada et al. (hereafter Sawada)(US PgPub 2011/0270566).
Regarding claim 1, Sawada discloses a non-transitory computer-readable medium storing instructions that, when executed, direct at least one processor of a computing device for mass spectrometry to (Figure 1, Elements 100 and 300): generate, for a targeted assay of a sample, an acquisition schedule that schedules acquisition, by a mass spectrometer during an acquisition window having a dynamic acquisition window width, of a set of mass spectra for each target analyte included in a set of target analytes included in the sample as the target analytes elute from a separation system, wherein generating the acquisition schedule comprises determining the dynamic acquisition window width based on an acquisition cycle period for the targeted assay (Figure 1, Element 100, Figure 2, Figure 3, Figure 4(f) and Paragraphs 0079-0089, 0123 and 0150-0153 where the scheduling device generates an acquisition schedule that schedules dynamic (variable) acquisition windows for various assays of a sample. The dynamic (variable) acquisition windows are determined relative to a cycle period for a target assay); and direct the mass spectrometer to acquire each set of mass spectra in accordance with the acquisition schedule (Figures 1-2 and Paragraph 0088 where the determined schedule is provided to the mass spectrometer).
Regarding claim 2, Sawada discloses wherein determining the dynamic acquisition window width based on the acquisition cycle period for the targeted assay comprises: individually determining, based on the acquisition cycle period for the targeted assay, an acquisition window width for each target analyte included in the set of target analytes (Figure 1, Element 100, Figure 2, Figure 3, Figure 4(f) and Paragraphs 0079-0089, 0123 and 0150-0153 where the scheduling device generates an acquisition schedule that schedules dynamic (variable) acquisition windows for various assays of a sample. The dynamic (variable) acquisition windows are determined relative to a cycle period for a target assay. An acquisition window width for each target assay is determined).
Regarding claim 3, Sawada discloses wherein determining the dynamic acquisition window width comprises: dividing the set of target analytes into a plurality of groups of target analytes; and determining, for each group of target analytes included in the plurality of groups of target analytes, an acquisition window width based on an acquisition cycle period for the respective group of target analytes (Figure 1, Element 100, Figure 2, Figure 3, Figure 4(f) and Paragraphs 0079-0089, 0123 and 0150-0153 where the scheduling device generates an acquisition schedule that schedules dynamic (variable) acquisition windows for various assays of a sample. The dynamic (variable) acquisition windows are determined relative to a cycle period for a target assay. The substances are grouped into target analytes and the dynamic (variable) acquisition windows for various groups of a sample are determined).
Regarding claim 4, Sawada discloses wherein the set of target analytes is divided into the plurality of groups of target analytes based on an estimated elution time of each target analyte included in the set of target analytes (Figure 1, Element 100, Figure 2, Figure 3, Figure 4(f) and Paragraphs 0079-0089, 0123 and 0150-0153 where the scheduling device generates an acquisition schedule that schedules dynamic (variable) acquisition windows for various assays of a sample. The dynamic (variable) acquisition windows are determined relative to a cycle period for a target assay. The substances are grouped into target analytes and the dynamic (variable) acquisition windows for various groups of a sample are determined with respect to various extracting/separating timings).
Regarding claim 5, Sawada discloses wherein the acquisition cycle period for the targeted assay is fixed (Figure 1, Element 100, Figure 2, Figure 3, Figure 4(f) and Paragraphs 0079-0089, 0123 and 0150-0153 where the scheduling device generates an acquisition schedule that schedules dynamic (variable) acquisition windows for various assays of a sample. The dynamic (variable) acquisition windows are determined relative to a fixed cycle period for a target assay).
Regarding claim 6, Sawada discloses herein the acquisition cycle period for the targeted assay is dynamic (Figure 1, Element 100, Figure 2, Figure 3, Figure 4(f) and Paragraphs 0079-0089, 0123 and 0150-0153 where the scheduling device generates an acquisition schedule that schedules dynamic (variable) acquisition windows for various assays of a sample. The dynamic (variable) acquisition windows are determined relative to a dynamic cycle period for a group of targeted assays).
Regarding claim 7, Sawada discloses wherein determining the dynamic acquisition window width comprises further comprises: determining the acquisition cycle period for the targeted assay based on a sampling rate requirement for the targeted assay and a fixed or time-varying elution peak width for the targeted assay (Paragraphs 0010, 0018, 0070 and 0090 where peak width of the targeted assay is determined to calculate the dynamic acquisition window width).
Regarding claim 8, Sawada discloses wherein determining the dynamic acquisition window width based on the acquisition cycle period for the targeted assay comprises: determining, for each subset of one or more target analytes included in the set of target analytes, an acquisition window width default value such that a maximum instrument time ratio for the targeted assay is less than or equal to a threshold ratio value, wherein: the maximum instrument time ratio for the targeted assay is a maximum ratio of instrument time to perform an acquisition cycle to the acquisition cycle period for the acquisition cycle, and the threshold ratio value is less than or equal to one (1); and increasing the acquisition window width of a subset of one or more target analytes such that, after increasing the acquisition window width of the subset of one or more target analytes, the maximum instrument time ratio for the targeted assay is less than or equal to the threshold ratio value (Figure 3, Figure 8, Figure 9 and Paragraphs 0087, 0121-0126 and 0150-0153 where the function (subset of target analytes) does not exceed a function setting width. The function width corresponding to the instrument time and the function setting width corresponding to a maximum instrument time having a ratio less than or equal to one).
Regarding claim 11, Sawada discloses wherein determining the dynamic acquisition window width is further based on a maximum acquisition window width value (Figure 3, Figure 8, Figure 9 and Paragraphs 0087, 0121-0126 and 0150-0153 where the dynamic acquisition window width is determined based on a function setting width).
Regarding claims 12, 13, 14 and 17, see rejections for claims 1, 7, 8 and 11, respectively, which disclose all of the claimed limitations.
System claims 18-20 are drawn to the system corresponding to the method of using same as claimed in claims 12, 13, 14 and 17. Therefore system claims 18-20 correspond to method claims 12, 13, 14 and 17, and are rejected for the same reasons of anticipation as used above.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 9-10 and 15-16 are objected to as being dependent upon a rejected base claim, but would be allowable if rewritten in independent form including all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to THOMAS D ALUNKAL whose telephone number is (571)270-1127. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 9AM-5PM.
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/THOMAS D ALUNKAL/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2686
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