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 .
Status of Claims
Claims 1-9 are presently pending and under examination.
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement (IDS) was submitted on 02/20/2024. The submission is in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statement is being considered by the examiner.
Claim Interpretation
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(f):
(f) Element in Claim for a Combination. – An element in a claim for a combination may be expressed as a means or step for performing a specified function without the recital of structure, material, or acts in support thereof, and such claim shall be construed to cover the corresponding structure, material, or acts described in the specification and equivalents thereof.
The following is a quotation of pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph:
An element in a claim for a combination may be expressed as a means or step for performing a specified function without the recital of structure, material, or acts in support thereof, and such claim shall be construed to cover the corresponding structure, material, or acts described in the specification and equivalents thereof.
The claims in this application are given their broadest reasonable interpretation using the plain meaning of the claim language in light of the specification as it would be understood by one of ordinary skill in the art. The broadest reasonable interpretation of a claim element (also commonly referred to as a claim limitation) is limited by the description in the specification when 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, is invoked.
As explained in MPEP § 2181, subsection I, claim limitations that meet the following three-prong test will be interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph:
(A) the claim limitation uses the term “means” or “step” or a term used as a substitute for “means” that is a generic placeholder (also called a nonce term or a non-structural term having no specific structural meaning) for performing the claimed function;
(B) the term “means” or “step” or the generic placeholder is modified by functional language, typically, but not always linked by the transition word “for” (e.g., “means for”) or another linking word or phrase, such as “configured to” or “so that”; and
(C) the term “means” or “step” or the generic placeholder is not modified by sufficient structure, material, or acts for performing the claimed function.
Use of the word “means” (or “step”) in a claim with functional language creates a rebuttable presumption that the claim limitation is to be treated in accordance with 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph. The presumption that the claim limitation is interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, is rebutted when the claim limitation recites sufficient structure, material, or acts to entirely perform the recited function.
Absence of the word “means” (or “step”) in a claim creates a rebuttable presumption that the claim limitation is not to be treated in accordance with 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph. The presumption that the claim limitation is not interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, is rebutted when the claim limitation recites function without reciting sufficient structure, material or acts to entirely perform the recited function.
Claim limitations in this application that use the word “means” (or “step”) are being interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, except as otherwise indicated in an Office action. Conversely, claim limitations in this application that do not use the word “means” (or “step”) are not being interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, except as otherwise indicated in an Office action.
This application includes one or more claim limitations that do not use the word “means,” but are nonetheless being interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, because the claim limitation(s) uses a generic placeholder that is coupled with functional language without reciting sufficient structure to perform the recited function and the generic placeholder is not preceded by a structural modifier. Such claim limitation(s) is/are:
“a health data acquisition module” in claims 1 and 9
“a centralized health analysis module” in claims 1 and 9
“a health alert generation module” in claims 1 and 9
“an image acquisition unit” in claim 1 and 9.
Because this/these claim limitation(s) is/are being interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, it/they is/are being interpreted to cover the corresponding structure described in the specification as performing the claimed function, and equivalents thereof.
For the limitation “a health data acquisition module” in claims 1 and 9, the specification recites “the processing subsystem includes a health data acquisition module configured to acquire a plurality of health vitals associated with a patient via a wearable device” ([0005]). Therefore, the examiner is interpreting a health data acquisition module to be any software, hardware, processor, or combination that is able to receive health vitals data.
For the limitation “a centralized health analysis module” in claims 1 and 9, the specification recites “The processing subsystem also includes a centralised health analysis module operatively coupled to the health data acquisition module. The centralised health analysis module is configured to process raw health data representative of the plurality of health vitals acquired from the patient using a data processing technique” ([0005]). Therefore, the examiner is interpreting a centralized health analysis module to be any software, hardware, processor, or combination that is able to process/analyze raw health data.
For the limitation “a health generation module” in claims 1 and 9, the specification recites “The processing subsystem also includes a health alert generation module operatively coupled to the centralised health analysis module. The health alert generation module is configured to predict a risk associated with health condition of the patient in real-time based on the deviation in the raw health data representative of each of the plurality of health vitals detected. The health alert generation module is also configured to generate a health alert in one or more formats to notify one or more healthcare providers for providing healthcare service to the patient based on the risk associated with the health condition of the patient predicted.” ([0005]). Therefore, the examiner is interpreting a health generation module to be any software, hardware, processor, or combination that is able to predict and generate a health alert.
For the limitation “an image acquisition unit” in claims 1 and 9, the specification recites “the image acquisition unit may include, but not limited to, an infrared camera, a visual camera, and the like” ([0024]). Therefore, the examiner is interpreting the image acquisition unit to be a type of camera.
If applicant does not intend to have this/these limitation(s) interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, applicant may: (1) amend the claim limitation(s) to avoid it/them being interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph (e.g., by reciting sufficient structure to perform the claimed function); or (2) present a sufficient showing that the claim limitation(s) recite(s) sufficient structure to perform the claimed function so as to avoid it/them being interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph.
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.
Claim 9 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 9 recites the limitation "the image acquisition" in line 20. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
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 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) 1-7 and 9 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Sreedhara (US 2020/0058209 A1), hereinafter Sreedhara in view of Slavin et al. (US Patent 9,852,599 B1), hereinafter Slavin further in view of Siedenburg (US 2018/0199834 A1), hereinafter Siedenburg.
Regarding claim 1, Sreedhara discloses a system for monitoring health condition and providing healthcare services (Abstract: “A system and method for automated health monitoring…also enable emergency medical care to be provided to the user”, vital health monitoring and alert system 100) comprising:
a processing subsystem hosted on a server (remote server 105, [0027] “The remote server 105 includes one or more processing modules”), wherein the processing subsystem is configured to execute on a network to control bidirectional communications among a plurality of modules comprising ([0028] “The wearable device 110 is communicatively connected to the remote server 105 over the bi-direction communication network 120.”, [0030]-[0031], Figure 1):
a health data acquisition module (receiver module, [0031] “The receiver module is configured to receive the measured data from the one or more sensors of the wearable device”) configured to acquire a plurality of health vitals associated with a patient via a wearable device (wearable device 110, [0028] “The wearable device 110 is worn by the subject (not shown) for measuring one or more vital health parameters.”);
a centralised health analysis module (Figure 2: an analyzer module 205, pattern generator module 210, prediction module 215) operatively coupled to the health data acquisition module ([0034] “The analyser module 205 is configured to quantify the data received by the receiver module”), wherein the centralised health analysis module is configured to:
process raw health data representative of the plurality of health vitals acquired from the patient using a data processing technique ([0034]); and
detect deviation in the raw health data representative of each of the plurality of health vitals from each of a corresponding threshold limit of health vitals upon processing the raw health data ([0038] “the prediction module 215 compares and/or correlates the patterns generated by the pattern generator module 210 with a sample data for each of the one or more vital health parameters to predict a deviation from the optimal values for the one or more vital health parameters. The sample data is, for example, provided as an input to the prediction module 215 from a crowd sourced data, a clinical data and the like. The predictions may further be correlated with clinical symptoms and stored in the database 225 for further assessment by authorized users. In an embodiment, a threshold value for each of the one or more vital health parameters is determined from the sample data and the patterns generated for the subject are compared with the said threshold value in order to determine the vital health status of the user”);
a health alert generation module (Figure 2: prediction module 215 and dispatcher module 220) operatively coupled to the centralised health analysis module (view Figure 2) wherein the health alert generation module is configured to:
predict a risk associated with health condition of the patient in real-time based on the deviation in the raw health data representative of each of the plurality of health vitals detected ([0038]); and
generate a health alert in one or more formats to notify one or more healthcare providers for providing healthcare service to the patient based on the risk associated with the health condition of the patient predicted ([0039]-[0040] “the dispatcher module 220 is configured to raise an alert via SMS, IVR or other communication means to the one or more authorized users operating the user device 115a-115n including but not limited to the physician of the subject… the dispatcher module 220 may be configured to communicate the vital health status, the predictions and the patterns associated with subject to a medical facility in the vicinity of the subject as well as to the subject itself upon determining a deviation of the vital health parameters of the subject from the optimal threshold.”); and
a health monitoring device (user devices 115, user device 410 and 420) communicatively coupled to the processing subsystem (view Figure 1, [0024]), wherein the health monitoring device comprises a display interface (Figure 4: screen of the user devices 410 and 420), wherein the health monitoring device is configured to:
receive the health alert generated associated with the health condition of the patient via the display interface ([0049] “the dispatcher module 220 of the system communicates customized status reports and/or alert notifications to the users and the notification further includes emergency alerts, if any, for the users”, Figure 4);
Sreedhara fails to explicitly disclose wherein the health monitoring device comprises an image acquisition unit and the health monitoring device is configured to actuate from a docking point to hover around a body part of the patient for thermal screening of the patient using the image acquisition unit based on the health alert received when the patient is mobile and responds to an interaction; and send a doppler probe to a predefined zone marked in a neck of the patient for providing the healthcare service when the patient is immobile and unresponsive to the interaction.
However, Slavin teaches monitoring system, or more particularly a portable safety monitoring systems (Column 1, lines 13-14) teaches wherein the health monitoring device comprises an image acquisition unit (Column 8, lines 35-38: “the drone devices 170 may include data capture and recording devices. In some instance, the drone devices 170 may include one or more cameras”) and the health monitoring device is configured to actuate from a docking point to hover around a body part of the patient for thermal screening of the patient using the image acquisition unit based on the health alert received when the patient is mobile and responds to an interaction (Column 8, lines 1-50: “For example, the drone devices 170 may be capable of moving throughout a location based on automated control technology and/or user input control provided by either the user or by the devices connected to the monitoring platform 100…the drone devices 170 may be dispatched in response to an incident signal indicating that a user may require emergency assistance. For example, if a user has been injured during a known running route, the wearable device 150 may transmit data to the application server 180 from which the application server 180 may determine there is a likely safety incident, and in response, transmit an incident signal and a location of the user to the emergency notification server 190 and also transmit a dispatch instruction with the user location to the drone devices 170…once dispatched to a location where the user may require emergency assistance, the drone devices 170 may capture a video feed of the user showing the extent of injury and transmit the video feed to either the application server 180 or the emergency notification server 190 to alert emergency responders about the user's condition. In other examples, the drone devices 170 may be outfitted with thermal-imaging cameras”).
It would have been prima facie obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Sreedhara to incorporate the teachings of Slavin to have the health monitoring device comprises an image acquisition unit and the health monitoring device is configured to actuate from a docking point to hover around a body part of the patient for thermal screening of the patient using the image acquisition unit based on the health alert received when the patient is mobile and responds to an interaction; and send a doppler probe to a predefined zone marked in a neck of the patient for providing the healthcare service when the patient is immobile and unresponsive to the interaction, as these prior art references are directed to user health monitoring systems. One would be motivated to do this as the imaging of the body part can improve the chances of recovery, as recognized by Slavin (Column 7, lines 11-15).
Sreedhara and Slavin, alone or in combination, fail to explicitly teach the health monitoring device is configured to: send a doppler probe to a predefined zone marked in a neck of the patient for providing the healthcare service when the patient is immobile and unresponsive to the interaction.
However, Siedenburg teaches a method and apparatus to non-invasively measure instantaneous blood pressure with patient-monitor sensors wherein a “person 82 could be a patient in a hospital or someone found unconscious. Person 82 is experiencing a medical condition which requires monitoring of the person 82. Person 82 may be a victim of cardiac arrest, or some other emergency, and consequently a patient…a portable vital signs monitor 100 has been brought close to a person 82” ([0023]-[0024]) which can “employ an ultrasound transducer 411 that may be affixed to a patient (e.g., patient 82) adjacent to any appropriate vein or artery. As illustrated, the ultrasound transducer 411 is affixed to the patient 82 adjacent to the patient's carotid artery” ([0050]) to measure “the patient’s pulse wave velocity and instantaneous blood velocity” ([0052], [0062]).
Although, Siedenburg doesn’t explicitly state that the patient is immobile and unresponsive to the interaction, it would have been obvious to one skilled in the art that an unconscious patient, as described in Siedenburg would be unable to respond to an interaction and be mobile.
It would have been prima facie obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Sreedhara and Slavin to incorporate the teachings of Siedenburg to send a doppler probe to a predefined zone marked in a neck of the patient for providing the healthcare service when the patient is immobile and unresponsive to the interaction., as these prior art references are directed to monitoring the health of a patient. One would be motivated to do this as these are critical vitals that are needed urgently to determine a treatment/therapy.
Regarding claim 2, Sreedhara in view of Slavin further in view of Siedenburg teaches the system as claimed in claim 1 (as shown above. Sreedhara further discloses wherein the plurality of health vitals comprises at least one of blood pressure, body temperature, respiration rate. pulse rate, glucose level or a combination thereof ([0028] “The wearable device 110 houses a plurality of sensors including but not limited to a temperature sensor, a pressure sensor, a non-invasive blood glucose sensor, an oxygen saturation sensor and leads for heart rate monitoring.”, [0035]) .
Regarding claim 3, Sreedhara in view of Slavin further in view of Siedenburg teaches the system as claimed in claim 1 (as shown above). Although, Sreedhara fails to explicitly disclose wherein the wearable device comprises a mid-arm sleeve housing a digital blood pressure cuff, a pulse oximeter, a glucometer, an electrocardiogram monitor, a primary battery, a secondary battery or a combination thereof.
Sreedhara discloses wherein “the wearable device 110 is worn by the subject (not shown) for measuring one or more vital health parameters. The wearable device 110 houses a plurality of sensors including but not limited to a temperature sensor, a pressure sensor, a non-invasive blood glucose sensor, an oxygen saturation sensor and leads for heart rate monitoring. In another embodiment, one or more wearable devices 110 each housing a different sensor may be worn by the subject for measuring vital health parameters from the most proximal regions.” ([0028]).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one skilled in the art to arrive at the wearable devices being a mid-arm sleeve housing a digital blood pressure cuff, a pulse oximeter, and a glucometer, as these devices are well-known in the art of health monitoring for measuring/sensing these vital parameters (US 2021/0169417 A1).
Regarding claim 4, Sreedhara in view of Slavin further in view of Siedenburg teaches the system as claimed in claim 1 (as shown above). Sreedhara further discloses wherein the data processing technique comprises at least one of data collection, data cleaning data pre-processing, data transformation in a predefined format and data storage ([0034] “The data received from the one or more sensors housed in the wearable device 110 is processed by the analyser module 205 to generate a value for each of the one or more measured vital health parameters for every instance. For example, the electrical activity measured by the leads on the wearable device 110 are processed by the analyser module 205 to calculate the heart rate or pulse of the subject. In one embodiment, the analyser module 205 implements algorithms to correct the anomalies in the data received from the one or more sensors. For example, the temperature data received from the sensor may be adjusted by the analyser module 205 using contextual information such as the room temperature at the location of the subject.”).
Regarding claim 5, Sreedhara in view of in view of Slavin further in view of Siedenburg teaches the system as claimed in claim 1 (as shown above). Sreedhara further discloses wherein the one or more formats of the health alert comprises an alarm, a call, a push notification, a pop-up notification or an electronic mail ([0040] “the dispatcher module 220 is configured to raise an alert via SMS, IVR or other communication means to the one or more authorized users operating the user device 115a-115n including but not limited to the physician of the subject”).
Regarding claim 6, Sreedhara in view of in view of Slavin further in view of Siedenburg teaches the system as claimed in claim 1 (as shown above). Sreedhara further discloses wherein the one or more healthcare providers comprises at least one of a nurse, a doctor, a paramedical staff, a humanoid robotic assistant or a combination thereof ([0049] “the user device 420 operated by the physician of the subject”, [0040] “Further, the dispatcher module 220 is configured to raise an alert via SMS, IVR or other communication means to the one or more authorized users operating the user device 115a-115n including but not limited to the physician of the subject”).
Regarding claim 7, Sreedhara in view of Slavin further in view of in view of Slavin further in view of Siedenburg teaches the system as claimed in claim 1 (as shown above). Sreedhara fails to explicitly teach wherein the health monitoring device comprises an unmanned aerial vehicle.
However, Slavin teaches wherein the health monitoring device comprises an unmanned aerial vehicle (Column 8, lines 1-13: “The drone devices 170 may be an unmanned device that is capable of movement… the drone devices 170 may be able to fly, roll, walk, or otherwise move about a location. The drone devices 170 may include helicopter type devices (e.g., quad copters), rolling helicopter type devices (e.g., roller copter devices that can fly and also roll along the grounds, walls, or ceiling), land vehicle type devices (e.g., automated cars that drive around a property), and plane type devices (e.g., unmanned aircraft)”, Figure 4: 404E drones).
It would have been prima facie obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Sreedhara and Siedenburg to incorporate the teachings of Slavin to have the health monitoring device comprise an unmanned aerial vehicle, as these prior art references are directed to user health monitoring systems. One would be motivated to do this to be an the unmanned aerial vehicle device can safely and quickly retrieve data about the emergency/health alert and provide supplies and equipment essential for the emergency, as recognized by Slavin (Column 8, line 59 – Column 9, line 58).
Regarding claim 9, Sreedhara discloses a method (Abstract: “A system and method for automated health monitoring…also enable emergency medical care to be provided to the user”, vital health monitoring and alert system 100) comprising:
acquiring, by a health data acquisition module of a processing subsystem (receiver module, [0031] “The receiver module is configured to receive the measured data from the one or more sensors of the wearable device”), a plurality of health vitals associated with a patient via a wearable device (wearable device 110, [0028] “The wearable device 110 is worn by the subject (not shown) for measuring one or more vital health parameters.”);
processing, by a centralised health analysis module of the processing subsystem (Figure 2: an analyzer module 205, pattern generator module 210, prediction module 215), raw health data representative of the plurality of health vitals acquired from the patient using a data processing technique ([0034]);
detecting, by the centralised health analysis module of the processing subsystem, deviation in the raw health data representative of each of the plurality of health vitals from each of a corresponding threshold limit of health vitals upon processing the raw health data ([0038] “the prediction module 215 compares and/or correlates the patterns generated by the pattern generator module 210 with a sample data for each of the one or more vital health parameters to predict a deviation from the optimal values for the one or more vital health parameters. The sample data is, for example, provided as an input to the prediction module 215 from a crowd sourced data, a clinical data and the like. The predictions may further be correlated with clinical symptoms and stored in the database 225 for further assessment by authorized users. In an embodiment, a threshold value for each of the one or more vital health parameters is determined from the sample data and the patterns generated for the subject are compared with the said threshold value in order to determine the vital health status of the user”);
predicting, by a health alert generation module of the processing subsystem (Figure 2: prediction module 215 and dispatcher module 220), a risk associated with health condition of the patient in real-time based on the deviation in the raw health data representative of each of the plurality of health vitals detected ([0038]);
generating, by the health alert generation module of the processing subsystem, a health alert in one or more formats to notify one or more healthcare providers for providing healthcare service to the patient based on the risk associated with the health condition of the patient predicted ([0039]-[0040] “the dispatcher module 220 is configured to raise an alert via SMS, IVR or other communication means to the one or more authorized users operating the user device 115a-115n including but not limited to the physician of the subject… the dispatcher module 220 may be configured to communicate the vital health status, the predictions and the patterns associated with subject to a medical facility in the vicinity of the subject as well as to the subject itself upon determining a deviation of the vital health parameters of the subject from the optimal threshold.”);
receiving, by a health monitoring device (user devices 115, user device 410 and 420), the health alert generated associated with the health condition of the patient via the display interface (Figure 4: screen of the user devices 410 and 420, [0049] “the dispatcher module 220 of the system communicates customized status reports and/or alert notifications to the users and the notification further includes emergency alerts, if any, for the users”).
Sreedhara fails to explicitly disclose actuating the health monitoring device from a docking point to hover around a body part of the patient for thermal screening of the patient using the image acquisition unit based on the health alert received when the patient is mobile and responds to an interaction; and sending a doppler probe to a predefined zone marked in a neck of the patient for providing the healthcare service when the patient is immobile and unresponsive to the interaction.
However, Slavin teaches monitoring system, or more particularly a portable safety monitoring systems (Column 1, lines 13-14) teaches actuating the health monitoring device from a docking point to hover around a body part of the patient for thermal screening of the patient using the image acquisition unit based on the health alert received when the patient is mobile and responds to an interaction (Column 8, lines 1-50: “For example, the drone devices 170 may be capable of moving throughout a location based on automated control technology and/or user input control provided by either the user or by the devices connected to the monitoring platform 100…the drone devices 170 may be dispatched in response to an incident signal indicating that a user may require emergency assistance. For example, if a user has been injured during a known running route, the wearable device 150 may transmit data to the application server 180 from which the application server 180 may determine there is a likely safety incident, and in response, transmit an incident signal and a location of the user to the emergency notification server 190 and also transmit a dispatch instruction with the user location to the drone devices 170…once dispatched to a location where the user may require emergency assistance, the drone devices 170 may capture a video feed of the user showing the extent of injury and transmit the video feed to either the application server 180 or the emergency notification server 190 to alert emergency responders about the user's condition. In other examples, the drone devices 170 may be outfitted with thermal-imaging cameras”).
It would have been prima facie obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Sreedhara to incorporate the teachings of Slavin for actuating the health monitoring device from a docking point to hover around a body part of the patient for thermal screening of the patient using the image acquisition unit based on the health alert received when the patient is mobile and responds to an interaction, as these prior art references are directed to user health monitoring systems. One would be motivated to do this as the imaging of the body part can improve the chances of recovery, as recognized by Slavin (Column 7, lines 11-15).
Sreedhara and Slavin, alone or in combination, fail to explicitly teach sending a doppler probe to a predefined zone marked in a neck of the patient for providing the healthcare service when the patient is immobile and unresponsive to the interaction.
However, Siedenburg teaches a method and apparatus to non-invasively measure instantaneous blood pressure with patient-monitor sensors wherein a “person 82 could be a patient in a hospital or someone found unconscious. Person 82 is experiencing a medical condition which requires monitoring of the person 82. Person 82 may be a victim of cardiac arrest, or some other emergency, and consequently a patient…a portable vital signs monitor 100 has been brought close to a person 82” ([0023]-[0024]) which can “employ an ultrasound transducer 411 that may be affixed to a patient (e.g., patient 82) adjacent to any appropriate vein or artery. As illustrated, the ultrasound transducer 411 is affixed to the patient 82 adjacent to the patient's carotid artery” ([0050]) to measure “the patient’s pulse wave velocity and instantaneous blood velocity” ([0052], [0062]).
Although, Siedenburg doesn’t explicitly state that the patient is immobile and unresponsive to the interaction, it would have been obvious to one skilled in the art that an unconscious patient, as described in Siedenburg would be unable to respond to an interaction and be mobile.
It would have been prima facie obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Sreedhara and Slavin to incorporate the teachings of Siedenburg for sending a doppler probe to a predefined zone marked in a neck of the patient for providing the healthcare service when the patient is immobile and unresponsive to the interaction, as these prior art references are directed to monitoring the health of a patient. One would be motivated to do this as these are critical vitals that are needed urgently to determine a treatment/therapy.
Claim(s) 8 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Sreedhara in view of Slavin in view of Siedenburg as applied to claim 1 above, and further in view of Shaw et al. (US 2019/0095687 A1), hereinafter Shaw.
Regarding claim 8, Sreedhara in view of Slavin in view of Siedenburg discloses the system as claimed in claim 1 (as shown above). Sreedhara, Slavin, and Siedenburg, alone or in combination, fail to teach wherein the health monitoring device is operated by using a remote-control device.
However, Shaw teaches systems comprising of unmanned aerial vehicle, or done which includes sensos that can be used for emergency/health monitoring (Abstract) wherein the health monitoring device is operated by using a remote-control device ([0022] “The drone may further determine whether the individual requires a service, such as health assistance, based on the conditions within the monitored space and the individual”, [0029] “The drone data storage system 100 also includes or may be used in connection with a remote monitor 120. The remote monitor 120 may be provided by…a remote control…for controlling drones…the remote monitor 120 may communicate directly through the communication network 125 and/or indirectly through the drone docking station 110 to locate the drone 105 in the monitored space 102, identify the drone 105 in the monitored space 102, ascertain capabilities of the drone 105 in the monitored space 102, monitor the operating status of the drone 105 in the monitored space 102, receive sensor data provided by the drone 105 in the monitored space 102, provide instructions to the drone 105, and/or provide other functionality.”)
It would have been prima facie obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Sreedhara, Slavin, and Siedenburg to incorporate the teachings of Shaw to have the health monitoring device is operated by using a remote-control device, as these prior art references are directed to health monitoring devices. One would be motivated to do this so that a drone can be remotely navigated to locations where it might be difficult for a person/rescuer to reach.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
Cho et al. (US 2022/0369937 A1) teaches systems including medical devices and, more particularly, to monitoring of patient health using such systems comprising a drone such as an unmanned aerial device ([0043]).
Peberdy, Mary Ann, et al. "Cardiopulmonary resuscitation in adults and children with mechanical circulatory support: a scientific statement from the American Heart Association." Circulation 135.24 (2017): e1115-e1134. discloses the accuracy of a doppler probe.
Cohen, Allison, et al. "Time for a change: use of Doppler ultrasound for pulse checks in cardiac arrest patients." Circulation 142.Suppl_4 (2020): A128-A128. benefit of using a doppler probe over manual pulse check
Horelik et al. (US 2020/0346751 A1) discloses monitoring emergency events using an unmanned aerial vehicle (Abstract)
Cho et al. (US 2022/0369937 A1) discloses dispatching a drone to evaluate the condition of a patient ([0043])
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to ATTIYA SAYYADA HUSSAINI whose telephone number is (703)756-5921. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday 8:00 am - 5:00 pm.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Niketa Patel can be reached at 5712724156. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/ATTIYA SAYYADA HUSSAINI/Examiner, Art Unit 3792
/NIKETA PATEL/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 3792