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 .
Response to Preliminary Amendment
In response to applicant’s amendment received on 2/27/24, all requested changes to the specification and claims have been entered. Claims 1-14 were previously and are currently pending.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 101
35 U.S.C. 101 reads as follows:
Whoever invents or discovers any new and useful process, machine, manufacture, or composition of matter, or any new and useful improvement thereof, may obtain a patent therefor, subject to the conditions and requirements of this title.
Claim 14 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 101 because the claimed inventions are directed to non-statutory subject matter. The claims are directed to a “computer program product comprising program code”. A computer program is not a “process, machine, manufacture, or composition of matter” and therefore the claim is considered non-statutory (see MPEP 2106.03(I) which states “Non-limiting examples of claims that are not directed to any of the statutory categories include: Products that do not have a physical or tangible form, such as information (often referred to as "data per se") or a computer program per se (often referred to as "software per se") when claimed as a product without any structural recitations”).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 1-13 are allowed.
The following is an examiner’s statement of reasons for allowance:
Regarding independent claim 1, none of the prior art teach or fairly suggests the combination of limitations presented including “obtaining mandibular canal segmentation data comprising a plurality of possible mandibular canal voxels in a computerized tomography scan of a mandible, wherein each voxel in the plurality of possible mandibular canal voxels is associated with a probability value quantifying a probability that the voxel comprises a mandibular canal”, “forming a plurality of voxel structures by connecting neighbouring voxels with a probability value above a preconfigured probability value threshold in the possible mandibular canal voxels”, “forming a plurality of routes by skeletonizing each voxel structure in the plurality of voxel structures, wherein each route in the plurality of routes comprises a spatial curve of a corresponding voxel structure in the plurality of voxel structures”, “inspecting, for each route pair in the plurality of routes, whether the route pair fulfils a concatenation criterion, and in response to a route pair fulfilling the concatenation criterion, concatenating the route pair, thus forming a second plurality of routes” and “performing at least one check on at least one spatial feature of each route in the second plurality of routes and choosing at least one candidate mandibular canal pair from the second plurality of routes based on the at least one check”. The prior art of US 2024/0303927 to Birenbaum et al. (“Birenbaum”) discloses a similar process for analyzing segmentation data that includes obtaining a CT scan voxels associated with a vessel structure and based on voxel probabilities, skeletonizing and forming routes by concatenating voxels, detecting detailed vessel structure (Fig. 16). Additionally, the prior art article of “Deep Learning Method for Mandibular Canal Segmentation in Dental Cone Beam Computed Tomography Volumes” to Jaskari et al. (“Jaskari”) discloses a process for segmenting a CT scan comprising voxels associated with the mandible that includes analyzing voxel probabilities, skeletonizing and concatenating voxels (pages 6-7). However, neither Birenbaum, Jaskari, nor any other prior art found teach or fairly suggests the combination of detailed limitations as found in claim 1.
Any comments considered necessary by applicant must be submitted no later than the payment of the issue fee and, to avoid processing delays, should preferably accompany the issue fee. Such submissions should be clearly labeled “Comments on Statement of Reasons for Allowance.”
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. See attached PTO-892.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to AARON W CARTER whose telephone number is (571)272-7445. The examiner can normally be reached 8am - 5pm (Mon - Fri).
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, John Villecco can be reached at (571) 272-7319. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/AARON W CARTER/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2661
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