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 Amendment
Applicant’s amendment dated June 29, 2026 is acknowledged. Currently claims 1-15 are pending in this application.
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments filed June 29, 2026 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive inasmuch as they apply to the amended rejection required by the amendments to the claims.
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.
Claims 1-15 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Fenner et al. (US 2014/0273824, as previously cited) in view of Bryant (US 2009/0254037).
Regarding claim 1, Fenner discloses a system for identifying an active medical implant, comprising:
an active medical implant configured to store information related to the active medical implant in a memory of the active medical implant (e.g. implantable device 108 which includes NFC 110 as disclosed in Figure 1; [0004], [0052]),
wherein the active medical implant has:
a first short-range communication module (e.g. NFC component 110; [0004]); and
a mobile terminal having a second short-range communication module configured to directly communicate with the first short-range communication module of the active medical implant via a communication link (e.g. remote device 106; [0004], [0007]);
wherein the active medical implant is configured to transmit the information related to the active medical implant to the mobile terminal via the communication link (e.g. transmission of information via the NFC protocol as disclosed in [0004], [0066],).
Fenner does not expressly disclose wherein the first short-range communication module and the second short-range communication module are configured to establish the communication link using a pairing mode based on a communication protocol that will abort the pairing mode after a predetermined number of pairing attempts has occurred for establishing the communication link, wherein the pairing mode will be established only for a predetermined duration. Bryant discloses that it was known in the art of medical devices to establish a communication link using a pairing mode based on a communication protocol (e.g. pairing mode as disclosed in [0009] wherein the pairing mode will abort the pairing mode after a predetermined number of pairing attempts (e.g. as describe in [0009]) wherein the pairing mode will be established only for a predetermined amount of time (e.g. pairing will necessarily only occur for a predetermined amount of time. It would have been obvious to include the pairing mode of Bryant in the device of Fenner since such a modification would provide the system with the predictable results of a reliable means of pairing the devices.
Regarding claim 2, Fenner additionally discloses wherein the mobile terminal is configured to send an information transmission request to the active medical implant to request the transmission of the information related to the active medical implant , and wherein the active medical implant is configured to transmit the information related to the active medical implant upon receipt of the information transmission request (e.g. [0004]; ("transmission is in response to a received request signal").
Regarding claim 3, Fenner additionally discloses whereinwherein the first short-range communication module and the second short-range communication module are configured for at least one of Near Field Communication and Bluetooth (e.g. NFC protocol as discussed in Abstract).
Regarding claim 4, Fenner additionally discloses wherein the first short-range communication module and the second short-range communication module are configured to establish the communication link using a pairing mode, wherein a number of pairing attempts to establish the communication link is equal to, or less than, a predetermined number, and/or a duration of the pairing mode is equal to, or less than, a predetermined duration (e.g. [0096] and Fig. 12, wherein the duration of the "pairing mode" is considered to be equal to the time the first communication protocol is used, steps 1202-1206 in Fig. 12);
Regarding claim 5, Fenner additionally discloses wherein the first short-range communication module of the active medical implant is switchable by means of an external magnet device (e.g. magnetic induction request signal as disclosed in [0056]).
Regarding claim 6, Fenner additionally discloses wherein the information related to the active medical implant include a serial number of the active medical implant (e.g. serial number as disclosed in [0066]).
Regarding claim 7, Fenner additionally discloses wherein the active medical implant is configured to encrypt the information related to the active medical implant before transmission thereof to the mobile terminal, and wherein the mobile terminal is configured to decrypt the information related to the active medical implant which have been received from the active medical implant (e.g. the secure channel as disclosed in [0029] will necessarily require encryption and decryption).
Regarding claim 8, Fenner additionally discloses wherein the memory in which the information related to the active medical implant are stored is a dedicated memory which is logically and/or physically separate from other memories of the active medical implant (e.g. memory 312 of NFC device as disclosed in [0052]; Figure 3).
Regarding claim 9, Fenner additionally discloses wherein the active medical implant includes a processor module configured to control the storing of the information related to the active medical implant and/or the transmitting of the information related to the active medical implant to the mobile terminal , wherein the processor module is a dedicated processor module which is logically and/or physically separate from other processor modules of the active medical implant (e.g. processor 308 of NFC device as disclosed in [0052]; Figure 3).
Regarding claim 10, Fenner additionally discloses wherein the communication link between the first short-range communication module and the second short-range communication module is a dedicated communication link which is logically separate from other communication links of the active medical implant (e.g. antenna 306 of NFC device as disclosed in [0052]; Figure 3).
Regarding claim 11, Fenner additionally discloses wherein the active medical implant is configured to communicate with an external programming device to receive the information related to the active medical implant for storage in the memory (e.g. communication between external service and remote device 106 as disclosed in [0030]).
Regarding claim 12, Fenner additionally discloses wherein the mobile terminal is a smartphone (e.g. smart-phone as disclosed in [0060]).
Regarding claim 13, Fenner additionally discloses wherein the active medical implant is selected from the group consisting of a cardiovascular medical device and a neurostimulation device (e.g. devices as disclosed in [0059]).
Regarding claims 14 and 15, Fenner disclose a method for identifying an active medical implant and related machine-readable medium comprising:
storing information related to the active medical implant in a memory of the active medical implant (e.g. memory 312 on NFC device 300 as shown in Figure 3);
sending by a mobile terminal, an information transmission request to the active medical implant requesting a transmission of the information related to the active medical implant from the active medical implant to the mobile terminal, wherein the information transmission request is sent via a direct communication link between a first short-range communication module of the active medical implant and a second short-range communication module of the mobile terminal (e.g. transmission of information between remote device 106 and NFC device 110 located on medical device 108; [0004], [0066]).; and
transmitting, by the active medical implant, the information related to the active medical implant to the mobile terminal via the communication link (e.g. transmission of information via the NFC protocol as disclosed in [0004], [0066]).
Fenner does not expressly disclose wherein the first short-range communication module and the second short-range communication module are configured to establish the communication link using a pairing mode based on a communication protocol that will abort the pairing mode after a predetermined number of pairing attempts has occurred for establishing the communication link, wherein the pairing mode will be established only for a predetermined duration. Bryant discloses that it was known in the art of medical devices to establish a communication link using a pairing mode based on a communication protocol (e.g. pairing mode as disclosed in [0009] wherein the pairing mode will abort the pairing mode after a predetermined number of pairing attempts (e.g. as describe in [0009]) wherein the pairing mode will be established only for a predetermined amount of time (e.g. pairing will necessarily only occur for a predetermined amount of time. It would have been obvious to include the pairing mode of Bryant in the device of Fenner since such a modification would provide the system with the predictable results of a reliable means of pairing the devices.
Conclusion
Applicant's amendment necessitated the new ground(s) of rejection presented in this Office action. Accordingly, THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. See MPEP § 706.07(a). Applicant is reminded of the extension of time policy as set forth in 37 CFR 1.136(a).
A shortened statutory period for reply to this final action is set to expire THREE MONTHS from the mailing date of this action. In the event a first reply is filed within TWO MONTHS of the mailing date of this final action and the advisory action is not mailed until after the end of the THREE-MONTH shortened statutory period, then the shortened statutory period will expire on the date the advisory action is mailed, and any nonprovisional extension fee (37 CFR 1.17(a)) pursuant to 37 CFR 1.136(a) will be calculated from the mailing date of the advisory action. In no event, however, will the statutory period for reply expire later than SIX MONTHS from the mailing date of this final action.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Amanda K Hulbert whose telephone number is (571)270-1912. The examiner can normally be reached Monday - Friday 9:00-5:00.
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/Amanda K Hulbert/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3792
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