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 .
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 1-4, 8, 10, and 14-16 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by WO 2020/106890 A1 granted to Mitchell.
In reference to claim 1, Mitchell discloses a vascular access device comprising: a hub [e.g. device 100] comprising a housing [e.g. housing 102] defining a reservoir [e.g. reservoir 104] configured to receive a fluid therein; a catheter comprising a proximal end portion configured to be secured to the hub, a distal end portion configured to be positioned within a cardiovascular system of a patient, and a lumen extending therethrough, the lumen being in fluid communication with the reservoir [e.g. 0041]; a sensing element [e.g. sensing element 110] carried by the catheter [e.g. 0046], the sensing element being configured to obtain data characterizing at least one of a physiological parameter of a patient or a performance parameter of the vascular access device [e.g. 0036-0038]; and a data communications module [e.g. controller 112] communicatively coupled to the sensing element and configured to transmit the data obtained by the sensing element to an external computing device [e.g. 0050].
In reference to claim 2, Mitchell discloses herein the data communications module is carried by the housing of the hub [e.g. 0073].
In reference to claim 3, Mitchell discloses wherein the sensing element is configured to communicate with the data communications module via a wireless connection [e.g. 0073].
In reference to claim 4, Mitchell discloses comprising a conductive element having a first portion electrically coupled to the sensing element and a second portion electrically coupled to the data communications module [e.g. 0073-0074].
In reference to claim 8, Mitchell discloses comprising a battery in electrical communication with the sensing element [e.g. 0070].
In reference to claim 10, Mitchell discloses wherein the sensing element is at least partially exposed to the lumen of the catheter and/or an environment surrounding the catheter [e.g. 0069].
In reference to claim 14, Mitchell discloses wherein the physiological parameter of the patient comprises at least one of a heart rate of the patient, a central venous pressure of the patient, a respiratory rate of the patient, a respiratory sound of the patient, a cardiac sound of the patient, a gastrointestinal sound of the patient, a speech of the patient, a core temperature of the patient, an electrical signal of a heart of the patient, an activity level of the patient, a blood oxygenation of the patient, or a blood glucose of the patient [e.g. 0034].
In reference to claim 15, Mitchell discloses wherein the performance parameter of the vascular access device comprises at least one of a flow rate within the lumen of the catheter, a pressure in the lumen of the catheter, a temperature of the catheter, an electrical impedance of the sensing element, or a charge level of a battery of the device [e.g. 0055].
In reference to claim 16, Mitchell discloses a vascular access device comprising: a hub [e.g. device 100] comprising a housing [e.g. housing 102] defining a reservoir [e.g. reservoir 104] configured to receive a fluid therein; a catheter comprising a proximal end portion configured to be secured to the hub, a distal end portion configured to be positioned within a cardiovascular system of a patient, and a lumen extending therethrough, the lumen being in fluid communication with the reservoir [e.g. 0041]; a sensing element [e.g. sensing element 110] carried by the catheter [e.g. 0046], the sensing element being configured to obtain data characterizing at least one of a physiological parameter of a patient or a performance parameter of the vascular access device [e.g. 0036-0038]; wherein the distal end portion of the catheter is separable from the intermediate portion of the catheter such that the length of the catheter is adjustable [e.g. 0041].
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 5-7, 9, 11-13, and 17-20 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
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/NADIA A MAHMOOD/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3796