DETAILED ACTION
This office action is in response to the communication received on concerning application No. 18/713,596 filed on May 24, 2024.
Claims 1-15 are currently pending.
Claim 8-15 are withdrawn.
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 Arguments
Applicant's arguments filed 10/24/2025 regarding the 35 USC 112 rejection have been fully considered. The amendments to the claims have been entered and overcome the 35 USC 112b rejection of claim 5 previously set forth. Examiner notes that the claim amendments have led to further 112 issues.
Applicant's arguments filed 10/24/2025 regarding the prior art rejection have been fully considered but they are not persuasive. In response to the applicant’s arguments that the prior art fails to teach “transmitting sound waves from the transmitters of the ultrasound transducer within a transmit aperture with transmitter time delays being programed in such a way that sound waves are the C-wave beams that bend inward on both edges in a C shape…the coherent wavefront includes a variable tilt angle and a variable apex, and the variable apex moved away from a center of the ultrasound transducer as the variable tilt angle increases in absolute value…the variable apex is an acoustical energy always focusing center of the coherent wave”, examiner respectfully disagrees. [0027] of Cogan discloses “an ASIC within the probe 12 can impart respective time delays to generate temporally offset pulsed waveforms that are applied to respective transducer elements 18. These temporal offsets result in different activation times of the respective transducer elements 18 such that the wavefront of acoustic energy emitted by the transducer array 16 is effectively steered or directed in a particular direction with respect to the surface of the transducer array 16. Thus, by adjusting the time delays associated with the pulsed waveforms that energize the respective transducer elements 18, the ultrasonic beam can be directed toward or away from an axis associated with surface of the transducer array 16 by a specified angle (θ) and focused at a fixed range, R, within the patient tissue” figs. 8-9 show the shape of the sound waves are C-wave beams that bend inward and both edges. Applicant further argues that Cogan does not teach anything about the C-wave beams of claim 1. However, as discussed in [0027] of Cogan and figs. 8-9, the wavefronts of acoustic energy (beams) are formed into a C shape by the time delays applied to the transducer elements, thereby making the shape of the transmissions a C shape which form the C-wave beams. While figs. 8-9 of Cogan specifically relate to the delay time being applied to each element of the transducer, the resulting wavefront generated by using the delays is a C shape, C-wave beam because the delay time increases from the outer elements of the transducer to the center element of the transducer. [0027] of Cogan further teaches “the angle θ is thus incrementally changed to steer the transmitted beam in a succession of steering direction”, disclosing the generated wavefront includes a variable tilt angle. fig. 10 further shows the apex moving away from the center of the probe as the tilt angle is steered 15 degrees, thereby making the apex a variable apex. [0027] also teaches “the ultrasonic beam can be directed toward or away from an axis associated with surface of the transducer array 16 by a specified angle (θ) and focused at a fixed range, R, within the patient tissue” and figs. 8-9 show the variable apex is always at the center of the generated wavefront. Therefore, as the specified angle of the transmitted beam is changed so does the variable apex. For at least these reasons, Cogan teaches the argued limitation recited above.
Further, regarding applicants reliance on [0046] of the present applications specification discussed on pg. 7 of the remarks discloses “beams in out C-wave data acquisition always focus acoustic energies toward the center of the image domain”, examiner notes that having the beams be always focused toward the center of the image domain is not the same as the variable apex being an acoustical energy always focusing center of the coherent wave. This is because the quote from [0046] is referencing the focus point of the beam within the patient and the variable apex is a characteristic of the coherent wavefront itself as shown in fig. 2 on pg. 7 of the remarks.
Claim Objections
Claims 1, 4, 5, and 7 are objected to because of the following informalities:
Claim 1, line 9, “the coherent wave” should read “a coherent wave”,
Claim 1, lines 14-15, “the center of an ellipse” should read “a center of an ellipse”,
Claim 4, lines 1-2, “the elements at both edges of the ultrasound transducer…the elements at the center of the ultrasound transducer” should read “elements of the plurality elements at both edges of the ultrasound transducer…elements of the plurality of elements at the center of the ultrasound transducer”,
Claim 5, line 1, “the absolute value” should read “an absolute value”,
Claim 7, line 5, “spraying the data samples” should read “spraying data samples”,
Claim 7, line 8, “all traces in the data” should read “all traces in the input data”.
Appropriate correction is required.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
The following is a quotation of the first paragraph of 35 U.S.C. 112(a):
(a) IN GENERAL.—The specification shall contain a written description of the invention, and of the manner and process of making and using it, in such full, clear, concise, and exact terms as to enable any person skilled in the art to which it pertains, or with which it is most nearly connected, to make and use the same, and shall set forth the best mode contemplated by the inventor or joint inventor of carrying out the invention.
The following is a quotation of the first paragraph of pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112:
The specification shall contain a written description of the invention, and of the manner and process of making and using it, in such full, clear, concise, and exact terms as to enable any person skilled in the art to which it pertains, or with which it is most nearly connected, to make and use the same, and shall set forth the best mode contemplated by the inventor of carrying out his invention.
Claims 1-7 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(a) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), first paragraph, as failing to comply with the written description requirement. The claim(s) contains subject matter which was not described in the specification in such a way as to reasonably convey to one skilled in the relevant art that the inventor or a joint inventor, or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the inventor(s), at the time the application was filed, had possession of the claimed invention. Claim 1 recites the limitation “wherein the variable apex is an acoustical energy always focusing center of the coherent wave”, which is not recited in the specification in such a way that conveys the inventor had possession of the limitation at the time the application was filed. Fig. 2 of the application shows the variable apex of the coherent wave is at the center of the coherent wave but no where in the specification could it be found that discloses the variable apex is always at the center of the coherent wave. [0047] of the specification discloses “beams in out C-wave data acquisition always focus acoustic energies toward the center of the image domain”, however this is referencing the focus point of the acoustic energies within the patient and not the coherent wave itself. For at least this reason the limitation recited above is considered new matter.
Claims dependent upon the rejected claims above, but not directly addressed, are also rejected because they inherit the indefiniteness of the claim(s) they respectively depend upon.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
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.
(a)(2) the claimed invention was described in a patent issued under section 151, or in an application for patent published or deemed published under section 122(b), in which the patent or application, as the case may be, names another inventor and was effectively filed before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claim(s) 1-2 and 4-7 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being unpatentable by Cogan et al. (US 20140243676, hereinafter Cogan).
Regarding claim 1, Cogan teaches a method of acquiring ultrasound radio-frequency (RF) data using C-wave beams ([0026] discloses acquiring ultrasound data using a probe. figs. 8-9 show a C-wave beam is used), comprising:
providing an ultrasound transducer, the ultrasound transducer including a plurality of elements acting as both transmitters and receivers ([0024] discloses probe 12 which includes transducer array 16 having a plurality of transducer elements 18 that both transmit and receive acoustic energy);
transmitting sound waves from the transmitters of the ultrasound transducer within a transmit aperture ([0024] discloses transmitting acoustic energy (sound waves) using the transducer elements of the transducer array) with transmitter time delays being programed in such a way that sound waves are the C-wave beams that bend inward on both edges in a C shape ([0027] “an ASIC within the probe 12 can impart respective time delays to generate temporally offset pulsed waveforms that are applied to respective transducer elements 18. These temporal offsets result in different activation times of the respective transducer elements 18 such that the wavefront of acoustic energy emitted by the transducer array 16 is effectively steered or directed in a particular direction with respect to the surface of the transducer array 16. Thus, by adjusting the time delays associated with the pulsed waveforms that energize the respective transducer elements 18, the ultrasonic beam can be directed toward or away from an axis associated with surface of the transducer array 16 by a specified angle (θ) and focused at a fixed range, R, within the patient tissue” figs. 8-9 show the shape of the sound waves are C-wave beams that bend inward and both edges); and
receiving the sound waves using the receivers of the ultrasound transducer ([0024] discloses receiving acoustic energy (sound waves) using the transducer elements of the transducer array),
wherein the coherent wavefront includes a variable tilt angle and a variable apex, and the variable apex moves away from a center of the ultrasound transducer as the variable tilt angle increases in absolute value ([0027] discloses the angle of the transmitted beam is changed making it a variable tile angle. figs. 8 and 9 further show the apex of the wavefront is variable and moved away from a center of the ultrasound transducer as the tilt angle increases in absolute value as shown in fig. 8);
wherein the variable apex is an acoustical energy always focusing center of the coherent wave ([0027] “ the ultrasonic beam can be directed toward or away from an axis associated with surface of the transducer array 16 by a specified angle (θ) and focused at a fixed range, R, within the patient tissue”. figs. 8-10 further show that as the tilt angle of the coherent wave changes the variable apex also changes and stays at the center of the coherent wave); and
wherein the variable tilt angle is an angle between a line connecting the center of an ellipse of the C-wave wavefront and the center of the ultrasound transducer and a vertical line passing the center of the ultrasound transducer ([0027] and figs. 8-9 disclose the angle is an angle between the axis associated with the transducer array and a center of an ellipse of the C-wave wavefront).
Regarding claim 2, Cogan teaches the method of claim 1, as set forth above. Cogan further teaches the ultrasound transducer is a linear array transducer, a curved array transducer, a phased array transducer, or a matrix array transducer ([0002] and [0033] discloses the transducer array is a linear array transducer or matrix array).
Regarding claim 4, Cogan teaches the method of claim 1, as set forth above. Cogan further teaches the elements at both edges of the ultrasound transducer start transmission earlier than the elements at the center of the ultrasound transducer with a time slope that is a function of the variable tilt angle and the variable apex ([0056] disclose the elements at both edges of the transducer start transmitting earlier than the elements at the center of the transducer. [0027] and figs. 8-9 disclose the time delays are a function of the tilt angle and apex).
Regarding claim 5, Cogan teaches the method of claim 1, as set forth above. Cogan further teaches the absolute value of the tilt angle is equal or greater than 0 and equal or less than a predefined positive number. The predefined positive number is 20, 25, 30, 32, 34, 36, 38, 40, 45, 50, 55, 60, 65, 70, 75, 80, 85, or 90 ([0027] discloses the angle is specified (predefined). Since the absolute value of a number is always non-negative the specified angle of Cogan is equal or greater than 0 and equal or less than a predefined positive number (the value of the specified angle). Additionally, since it is not possible for the coherent wave to be tilted at an angle greater than 90 degrees, which would result in the transducer steering the beam behind the transducer, the angle is less than 90).
Regarding claim 6, Cogan teaches the method of claim 1, as set forth above. Cogan further teaches the C-wave beams have a 3D bowl shape with two variable tilt angles and one variable apex (claim 11 discloses first distributing the waveforms in a first dimension and then distributing the waveforms in a second dimension, which results in the C-wave having a 3D bowl shape with two variable tile angles and one variable apex. Also see [0039]).
Regarding claim 7, Cogan teaches the method of claim 1, as set forth above. Cogan further teaches (i) taking a trace from input data acquired using the C-wave beams ([0028] “the receive circuitry 22 amplifies the separate echo signals”);
(ii) optionally performing a frequency filtering to protect the trace from aliasing or excessive wavelet distortion during beamforming;
(iii) spraying the data samples of the trace along impulse response curves ([0028] “imparts the proper time delay to each”);
(iv) accumulating contributions at each image location ([0028] “sums them to provide a single echo signal which represents the total acoustic energy reflected”), optionally forming partial image volumes for generation of common image point gathers;
(v) repeating steps (i) - (iv) for all traces in the data ([0028] discloses the process is performed for each received echo signal); and
(vi) performing post processing and coherent compounding to obtain a final image ([0032] “conversion circuitry 38 receives the various series of data points produced by the receive circuitry 22 and converts the data into the desired image”).
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.
The factual inquiries for establishing a background for determining obviousness under 35 U.S.C. 103 are summarized as follows:
1. Determining the scope and contents of the prior art.
2. Ascertaining the differences between the prior art and the claims at issue.
3. Resolving the level of ordinary skill in the pertinent art.
4. Considering objective evidence present in the application indicating obviousness or nonobviousness.
Claim(s) 3 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Cogan in view of Maresca et al. (US 20190314001, hereinafter Maresca).
Regarding claim 3, Cogan teaches the method of claim 1, as set forth above. Cogan does not specifically teach a first group of the elements of the ultrasound transducer transmit a first local coherent wave propagating in a first inward direction, a second group of elements of the ultrasound transducer transmits a second local coherent wave in a second inward direction; the first inward direction opposes the second inward direction; and the first local coherent wave and second local coherent wave combine to form the C- wave beams.
However,
Maresca in a similar field of endeavor teaches a first group of the elements of the ultrasound transducer transmit a first local coherent wave propagating in a first inward direction, a second group of elements of the ultrasound transducer transmits a second local coherent wave in a second inward direction ([0116] “fig. 9C depicts the active transducer elements of both the left sub-aperture 924 and the right sub-aperture 926 of the linear transducer array 901 during operations (i) and (ii) that simultaneously transmit both plane waves”. See fig. 9C); the first inward direction opposes the second inward direction (fig. 9C shows the first inward direction opposes the second inward direction); and the first local coherent wave and second local coherent wave combine to form the C-wave beams (the result of the left and right sub-apertures simultaneously transmitting plane waves is a combined C-wave beam).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to substitute the transmitting of sounds waves with time delays of Cogan for the transmitting of first and second local coherent waves of Maresca because it amounts to simple substitution of one known element for another to obtain the predictable results of forming a C-wave beam.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
Hynynen (US 20190000416) discloses maintaining the variable apex at the focusing center of the coherent wave (see fig. 2).
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 ANDREW BEGEMAN whose telephone number is (571)272-4744. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Thursday 8:30-5:00.
Examiner interviews are available via telephone, in-person, and video conferencing using a USPTO supplied web-based collaboration tool. To schedule an interview, applicant is encouraged to use the USPTO Automated Interview Request (AIR) at http://www.uspto.gov/interviewpractice.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Keith Raymond can be reached at 5712701790. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/ANDREW W BEGEMAN/Examiner, Art Unit 3798