DETAILED ACTION
Non-Final Rejection
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 .
Benefit of an Earlier Filing
Acknowledgment is made of applicant’s claim for foreign priority under 35 U.S.C. 119 (a)-(d). The certified copy has been filed in Foreign Application No. (IN) 202341042905 filed on 27th June, 2023.
Specification
The lengthy specification (more than 20 pages) has not been checked to the extent necessary to determine the presence of all possible minor errors. Applicant's cooperation is requested in correcting any errors of which applicant may become aware in the specification.
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 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.
(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 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102“(a)(1)” or “(a)(2)” or both as being anticipated by TOMOV (Delay generation methods with reduced memory requirements. Medical Imaging 2003: Ultrasonic Imaging and Signal Processing, William F. Walker, Michael F. Insana, Editors, Proceedings of SPIE Vol. 5035 (2003) © 2003 SPIE · 1605-7422/03/)
Referring to Claim 1, TOMOV teaches an apparatus (Pg. 491; ABSTRACT: The algorithms were synthesized for a FPGA device XCV2000E-7, for a phased array image […]) comprising:
at least one memory (Pg. 498-499; 6. PIECEWISE-LINEAR APPROXIMATION; Fig. 9: shows a memory supplying parameters to the piecewise-linear delay generator);
programmable circuitry coupled to the memory (Pg. 491; ABSTRACT: The algorithms were synthesized for a FPGA device XCV2000E-7, for a phased array image […]; Pg. 498-499; 6. PIECEWISE-LINEAR APPROXIMATION; Fig. 9: programmable logic) and configured to execute machine readable instructions in the at least one memory to cause the programmable circuitry to at least:
determine beamforming delay profiles for a plurality of channels (Pg. 491; ABSTRACT: Modern diagnostic ultrasound beamformers require delay information for each sample along the image lines; 1. INTRODUCTION: A number of receive channels perform focusing along the image lines as the transmitted wave propagates in depth. The process is called beamforming. For the purpose of maintaining focus as the depth increases, the delay applied to the echo signal samples on different channels has to change […]), the beamforming delay profiles including delay values corresponding to a distance from a channel for a beamline (Pg. 493-494; 3. INDEX GENERATION GEOMETRY; Equations (4) and (5): The distance from the beam origin to a focal point P along the scan line is denoted d f and the echo path is denoted dr. The full path of the ultrasound wave is denoted p=df +dr. The distance between the beam origin center and the receiving element is denoted with x and the angle between the scan line and the normal to the transducer surface is denoted ϕ; Pg. 494; 4. GENERAL PARAMETRIC APPROACH; 4.1. Transformation to clock periods (clock cycles); Equations (6) and (7): The aim of the delay generation approach is for every output sample to produce delays […] for each channel […]. For this purpose, the algorithm is expected to generate delays at a rate of one value per output sample. The leading variable in (6) is the instant focal depth d, which changes by Δ = cTs=2 with each clock cycle. Dividing both sides of (6) by the squared distance Δ2 converts the computation unit into clock cycles);
split the beamforming delay profiles into a plurality of segments (Pg. 498-499; 6. PIECEWISE-LINEAR APPROXIMATION: The delay curve can be approximated using a piecewise-linear approximation, as shown in Fig. 8, where axis t represents the time and axis n represents the sample index. The number of segments is determined by the magnitude of the acceptable error and the curvature of the delay profile […] After determining the number of necessary segments […]);
fit the plurality of segments of the beamforming delay profiles to linear segments (Pg. 498-499; 6. PIECEWISE-LINEAR APPROXIMATION: The delay curve can be approximated using a piecewise-linear approximation, as shown in Fig. 8, where axis t represents the time and axis n represents the sample index. The number of segments is determined by the magnitude of the acceptable error and the curvature of the delay profile […] After determining the number of necessary segments […]);
generate piece-wise beamforming delay profiles including initial values of the beamforming delay profiles, slopes of the linear segments of the plurality of segments, and durations of the plurality of segments (Pg. 498-499; 6. PIECEWISE-LINEAR APPROXIMATION: A simple logic for the delay generation using that method is shown in Fig. 9. It is very simple and can operate at very high speed. An adder adds the slope to the current delay on each clock cycle. When the segment counter reaches the end of the current segment, new segment length and slope are loaded. The focusing data is represented by an initial sample index and pairs of slope and length for each segment. Delta encoding can be used for the slope information and the segment length, and is used in our study);
store the piece-wise beamforming delay profiles for beamforming (Pg. 498-499; 6. PIECEWISE-LINEAR APPROXIMATION; Fig. 9: depicts the piecewise-linear delay generator including a memory; slope register, segment length counter, and parameter delay initial, showing that the piecewise-linear parameters are stored and supplied to the delay generator).
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
This application currently names joint inventors. In considering patentability of the claims the examiner presumes that the subject matter of the various claims was commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the claimed invention(s) absent any evidence to the contrary. Applicant is advised of the obligation under 37 CFR 1.56 to point out the inventor and effective filing dates of each claim that was not commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the later invention in order for the examiner to consider the applicability of 35 U.S.C. 102(b)(2)(C) for any potential 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) prior art against the later invention.
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 set forth in Graham v. John Deere Co., 383 U.S. 1, 148 USPQ 459 (1966), that are applied for establishing a background for determining obviousness under 35 U.S.C. 103 are summarized as follows:
Determining the scope and contents of the prior art.
Ascertaining the differences between the prior art and the claims at issue.
Resolving the level of ordinary skill in the pertinent art.
Considering objective evidence present in the application indicating obviousness or nonobviousness.
Claim(s) 2-7 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over TOMOV as applied to Claim(s) 1 above and further in view of PRICE (US 2019/0361102 A1).
Referring to Claim 2, TOMOV teaches the apparatus of claim 1, but doesn’t explicitly teach wherein the programmable circuitry is further configured to: determine a reference gain profile, the reference gain profile including gain values corresponding to a distance of a focus point from the channel for the beamline; determine an expansion profile for the reference gain profile. However, TOMOV is directed to delay generation and delay-memory reduction and not expressly a reference gain (apodization) profile.
PRICE teaches determine a reference gain profile ([0013]: The sequencer is further configured to compress each of the plurality of delay profiles and each of the plurality of apodization profiles), the reference gain profile including gain values corresponding to a distance of a focus point from the channel for the beamline ([0035]: The control signals represent a delay and apodization (gain) for each delay line […] the beamformer output provides maximum gain for scatterers […] the location of the focal point determines the apodization […]); and
determine an expansion profile for the reference gain profile ([0043]: Apodization is handled by parameterizing a time-varying affine transformation between the transducer element coordinates and the domain of the desired window function (e.g. Hamming); [0045]: A new set of delay and apodization coefficients are determined for each period; [0082]: Another benefit of the codec handling delay and apodization profiles separately is that various delay and apodization profiles have different shapes, numerical ranges, and accuracy requirements).
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the apparatus disclosed in TOMOV with the programmable circuitry taught in PRICE with a reasonable expectation of success because it would have provided both delay and gain control for dynamic beamforming by reducing beamformer data through parameterized profile generation, thereby improving memory efficiency and reducing interface bandwidth.
Referring to Claim 3, TOMOV teaches the apparatus of claim 2, wherein the plurality of segments are a first plurality of segments (Pg. 498, 6. PIECEWISE-LINEAR APPROXIMATION: The delay curve can be approximated using a piecewise-linear approximation, [...] The number of segments is determined by the magnitude of the acceptable error and the curvature of the delay profile), and the programmable circuitry is further configured to:
PRICE teaches split the expansion profile into a second plurality of segments ([0043]: Apodization is handled by parameterizing a time-varying affine transformation between the transducer element coordinates and the domain of the desired window function […]);
fit the second plurality of segments of the expansion profile to linear segments ([0045]: […] A new set of delay and apodization coefficients are determined for each period […]; [0112]: Delay and apodization fits are updated synchronously every 10 cycles).
Referring to Claim 4, PRICE teaches the apparatus of claim 3, wherein the programmable circuitry is further configured to:
generate a piece-wise expansion profile ([0043]: Apodization is handled by parameterizing a time-varying affine transformation between the transducer element coordinates and the domain of the desired window function […]) including an initial value of the expansion profile ([0109]-[0110]) , slopes of the linear segments of the second plurality of segments ([0112]: Delay and apodization fits are updated synchronously every 10 cycles), and durations of the second plurality of segments ([0045]: A new set of delay and apodization coefficients are determined for each period);
store the piece-wise expansion profile and the reference gain profile for beamforming ([0013]; Fig. 1).
Referring to Claim 5, PRICE teaches the apparatus of claim 4, wherein the expansion profile characterizes at least one of a compression or expansion of gain values ([0043]) of the reference gain profile ([0013]) per depth of the focus point in an image ([0035]).
Referring to Claim 6, TOMOV teaches the apparatus of claim 1, wherein the piece-wise beamforming delay profiles include a piece-wise delay profile for each channel of the plurality of channels (Pg. 494; 4. GENERAL PARAMETRIC APPROACH; 4.1. Transformation to clock periods (clock cycles): The aim of the delay generation approach is for every output sample to produce delays (sample indexes, RAM addresses) that for each channel are pointing to the appropriate sample, necessary for the focusing of the output sample For this purpose, the algorithm is expected to generate delays at a rate of one value per output sample) and each beamline of a plurality of beamlines that form an image (Pg. 493; 3. INDEX GENERATION GEOMETRY: The images produced by contemporary ultrasound scanners consist of straight lines originating from the transducer surface), the piece-wise delay profile for each channel and each beamline having a slope for each segment of the plurality of segments (Pg. 499; 6. PIECEWISE-LINEAR APPROXIMATION: An adder adds the slope to the current delay on each clock cycle. When the segment counter reaches the end of the current segment, new segment length and slope are loaded. The focusing data is represented by an initial sample index and pairs of slope and length for each segment).
PRICE teaches an initial value ([0109]; [0111]).
Referring to Claim 7, TOMOV teaches the apparatus of claim 1, wherein the programmable circuitry is further configured to supply the piece-wise beamforming delay profiles (Pg. 494; 4. GENERAL PARAMETRIC APPROACH; 4.1. Transformation to clock periods (clock cycles): The aim of the delay generation approach is for every output sample to produce delays (sample indexes, RAM addresses) that for each channel are pointing to the appropriate sample, necessary for the focusing of the output sample. For this purpose, the algorithm is expected to generate delays at a rate of one value per output sample).
PRICE teaches a reference gain profile ([0013]), and a piece-wise expansion profile ([0043]) to beamforming circuitry ([0013]; [0038]).
Claim(s) 8-14 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over TOMOV in view of PRICE.
Referring to Claim 8, TOMOV teaches an apparatus (Pg. 491; ABSTRACT: The algorithms were synthesized for a FPGA device XCV2000E-7, for a phased array image […]) comprising:
at least one memory (Pg. 498-499; 6. PIECEWISE-LINEAR APPROXIMATION; Fig. 9: shows a memory supplying parameters to the piecewise-linear delay generator);
programmable circuitry coupled to the memory (Pg. 491; ABSTRACT: The algorithms were synthesized for a FPGA device XCV2000E-7, for a phased array image […]; Pg. 498-499; 6. PIECEWISE-LINEAR APPROXIMATION; Fig. 9: programmable logic) and configured to execute machine readable instructions in the at least one memory to cause the programmable circuitry to:
generate piece-wise beamforming delay profiles including initial values of the beamforming delay profiles, slopes of the linear segments of the plurality of segments, and durations of the plurality of segments (Pg. 498-499; 6. PIECEWISE-LINEAR APPROXIMATION: A simple logic for the delay generation using that method is shown in Fig. 9. It is very simple and can operate at very high speed. An adder adds the slope to the current delay on each clock cycle. When the segment counter reaches the end of the current segment, new segment length and slope are loaded. The focusing data is represented by an initial sample index and pairs of slope and length for each segment. Delta encoding can be used for the slope information and the segment length, and is used in our study);
store the piece-wise beamforming delay profiles for beamforming (Pg. 498-499; 6. PIECEWISE-LINEAR APPROXIMATION; Fig. 9: depicts the piecewise-linear delay generator including a memory; slope register, segment length counter, and parameter delay initial, showing that the piecewise-linear parameters are stored and supplied to the delay generator).
TOMOV doesn’t explicitly teach split the beamforming delay profiles into a plurality of segments; fit the plurality of segments of the beamforming delay profiles to linear segments; determine a reference gain profile, the reference gain profile including gain values corresponding to a distance of a focus point from a channel; determine an expansion profile for the reference gain profile.
PRICE teaches determine split the beamforming delay profiles into a plurality of segments ([0045]);
fit the plurality of segments of the beamforming delay profiles to linear segments ([0112]);
a reference gain profile ([0013]), the reference gain profile including gain values corresponding to a distance of a focus point from a channel ([0035]);
determine an expansion profile for the reference gain profile ([0043]).
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the apparatus disclosed in TOMOV with the programmable circuitry taught in PRICE with a reasonable expectation of success because it would have provided both delay and gain control for dynamic beamforming by reducing beamformer data through parameterized profile generation, thereby improving memory efficiency and reducing interface bandwidth.
Referring to Claim 9, TOMOV teaches the apparatus of claim 8, wherein the programmable circuitry is further configured to determine beamforming delay profiles for a plurality of channels (Pg. 491; ABSTRACT: Modern diagnostic ultrasound beamformers require delay information for each sample along the image lines; 1. INTRODUCTION: A number of receive channels perform focusing along the image lines as the transmitted wave propagates in depth. The process is called beamforming. For the purpose of maintaining focus as the depth increases, the delay applied to the echo signal samples on different channels has to change […]), the beamforming delay profiles including delay values corresponding to a distance from a channel for a beamline (Pg. 493-494; 3. INDEX GENERATION GEOMETRY; Equations (4) and (5): The distance from the beam origin to a focal point P along the scan line is denoted d f and the echo path is denoted dr. The full path of the ultrasound wave is denoted p=df +dr. The distance between the beam origin center and the receiving element is denoted with x and the angle between the scan line and the normal to the transducer surface is denoted ϕ; Pg. 494; 4. GENERAL PARAMETRIC APPROACH; 4.1. Transformation to clock periods (clock cycles); Equations (6) and (7): The aim of the delay generation approach is for every output sample to produce delays […] for each channel […]. For this purpose, the algorithm is expected to generate delays at a rate of one value per output sample. The leading variable in (6) is the instant focal depth d, which changes by Δ = cTs=2 with each clock cycle. Dividing both sides of (6) by the squared distance Δ2 converts the computation unit into clock cycles).
Referring to Claim 10, TOMOV teaches the apparatus of claim 9, wherein the plurality of segments are a first plurality of segments, and the programmable circuitry is further configured to:
split the beamforming delay profiles into a plurality of segments (Pg. 498-499; 6. PIECEWISE-LINEAR APPROXIMATION: The delay curve can be approximated using a piecewise-linear approximation, as shown in Fig. 8, where axis t represents the time and axis n represents the sample index. The number of segments is determined by the magnitude of the acceptable error and the curvature of the delay profile […] After determining the number of necessary segments […]);
fit the plurality of segments of the beamforming delay profiles to linear segments (Pg. 498-499; 6. PIECEWISE-LINEAR APPROXIMATION: The delay curve can be approximated using a piecewise-linear approximation, as shown in Fig. 8, where axis t represents the time and axis n represents the sample index. The number of segments is determined by the magnitude of the acceptable error and the curvature of the delay profile […] After determining the number of necessary segments […]).
Referring to Claim 11, TOMOV teaches the apparatus of claim 10, wherein the programmable circuitry is further configured to:
generate piece-wise beamforming delay profiles including initial values of the beamforming delay profiles, slopes of the linear segments of the plurality of segments, and durations of the plurality of segments (Pg. 498-499; 6. PIECEWISE-LINEAR APPROXIMATION: A simple logic for the delay generation using that method is shown in Fig. 9. It is very simple and can operate at very high speed. An adder adds the slope to the current delay on each clock cycle. When the segment counter reaches the end of the current segment, new segment length and slope are loaded. The focusing data is represented by an initial sample index and pairs of slope and length for each segment. Delta encoding can be used for the slope information and the segment length, and is used in our study);
store the piece-wise beamforming delay profiles for beamforming (Pg. 498-499; 6. PIECEWISE-LINEAR APPROXIMATION; Fig. 9: depicts the piecewise-linear delay generator including a memory; slope register, segment length counter, and parameter delay initial, showing that the piecewise-linear parameters are stored and supplied to the delay generator).
Claim 12 is essentially the same as Claim 6 and is rejected for the same reasons as applied to Claim 6 above.
Claim 13 is essentially the same as Claim 5 and is rejected for the same reasons as applied to Claim 5 above.
Claim 14 is essentially the same as Claim 7 and is rejected for the same reasons as applied to Claim 7 above.
Claim(s) 15-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over TOMOV in view of PRICE.
Referring to Claim 15, TOMOV teaches at least one non-transitory machine-readable storage medium comprising instructions that (Pg. 491; ABSTRACT: The algorithms were synthesized for a FPGA device XCV2000E-7, for a phased array image […]), when executed, cause programmable circuitry to at least:
generate piece-wise delay profiles (Pg. 498-499; 6. PIECEWISE-LINEAR APPROXIMATION: The delay curve can be approximated using a piecewise-linear approximation […]) including initial values of beamforming delay profiles (Pg. 498-499; 6. PIECEWISE-LINEAR APPROXIMATION: […] The focusing data is represented by an initial sample index and pairs of slope and length for each segment), slopes of first linear segments of a first plurality of segments of the beamforming delay profiles (Pg. 498-499; 6. PIECEWISE-LINEAR APPROXIMATION: […] An adder adds the slope […] new segment length and slope are loaded […] and pairs of slope and length for each segment), and durations of the first plurality of segments (Pg. 498-499; 6. PIECEWISE-LINEAR APPROXIMATION: […] new segment length and slope are loaded […] and pairs of slope and length for each segment), the beamforming delay profiles including delay values corresponding to a distance from a channel for a beam line (Pg. 493; 3. INDEX GENERATION GEOMETRY: The images produced by contemporary ultrasound scanners consist of straight lines originating from the transducer surface. The geometry for the calculation of the time of flight of the ultrasound wave is shown in Fig. 2; Pg. 493-494; 3. INDEX GENERATION GEOMETRY; Equations (4) and (5): The distance from the beam origin to a focal point P along the scan line is denoted df and the echo path is denoted dr. The full path of the ultrasound wave is denoted p=df +dr. The distance between the beam origin center and the receiving element is denoted with x and the angle between the scan line and the normal to the transducer surface is denoted ϕ);
TOMOV doesn’t explicitly teach generate a piece-wise expansion profile including an initial value of an expansion profile of a reference gain profile, slopes of second linear segments of a second plurality of segments of the expansion profile, and durations of the second plurality of segments, the reference gain profile including gain values corresponding to a distance of a focus point from a channel,
PRICE teaches generate a piece-wise expansion profile ([0043]) including an initial value of an expansion profile of a reference gain profile ([0109]), slopes of second linear segments of a second plurality of segments of the expansion profile ([0112]), and durations of the second plurality of segments ([0045]), the reference gain profile including gain values corresponding to a distance of a focus point from a channel ([0035]).
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the apparatus disclosed in TOMOV with the programmable circuitry taught in PRICE with a reasonable expectation of success because it would have provided both delay and gain control for dynamic beamforming by reducing beamformer data through parameterized profile generation, thereby improving memory efficiency and reducing interface bandwidth.
Referring to Claim 16, TOMOV teaches the at least one non-transitory computer readable storage medium of claim 15, wherein the instructions are to cause the programmable circuitry to determine beamforming delay profiles for a plurality of channels (Pg. 491; ABSTRACT: Modern diagnostic ultrasound beamformers require delay information for each sample along the image lines; 1. INTRODUCTION: A number of receive channels perform focusing along the image lines as the transmitted wave propagates in depth. The process is called beamforming. For the purpose of maintaining focus as the depth increases, the delay applied to the echo signal samples on different channels has to change […]), the beamforming delay profiles including delay values corresponding to a distance from a channel for a beamline (Pg. 493-494; 3. INDEX GENERATION GEOMETRY; Equations (4) and (5): The distance from the beam origin to a focal point P along the scan line is denoted df and the echo path is denoted dr. The full path of the ultrasound wave is denoted p=df +dr. The distance between the beam origin center and the receiving element is denoted with x and the angle between the scan line and the normal to the transducer surface is denoted ϕ; Pg. 494; 4. GENERAL PARAMETRIC APPROACH; 4.1. Transformation to clock periods (clock cycles); Equations (6) and (7): The aim of the delay generation approach is for every output sample to produce delays […] for each channel […]. For this purpose, the algorithm is expected to generate delays at a rate of one value per output sample. The leading variable in (6) is the instant focal depth d, which changes by Δ = cTs=2 with each clock cycle. Dividing both sides of (6) by the squared distance Δ2 converts the computation unit into clock cycles).
Referring to Claim 17, TOMOV teaches the at least one non-transitory computer readable storage medium of claim 16, wherein the instructions are to cause the programmable circuitry to:
split the beamforming delay profiles into a plurality of segments (Pg. 498-499; 6. PIECEWISE-LINEAR APPROXIMATION: The delay curve can be approximated using a piecewise-linear approximation, as shown in Fig. 8, where axis t represents the time and axis n represents the sample index. The number of segments is determined by the magnitude of the acceptable error and the curvature of the delay profile […] After determining the number of necessary segments […]);
fit the plurality of segments of the beamforming delay profiles to linear segments (Pg. 498-499; 6. PIECEWISE-LINEAR APPROXIMATION: The delay curve can be approximated using a piecewise-linear approximation, as shown in Fig. 8, where axis t represents the time and axis n represents the sample index. The number of segments is determined by the magnitude of the acceptable error and the curvature of the delay profile […] After determining the number of necessary segments […]).
Claim 18 is essentially the same as Claim 2 and is rejected for the same reasons as applied to Claim 2 above.
Claim 19 is essentially the same as Claim 3 and is rejected for the same reasons as applied to Claim 3 above.
Referring to Claim 20, TOMOV teaches the at least one non-transitory computer readable storage medium of claim 15, wherein the instructions are to cause the programmable circuitry to store the piece-wise delay profiles (Pg. 498-499; 6. PIECEWISE-LINEAR APPROXIMATION: A simple logic for the delay generation using that method is shown in Fig. 9. […] An adder adds the slope to the current delay on each clock cycle. When the segment counter reaches the end of the current segment, new segment length and slope are loaded. The focusing data is represented by an initial sample index and pairs of slope and length for each segment. Delta encoding can be used for the slope information and the segment length, and is used in our study).
PRICE teaches the reference gain profile ([0013]), and the piece-wise expansion profile ([0043]; [0045]) for beamforming ([0013]).
Examiner’s Note
Examiner has pointed out particular references contained in the prior art of record in the body of this action for the convenience of the Applicant. However, any citation to specific, pages, columns, lines, or figures in the prior art references and any interpretation of the references should not be considered to be limiting in any way. A reference is relevant for all it contains and may be relied upon for all that it would have reasonably suggested to one having ordinary skill in the art. In re Heck, 699 F.2d 1331, 1332-33, 216 USPQ 1038, 1039 (Fed. Cir. 1983) (quoting In re Lemelson, 397 F.2d 1006, 1009, 158 USPQ 275, 277 (CCPA 1968)). Applicant, in preparing the response, should consider fully the entire reference as potentially teaching all or part of the claimed invention, as well as the context of the passage as taught by the prior art or disclosed by the Examiner.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
Richardson, (US 2006/0220956 A1) teaches time delay beamformer and method of time delay beamforming.
Brown (US 2015/0366542 A1) teaches ultrasound imaging system using beamforming techniques for phase coherence grating lobe suppression.
Thomas (US 4,180,790 A) teaches dynamic array aperture and focus control for ultrasonic imaging systems.
COGAN (WO 2014/182567 A1) teaches ultrasound probe with dynamic focus and associated systems and methods.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to AMIE M N'DURE whose telephone number is (571)272-6031. The examiner can normally be reached on 8AM-5:30PM.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Isam Alsomiri can be reached on 571-272-6970. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300. Information regarding the status of an application may be obtained from the Patent Application Information Retrieval (PAIR) system. Status information for published applications may be obtained from either Private PAIR or Public PAIR. Status information for unpublished applications is available through Private PAIR only. For more information about the PAIR system, see http://pair-direct.uspto.gov. Should you have questions on access to the Private PAIR system, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative or access to the automated information system, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000.
/AMIE M NDURE/ /ABDALLAH ABULABAN/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3645 Examiner, Art Unit 3645
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