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.
Claim(s) 1, 2, 5, 9, 14, 15, 18, and 20 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Kim et al. (US 2016/0058403 A1).
With respect to claims 1, 14, and 20, Kim discloses: a medical imaging system and associated method of operation (abstract), comprising: an imaging device including an X-ray source and a detector (122/130, Fig. 3), wherein the X-ray source and the detector are capable of cooperating to acquire a medical image of a subject under examination (abstract); a camera operably connected to the imaging device for capturing the subject under examination to obtain a captured image including the subject under examination (camera, par. [0226]); a display operably connected to the camera for displaying a graphical user interface including the captured image (output unit 2100), and a first boundary indication and a second boundary indication for superimposing and displaying an exposure region on the captured image (top and bottom limits for acquiring x-ray image, par. [0244]); an input device operably connected to the display for receiving an input operation for adjusting a position of the first boundary indication and an input operation for adjusting a position of the second boundary indication (par. [0249, 0252]); and a controller for determining the position of the first boundary indication and the position of the second boundary indication according to the input operations received by the input device (system changes location of guidelines due to adjustments made by a user (par. [0253-0254]), and determining a position of an anatomical site corresponding to the position of the first boundary indication and the position of the second boundary indication in the captured image, wherein when the position of the anatomical site changes in the captured image, the position of the first boundary indication and the position of the second boundary indication change (position of top and bottom limits and guidelines determines areas or “anatomical sites” for acquiring x-ray images, par. [0228]).
With respect to claim 2, Kim discloses the claimed device wherein when the position of the first boundary indication and the position of the second boundary condition change with the position of the anatomical site (when a user selects the location of the top and bottom limits, the anatomical site is selected as the area for x-ray images; par. [0253]) and wherein the position of the first boundary indication and the position of the second boundary indication are fixed relative to the position of the anatomical site (the top and bottom limits are fixed as the top and bottom boundary of the area for x-ray imaging; par. [0253]).
With respect to claim 5, Kim discloses the claimed configuration wherein when the input device receives the input operation for adjusting the position of the second boundary indication, the position of the first boundary indication remains unchanged (Fig. 12 to Fig. 13B, bottom is changed, top remains unchanged).
With respect to claims 9 and 18, Kim discloses graphical user interface functionality for resetting the positions of the first boundary indication and the second boundary indication back to initial positions (par. [0283]).
With respect to claim 15, Kim discloses the claimed configuration wherein: the graphical user interface includes an upper boundary of motion and a lower boundary of motion of a detector, the boundaries being superimposed and displayed on the captured image (top and bottom, or 12-4/12-5, depending on user input, Fig. 10A/10B).
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
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 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.
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.
Claim(s) 12 and 17 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kim.
With respect to claims 12 and 17, Kim does not specify means for adjusting a viewable range of the camera. However, Kim does disclose the use of a camera or video imaging device (par. [0314-0315]). It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art to include means for adjusting the field of view of the patient, in order to properly frame an area of interest, or adjusting for the size of a patient, as it has been held that the provision of adjustability, where needed, involves only routine skill in the art. In re Stevens, 101 USPQ 284 (CCPA 1954).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 3, 4, 6-8, 10, 11, 13, 16, and 19 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.
The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter:
With respect to claims 3 and 4, the cited prior does not appear to disclose or reasonably suggest the claimed configuration wherein: when the input device receives the input operation for adjusting the position of the first boundary indication, the controller changes the position of the second boundary indication and the position of the first boundary indication so that a distance between the first boundary indication and the second boundary indication remains unchanged.
With respect to claims 6 and 7, the cited prior does not appear to disclose or reasonably suggest the claimed configuration wherein when the position of the second boundary indication is adjusted to exceed a lower boundary of motion of the detector, the controller restricts downward adjustment of the position of the second boundary indication, and wherein when the position of the first boundary indication is adjusted to exceed an upper boundary of motion of the detector, the controller restricts upward adjustment of the position of the first boundary indication.
With respect to claim 8, the cited prior does not appear to disclose or reasonably suggest the claimed configuration wherein the controller initializes initial positions of the first boundary indication and the second boundary indication according to a center position of the captured image or a site to be imaged.
With respect to claims 10, 11 and 16, the cited prior does not appear to disclose or reasonably suggest the claimed indication position confirmation marker, and wherein when the input device receives an input operation for triggering the indication position confirmation marker, the controller locks the positions of the first boundary indication and the second boundary indication.
With respect to claim 13, the cited prior art does not appear to disclose or reasonably suggest the claimed operating bar, configured as claimed.
With respect to claim 19, the cited prior art does not appear to disclose or reasonably suggest the claimed configuration wherein the graphical user interface includes markers for switch states of a plurality of automatic exposure control ionization chambers corresponding to one or more selected sub-medical images, the markers being superimposed and displayed on the captured image, and the states of the respective automatic exposure control ionization chambers corresponding to the one or more selected sub-medical images are set to ON or OFF by means of triggering the markers for the switch states.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to MARK R GAWORECKI whose telephone number is (571)272-8540. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday 8 AM-6 PM.
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, DAVID MAKIYA can be reached at 571-272-2273. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
Information regarding the status of published or unpublished applications may be obtained from Patent Center. Unpublished application information in Patent Center is available to registered users. To file and manage patent submissions in Patent Center, visit: https://patentcenter.uspto.gov. Visit https://www.uspto.gov/patents/apply/patent-center for more information about Patent Center and https://www.uspto.gov/patents/docx for information about filing in DOCX format. For additional questions, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000.
/MARK R GAWORECKI/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2884 19 February 2026