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
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) 1-4, 6, 10-12, and 20 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by US 2024/100360 (Kuusela).
Regarding claim 1, Kuusela disclose a method to facilitate optimizing a radiation treatment plan for a target volume for a particular patient, the method comprising:
by a control circuit (Fig. 1, [0021], control unit 101 or Fig. 2, [0034], a control circuit):
generating a virtual target volume (Fig. 4 and [0044], planning target volume 402) as a function of the target volume ([0043], clinical target volume 401; [0044], 402 denotes the resultant planning treatment volume);
generating a virtual bolus (Fig. 5, artificial portion 501) as a function of the virtual target volume ([0036] and [0044]-[0045]); and
optimizing the radiation treatment plan using the target volume and the virtual bolus to determine radiation dose to provide an optimized radiation treatment plan (Fig. 2, [0040], step 204).
Regarding claim 2, Kuusela disclose the method of claim 1 wherein generating a virtual bolus includes determining a density for the virtual bolus [0046].
Regarding claim 3, Kuusela disclose the method of claim 1 wherein generating the virtual target volume comprises generating a first intermediate virtual target volume that is at least partially disposed external to a body structure contour for the particular patient (Fig. 4 and 5, [0044]-[0045]).
Regarding claim 4, Kuusela disclose the method of claim 3 wherein generating the first intermediate virtual target volume includes dilating the target volume by at least one user-provided extension value to provide a dilated target volume (Fig. 4 and 5, [0044]-[0045]).
Regarding claim 6, Kuusela disclose the method of claim 4 further comprising: subtracting a body structure contour for the particular patient from the dilated target volume to produce the first intermediate virtual target volume (Fig. 4 and 5, [0044]-[0045]).
Regarding claim 10, Kuusela disclose the method of claim 1 further comprising: administering therapeutic radiation to the particular patient using the optimized radiation treatment plan Fig. 4 and 5, [0044]-[0045]).
Regarding claim 11, Kuusela disclose an apparatus to facilitate optimizing a radiation treatment plan for a target volume for a particular patient, the apparatus comprising: a control circuit configured to: generate a virtual target volume as a function of the target volume; generate a virtual bolus as a function of the virtual target volume; and optimize the radiation treatment plan using the target volume and the virtual bolus to determine radiation dose to provide an optimized radiation treatment plan [0046].
Regarding claim 12, Kuusela disclose the apparatus of claim 11 wherein the control circuit is further configured to generate the virtual bolus by determining a density for the virtual bolus (Fig. 4 and 5).
Regarding claim 20, Kuusela disclose the apparatus of claim 11 wherein the control circuit is further configured to: administer therapeutic radiation to the particular patient using the optimized radiation treatment plan Fig. 4 and 5, [0044]-[0045]).
Claim(s) 1, 9, 11, 13, and 19 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by WO 2023/088897 (Hyvonen).
Regarding claim 1, Hyvonen disclose a method to facilitate optimizing a radiation treatment plan for a target volume for a particular patient, the method comprising:
by a control circuit [0076]:
generating a virtual target volume [0067] as a function of the target volume;
generating a virtual bolus [0067]; and
optimizing the radiation treatment plan using the target volume and the virtual bolus to determine radiation dose to provide an optimized radiation treatment plan [0069].
Regarding claim 9, Hyvonen disclose the method of claim 1 wherein the virtual target volume comprises a virtual skin flash target [0039].
Regarding claim 11, Hyvonen disclose an apparatus to facilitate optimizing a radiation treatment plan for a target volume for a particular patient, the apparatus comprising: a control circuit configured to: generate a virtual target volume as a function of the target volume; generate a virtual bolus as a function of the virtual target volume; and optimize the radiation treatment plan using the target volume and the virtual bolus to determine radiation dose to provide an optimized radiation treatment plan [0068].
Regarding claim 13, Hyvonen disclose the apparatus of claim 11 wherein the control circuit is configured to generate the virtual target volume by generating a first intermediate virtual target volume that is at least partially disposed external to a body structure contour for the particular patient [0039].
Regarding claim 19, Hyvonen disclose the apparatus of claim 11 wherein the virtual target volume comprises a virtual skin flash target [0039].
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 5, 7, 8, and 14-18 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.
Regarding claim 5, Kuusela disclose the method of claim 4, but fail to teach further comprising: providing a user opportunity to set a different user-provided extension value for each of six orthogonal directions.
Regarding claim 7, Kuusela disclose the method of claim 6, but fail to teach further comprising: filling gaps between the target volume and the first intermediate virtual target volume to provide a second intermediate virtual target volume.
Claim 8 depends on claim 7.
Regarding claim 14, Hyvonen disclose the apparatus of claim 13, but fail to teach wherein the control circuit is configured to generate the first intermediate virtual target volume by dilating the target volume by at least one user-provided extension value to provide a dilated target volume.
Claims 15-18 depend on claim 14.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to DANI FOX whose telephone number is (571)272-3513. The examiner can normally be reached M-F: 9-5.
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.
/DANI FOX/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2884
