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, 6, 17 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Shinno et al (US 8,396,184 B2).
Regarding claim 1, Shinno et al discloses an x-ray imaging system comprising: an exposure assembly including an x-ray source (001), a detector (004), and a collimator (002), the collimator having an opening for controlling a collimation region (col. 5, lines 19-45); a camera unit (x-ray CT system scanogram imaging and scanning) (col. 3, lines 13-45) aligned with the detector for acquiring a real-time optical image of a subject under examination (col. 3, lines 13-45), the real-time optical image including a center of the collimation region (col. 5, lines 19-45); a display unit operably connected to the camera unit, the display unit including a user interface configured to display the real-time optical image; an input unit operably connected to the display unit, the input unit configured to receive an operation of a user (col. 3, lines 57-66) and form a target region on the user interface by changing a position of the center of the collimation region or re-framing a region of the collimation region (col. 8, lines 15-32); and a control unit operably connected to the exposure assembly, the control unit configured to control, based on the target region, automatic movement of the X-ray source and the detector to align with a center of the target region (col. 1,lines 60-62, col. 9, lines 16-24), and control the opening of the collimator such that the collimation region is aligned with the target region (col. 4, lines 25-27).
Regarding claim 2, Shinno et al discloses wherein the control unit calculates a center position, a length, and a width of the target region, and moves, according to the center position, the X-ray source and the detector to align with the center of the target region, and adjusts the opening of the collimator according to the length and the width (col 8, lines 1-32).
Regarding claim 6, Shinno et al discloses wherein the display unit includes a confirmation option thereon to confirm a range of the target region (col. 9, lines 3-24).
Regarding claim 17, Shinno et al discloses an x-ray imaging method comprising: acquiring and displaying a real-time optical image of a subject under examination (col. 3, lines 13-45), the real-time optical image including a collimation region (002) and a center of the collimation region (col. 5, lines 19-45); and controlling, based on a target region obtained by changing a position of the center of the collimation region or re-framing (col. 8, lines 15-32), an X-ray source (001) and a detector (004) to automatically move to be aligned with the center of the target region (col. 1,lines 60-62, col. 9, lines 16-24), and controlling an opening of a collimator such that the collimation region is aligned with the target region (col. 4, lines 25-27).
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.
Claim(s) 3-4, 7-9, 16, 18-20 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Shinno et al (US 8,396,184 B2) in view of He et al (CA 3135998 A1).
Regarding claims 3, 18-19, Shinno et al discloses all of the limitations of parent claims 1 and 17 as described supra however, Shinno et al is silent with regards to step of calculating based on movement of input a reference region and displaying a claimed. He et al discloses an integrated x-ray precision imaging device comprising: step of after receiving a starting point input, calculating, based on movement of an input unit, a reference region and displaying the same, and after receiving an end point input, acquiring the target region (pages 57-58 and claim 52). Thus, it would have been obvious to modify Shinno et al with the teaching of He et al, so as to enable user operation within range of real-time optical imaging to reframe target region.
Regarding claim 4, Shinno et al discloses wherein the control unit is configured to receive a first press position inputted by the input unit and determine the first press position as a valid starting point when the first press position is within a range of the real-time optical image (col. 10, lines 15-37).
Regarding claim 7, He et al discloses wherein the reference region is rectangular (page 7).
Regarding claims 8, 16, He et al discloses wherein the reference region is a non-rectangular real-time boundary (page 7).
Regarding claims 9, 20, He et al discloses steps of: acquiring a mapping region corresponding to the reference region mapped to a detector plane; and calculating, based on the mapping region and thickness information of the subject under examination, the real-time boundary and displaying the same on a target region plane (page 111).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 5, 10-15 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, the prior art fails to disclose or reasonably suggest wherein the control unit is configured to receive a second press position or a first release position inputted by the input unit, and determine the second press position or the first release position as a valid end point when the second press position or the first release position has a preset distance from the first press position.
Regarding claim 10, the prior art fails to disclose or reasonably suggest wherein the first unit includes: a first calculation unit configured to calculate a first distance between the center of the reference region and a temporary end point of the reference region; a second calculation unit configured to calculate a second distance corresponding to the first distance relative to the detector plane based on the thickness information of the subject under examination at the temporary end point and a distance between the X-ray source and the detector; and a first mapping unit configured to determine the mapping region based on the second distance.
Regarding claim 11, the prior art fails to disclose or reasonably suggest wherein the camera unit is mounted on a side of the collimator, and there is a fixed first angle between the camera unit and the side of the collimator, the second calculation unit being configured to acquire, based on the fixed first angle and thickness information of the subject under examination, a distance between the X-ray source and the subject under examination, and calculate, based on the ratio between the distance between the X-ray source and the subject under examination and the distance between the X-ray source and the detector, the second distance corresponding to the first distance relative to the detector plane.
Regarding claim 12, the prior art fails to disclose or reasonably suggest wherein the second unit includes: a second mapping unit configured to acquire based on position coordinates of a plurality of points on a boundary of the mapping region and the thickness of the subject under examination corresponding to the position, position coordinates of boundary points corresponding to the plurality of points in the target region plane; and a boundary display unit configured to connect and display the real-time boundary based on the position coordinates of the boundary points.
Regarding claim 13, the prior art fails to disclose or reasonably suggest wherein the camera unit is mounted on a side of the collimator, and there is a fixed first angle between the camera and the side of the collimator, the control unit being capable of calculating an offset between the center of the collimation region on the real-time optical image and the center of the real-time optical image based on the fixed first angle, an offset between the camera unit and the collimator, and thickness information of the subject under examination to calibrate the center of the collimation region.
Regarding claims 14-15, the prior art fails to disclose or reasonably suggest wherein the input unit is configured to move, and wherein during movement of the input unit, the display unit displays in real time on the real-time optical image, based on a starting point inputted by the input unit, a reference region formed by a temporary end point, and, after an input of an end point is determined, the collimation region automatically aligns with the target region framed by the starting point and the end point.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
DeMan et al (US 2013/0284939 A1) discloses a method and system for non-invasive imaging of a target region comprising: based on identified ROI, at 412, the subject 202 is shifted or moved axially to align the target ROI at the center of rotation of the system 100. Further, the system 100 collimates the X-ray beams 106 so as to focus specifically over the target ROI. Alternatively, the system 100 employs a high-resolution portion 414 of the detector array 108 to image the target ROI at 416. The system 100 then uses the targeted scan data to reconstruct one or more images of the target ROI. In certain implementations, the system 100 uses the preliminary scan data in addition to the targeted scan data for reconstructing one or more high-resolution images of the target ROI, for example, using interior tomography or using the preliminary scan sinogram data and/or image. Further, FIG. 5 depicts an exemplary sequence 500 of operations 502-508, similar to the operations illustrated in FIG. 4, for identifying and imaging anomalies such as a stenosis or plaque in the cardiac tissues 404 (See Fig. 3 and paragraph [0059]).
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/F.P.B./Examiner, Art Unit 2884
/UZMA ALAM/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2884