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 .
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statements (IDS) submitted on 11/7/24;9/17/24 are in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97(b). Accordingly, the IDSs are being considered by the Examiner.
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.
Claims 1-3, 5-14 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Palushi et al. (US 2021/0386274) (“Palushi”). Palushi discloses: an instrument 400 (Fig. 1A) comprising: a handle 402 configured to be held by a hand of a surgeon; a cannula 422 extending outwardly from the handle and mounted to the handle; an articulated tube 424 at least partially positioned within the cannula and at least partially extending outwardly from a distal end of the cannula; and an actuator 432 configured to articulate the articulated tube relative to the cannula to position a distal end of the articulated tube at a plurality of positions within a three-dimensional volume.
at least one of the articulated tube or the cannula is rotatably mounted to the cannula. [0032,0040]
a control structure mounted to the handle and configured to rotate the at least one of the articulated tube or the cannula in response to interaction with the control structure. [0032-0034]
the articulated tube has a curved shape when undeformed; and the actuator is configured to control an amount of the articulated tube extending outwardly from the distal end of the cannula. Fig. 2
the actuator is a slider 406 mounted to the handle.
the actuator is configured to move the cannula relative to the articulated tube. [0026-0027,0040]
actuator is configured to move the articulated tube relative to the cannula. [0026-0027,0040]
the actuator is at least one of a push rod and a cable extending within the articulated tube and coupled to a control structure. [0032-0033,0038]
the articulated tube has one or more regions having mechanical properties (Figs. 3A,B) [0036] causing the articulated tube to have a primary bending plane such that a first force required to bend the articulated tube in a primary direction in the primary bending plane is less than 50 percent of a second force required to bend the articulated tube in a plane perpendicular to the primary bending plane and intersecting a center line of the articulated tube.
the one or more regions include one or more slots distributed along the articulated tube. Figs. 3A,B
further comprising a vacuum source 418 coupled to the articulated tube.
further comprising one or more medical instruments 412 configured to insert through the articulated tube, the one or more medical instruments selected from the group consisting of: a tube for supplying vacuum pressure; a tube for providing infusion fluid; a tube for infusing at least one of medication, gel, foam, or viscoelastic material; a tube for conducting pressurized gas; one or more optical fibers; a cable coupled to an ultrasonic imaging transducer; and a waveguide for conducting electromagnetic waves for performing diathermy. [0028,0044-0046]
the one or more medical instruments comprise a plurality of medical instruments, the otologic instrument further comprising an instrument housing comprising a plurality of receptacles each configured to receive one or more of the plurality of medical instruments, the instrument housing configured to selectively guide instruments of the plurality of medical instruments into the articulated tube. Fig. 5
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.
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 4 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Palushi in view of Weitzman et al. (US 2019/0374236) (“Weitzman”).
Palushi discloses the invention as substantially claimed but does not directly disclose the cannula is mounted to a first portion of the handle, the handle including a second portion that is at least one of offset and angled with respect to the first portion. Weitzman, in the analogous art, teaches this offset handle, see Fig. 2A,B. Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the handle of Palushi with the handle as taught by Weitzman for better visualization of the work area (Weitzman [0010]).
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to DEANNA K HALL whose telephone number is (571)272-2819. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 8:30am- 4:30pm EST.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Kevin Sirmons can be reached at 571-272-4965. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/DEANNA K HALL/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3783
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