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 .
Notice to Applicant
In response to the communication received on 05/18/2026, the following is a Final Office Action for Application No. 18782254.
Status of Claims
Claims 1-13 and 16-20 are pending.
Claims 14-15 are cancelled.
Priority
As required by M.P.E.P. 201.14(c), acknowledgement is made of applicant’s claim for priority based on: 18782254 filed 07/24/2024 Claims Priority from Provisional Application 63528932, filed 07/26/2023.
Response to Amendments
Applicant’s amendments have been fully considered.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments with respect to the claims have been considered but are moot in light of the new grounds of rejection, as necessitated by amendment.
As per the 101 rejection, Applicant argues that the claims are in favor of eligibility per Prong One of Step 2A, however Examiner respectfully disagrees. Per Prong One of Step 2A, the identified recitation of an abstract idea falls within at least one of the Abstract Idea Groupings consisting of: Mathematical Concepts, Mental Processes, or Certain Methods of Organizing Human Activity. Particularly, the identified recitation falls within the Mental Processes including concepts performed in the human mind (including an observation, evaluation judgment, opinion) and/or Certain Methods of Organizing Human Activity including managing personal behavior or relationships or interactions between people (including social activities, teaching, and following rules of instructions). Since the recitation of the claims falls into at least one of the above Groupings, there is a basis for providing further analysis with regard to Prong Two of Step 2A to determine whether the recitation of an abstract idea is deduced to being directed to an abstract idea. Thus, the rejection is maintained.
Applicant argues that the claims are in favor of eligibility per Prong Two of Step 2A, however Examiner respectfully disagrees. Per Prong Two of Step 2A, this judicial exception is not integrated into a practical application because the claim as a whole does not integrate the identified abstract idea into a practical application. The processor of processing/transmitting data. This generic processor server limitation is no more than mere instructions to apply the exception using a generic computer component. Further, processor controls the user interface to provide a user with an advance notice is mere instruction to apply an exception using a generic computer component which cannot integrate a judicial exception into a practical application. Accordingly, this/these additional element(s) does/do not integrate the abstract idea into a practical application because it does not impose any meaningful limits on practicing the abstract idea. In other words, the present claims use a generic processing device and memory medium to inter alia perform the function of controls the user interface to provide a user with an advance notice which is a concept that can be performed in the human mind. The processor is merely used to perform the function(s), and the processor does not integrate the abstract idea into a practical application since there are no meaningful limits on practicing the abstract idea. Thus, since the claims are directed to the determined judicial exception in view of the two prongs of Step 2A, the 2019 PEG flowchart is directed to Step 2B. Thus, the rejection is maintained.
Applicant argues that the claims are in favor of eligibility per Step 2B, however Examiner respectfully disagrees. Therein, the additional elements and combinations therewith are examined in the claims to determine whether the claims as a whole amounts to significantly more than the judicial exception. It is noted here that the additional elements are to be considered both individually and as an ordered combination. In this case, the claims each at most comprise additional elements of: processor. Taken individually, the additional limitations each are generically recited and thus does not add significantly more to the respective limitations. Further, processor controls the user interface to provide a user with an advance notice is mere instruction to apply an exception using a generic computer component which cannot provide an inventive concept in Step 2B (or, looking back to Step 2A, cannot integrate a judicial exception into a practical application). For further support, the Applicant’s specification supports the claims being directed to use of a generic computer/memory type structure. Taken as an ordered combination, the claim(s) does/do not include additional elements that are sufficient to amount to significantly more than the judicial exception because the limitations are directed to limitations referenced in Alice Corp. that are not enough to qualify as significantly more when recited in a claim with an abstract idea include the non-limiting or non-exclusive examples of MPEP § 2106.05. Thus, the rejection is maintained.
In an effort to further expedite prosecution, see: Appendix 1 to the October 2019 Update: Subject Matter Eligibility, Life Sciences & Data Processing Examples, October 2019 30, Example 46. Livestock Management. Per claim 1 of Example 46, the memory, display and processor are recited so generically (no details whatsoever are provided other than that they are a memory, display and processor) that they represent no more than mere instructions to apply the judicial exception on a computer. These limitations can also be viewed as nothing more than an attempt to generally link the use of the judicial exception to the technological environment of a computer. As an exemplary direction for similar claim limitations to be eligible, see claims 2-4 of Example 46.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 101
35 U.S.C. 101 reads as follows:
Whoever invents or discovers any new and useful process, machine, manufacture, or composition of matter, or any new and useful improvement thereof, may obtain a patent therefor, subject to the conditions and requirements of this title.
Claims 1-13 and 16-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 101 because the claimed invention is directed to a judicial exception (i.e., a law of nature, a natural phenomenon, or an abstract idea) without significantly more. The claims fall within statutory class of process or machine or manufacture; hence, the claims fall under statutory category of Step 1.
Step 2 is the two-part analysis from Alice Corp. (also called the Mayo test). The 2019 PEG makes two changes in Step 2A: It sets forth new procedure for Step 2A (called “revised Step 2A”) under which a claim is not “directed to” a judicial exception unless the claim satisfies a two-prong inquiry. The two-prong inquiry is as follows: Prong One: evaluate whether the claim recites a judicial exception (an abstract idea enumerated in the 2019 PEG, a law of nature, or a natural phenomenon). If claim recites an exception, then Prong Two: evaluate whether the claim recites additional elements that integrate the exception into a practical application of the exception. The claim(s) recite(s) the following abstract idea indicated by non-boldface font and additional limitations indicated by boldface font:
A medical procedure preparation system, comprising:an input interface;a processor comprising hardware, the at least one processor configured to:receive an input containing (i) a medical procedure location where a medical procedure is performed, and (ii) a storage location where a medical device is stored;calculate (iii) a distance between (i) the medical procedure location and (ii) the storage location;calculate processor controls the user interface to provide a user with an advance notice indicating that preparation of the medical device is to be started.
[or]
A medical procedure preparation method, comprising:receiving an input containing (i) a medical procedure location where a medical procedure is performed, and (ii) a storage location where a medical device is stored from an input interface;calculating (iii) a distance between (i) the medical procedure location and (ii) the storage location where the medical device is stored;calculating preparation start time is calculated based on (iii) the distance and (iv) a movement speed of a transport device.
[or]
A medical procedure preparation method, comprising:receiving an input signal from an input interface;obtaining, based on the input signal:a medical procedure location where the medical procedure is performed;a storage location where a medical device is stored, wherein the medical device is used in the medical procedure; anda performing time of the medical procedure using the medical device;calculating a preparation start time of the medical device;outputting control information indicating a transport route and timing for moving a transport device to the storage location and to the medical procedure location; and
The claim(s) recite(s) the following summarization of the abstract idea which includes medical procedure preparation system executed by the additional element of a processor. This falls into at least the Abstract Idea Grouping of Mental Processes since the information can be analyzed by an abstract evaluation judgment process. Thus, the identified recitation of an abstract idea falls within at least one of the Abstract Idea Groupings consisting of: Mathematical Concepts, Mental Processes, or Certain Methods of Organizing Human Activity since the identified recitation falls within the Mental Processes including concepts performed in the human mind (including an observation, evaluation judgment, opinion) and/or Certain Methods of Organizing Human Activity including managing personal behavior or relationships or interactions between people (including social activities, teaching, and following rules of instructions). “[In a claim that includes a series of steps that recite mental steps as well as a mathematical calculation, an examiner should identify the claim as reciting both a mental process and a mathematical concept for Step 2A, Prong One to make the analysis clear on the record.” MPEP 2106.04, subsection II.B. Under such circumstances, however, the Supreme Court has treated such claims in the same manner as claims reciting a single judicial exception. Id. (discussing Bilski v. Kappos, 561 U.S. 593 (2010)). Limitations are considered together as a single abstract idea for further analysis.
Per Prong Two of Step 2A, this judicial exception is not integrated into a practical application because the claim as a whole does not integrate the identified abstract idea into a practical application. The processor is recited at a high level of generality, i.e., as a generic processor performing a generic computer function of processing/transmitting data. This generic processor limitation is no more than mere instructions to apply the exception using a generic computer component. Further, output a display image indicating one of (a) and (b) by a processor is mere instruction to apply an exception using a generic computer component which cannot integrate a judicial exception into a practical application. Accordingly, this/these additional element(s) does/do not integrate the abstract idea into a practical application because it does not impose any meaningful limits on practicing the abstract idea. Thus, since the claims are directed to the determined judicial exception in view of the two prongs of Step 2A, the 2019 PEG flowchart is directed to Step 2B.
Per Step 2B, the additional elements and combinations therewith are examined in the claims to determine whether the claims as a whole amounts to significantly more than the judicial exception. It is noted here that the additional elements are to be considered both individually and as an ordered combination. In this case, the claims each at most comprise additional elements of: processor. Taken individually, the additional limitations each are generically recited and thus does not add significantly more to the respective limitations. Further, output a display image indicating one of (a) and (b) by a processor is mere instruction to apply an exception using a generic computer component which cannot provide an inventive concept in Step 2B (or, looking back to Step 2A, cannot integrate a judicial exception into a practical application). For further support, the Applicant’s specification supports the claims being directed to use of a generic computer/memory type structure at ¶0057 wherein “The schedule management unit 40 may be configured with at least one processor that uses a CPU and the like.” Taken as an ordered combination, the claim(s) does/do not include additional elements that are sufficient to amount to significantly more than the judicial exception because the limitations are directed to limitations referenced in Alice Corp. that are not enough to qualify as significantly more when recited in a claim with an abstract idea include, as a non-limiting or non-exclusive examples: i. Adding the words "apply it" (or an equivalent) with the judicial exception, or mere instructions to implement an abstract idea on a computer, e.g., a limitation indicating that a particular function such as creating and maintaining electronic records is performed by a computer, as discussed in Alice Corp., 134 S. Ct. at 2360, 110 USPQ2d at 1984 (see MPEP § 2106.05(f));
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ii. Simply appending well-understood, routine, conventional activities previously known to the industry, specified at a high level of generality, to the judicial exception, e.g., a claim to an abstract idea requiring no more than a generic computer to perform generic computer functions that are well-understood, routine and conventional activities previously known to the industry, as discussed in Alice Corp., 134 S. Ct. at 2359-60, 110 USPQ2d at 1984 (see MPEP § 2106.05(d));
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iii. Adding insignificant extra-solution activity to the judicial exception, e.g., mere data gathering in conjunction with a law of nature or abstract idea such as a step of obtaining information about credit card transactions so that the information can be analyzed by an abstract mental process, as discussed in CyberSource v. Retail Decisions, Inc., 654 F.3d 1366, 1375, 99 USPQ2d 1690, 1694 (Fed. Cir. 2011) (see MPEP § 2106.05(g)); or
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v. Generally linking the use of the judicial exception to a particular technological environment or field of use, e.g., a claim describing how the abstract idea of hedging could be used in the commodities and energy markets, as discussed in Bilski v. Kappos, 561 U.S. 593, 595, 95 USPQ2d 1001, 1010 (2010) or a claim limiting the use of a mathematical formula to the petrochemical and oil-refining fields, as discussed in Parker v. Flook. The courts have recognized the following computer functions inter alia to be well-understood, routine, and conventional functions when they are claimed in a merely generic manner: performing repetitive calculations; receiving, processing, and storing data (e.g., the present claims); electronically scanning or extracting data; electronic recordkeeping; automating mental tasks (e.g., process/machine/manufacture for performing the present claims); and receiving or transmitting data (e.g., the present claims).
The dependent claims do not cure the above stated deficiencies, and in particular, the dependent claims further narrow the abstract idea without reciting additional elements that integrate the exception into a practical application of the exception or providing significantly more than the abstract idea. Since there are no elements or ordered combination of elements that amount to significantly more than the judicial exception, the claims are not eligible subject matter under 35 USC §101.
Thus, viewed as a whole, these additional claim element(s) do not provide meaningful limitation(s) to transform the abstract idea into a patent eligible application of the abstract idea such that the claim(s) amounts to significantly more than the abstract idea itself. Therefore, the claim(s) are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 101 as being directed to non-statutory subject matter.
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 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 of this title, 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.
Claims 1-11, 13, and 16-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Pierson et al. (US 20220359064 A1) hereinafter referred to as Pierson in view of Dillingham et al. (US 20160098930 A1) hereinafter referred to as Dillingham.
Pierson teaches:
Claim 1. A medical procedure preparation system, comprising:
an input interface; a user interface; and at least one processor comprising hardware, the at least one processor configured to (¶0061 The mobile computing device 220 may be, for example, but not limited to a cellular telephone, a tablet, a laptop, a wearable device, etc. In an implementation, the mobile computing device 220 may be a group of communicatively coupled devices. Claimed subject matter is not limited to a particular type, category, size, etc. of computing device. Specific hardware components of the mobile computing device 220 are discussed in detail with regard to FIG. 30A. These components may include a processor 1010a, a memory 1020a, an input device 1030a, an output device 1040a, a location module 1050a, a transceiver 1070a, a camera 1080, and an asset tag reader 1090.):
receive an input containing (i) a medical procedure location where a medical procedure is performed, and (ii) a storage location where a medical device is stored (¶0114 Referring to FIG. 8, a schematic example of activity logs for a response scenario is shown. In an implementation, the activity log 780 may include logged information for one or more responders, one or more items of medical equipment, and/or one or more types of medical equipment. In the example of FIG. 8, three responders 810A, 810B, and 810C (e.g., responder 1, responder 2, and responder 3) are shown. Each of these three responders 810A, 810B, and 810C is associated with a respective mobile device, for example the mobile devices 820A, 820B, and 820C. These three responders are all associated with the emergency event 840. Responder A may take the navigation route 890A to the emergency event 840, responder B may take the navigation route 890B to the emergency event 840, and responder C may take the navigation route 890C to the emergency event 840. En route to the emergency event 840, responder 1 may obtain equipment A 830A and/or responder 2 may obtain equipment B 830B.);
calculate (iii) a distance between (i) the medical procedure location and (ii) the storage location (¶0012 The pre-determined response time may be based on the emergency response category. The distance traversed by the responder within the pre-determined response time may depend on a mode of transport for the responder. The mode of transport may be walking or driving and the distance traversed by the responder within the pre-determined response time may be based on an assumed average speed for the mode of transport. The distance traversed by the responder may include a distance from a current location of the responder to the at least one item of registered medical equipment and a distance from the at least one item of registered medical equipment to the location of the emergency event. The distance traversed by the responder may include a distance from an entryway to a facility that houses the at least one item of registered medical equipment to a storage location of the at least one item of registered medical equipment. The pre-determined response time may be 1-4 minutes. The distance traversed by the responder may be 0-400 meters. The medical equipment information may include user support information. ¶0121 In an implementation, when the location of the computing device 220 approximately matches the location of the selected medical equipment (e.g., the computing device 220 and the medical equipment 230 are co-located) and/or when the computing device 220 is within a pre-determined approach distance from the medical equipment 230 (e.g., within 1 m, 2 m, 5 m, 10 m, 25 m, 50 m, or 100 m), the software application 225 may automatically provide the equipment information window 731.);
calculate a preparation start time of the medical device used in the medical procedure (¶0014 Implementations of one or more of the computer-implemented methods described herein may include one or more of the following features. The one or more methods may include providing an activity log to the first computing device, the activity log including time stamped activity information for the at least one registered responder and for the EMS agency. The one or more methods may include providing an interactive map to the first computing device. The interactive map may include a location indicator for at least one dispatched vehicle from the EMS agency responding to the emergency event. The one or more methods may include tracking a current location of the at least one dispatched vehicle, tracking a current location of the first computing device, and updating the current locations of the at least one dispatched vehicle and the first computing device on the interactive map. The one or more methods may include providing an indication of an estimated time of arrival of personnel from the EMS agency at the emergency event); and
output control information indicating a transport route and timing for moving a transport device to the storage location and to the medical procedure location, wherein the preparation start time is calculated based on (iii) the distance and (iv) a movement speed of the transport device,and wherein the at least one processor controls the user interface to provide a user with an advance notice indicating that preparation of the medical device is to be started (¶0010 The one or more methods may include receiving a confirmation of acquisition of the recommended item of registered medical equipment via the first computing device, and providing an indication on the interactive map that the recommended item of registered medical equipment has been acquired by the first registered responder. The one or more methods may include providing the plurality of navigable routes between the location of the recommended item of registered medical equipment and the location of the emergency event in response to the confirmation of acquisition of the recommended item of registered medical equipment. The one or more methods may include determining the plurality of first estimated travel times and the plurality of second estimated travel times based on an estimated average walking speed for a responder. The one or more methods may include prompting the first registered responder to indicate a mode of transport, and determining the plurality of first estimated travel times and the plurality of second estimated travel times based on the mode of transport. The mode of transport may include walking or driving. The one or more methods may include determining the plurality of first estimated travel times and the plurality of second estimated travel times based on an assumed speed associated with the mode of transport. The vicinity of the emergency event may include locations within a pre-determined distance from the emergency event based on the assumed speed associated with the mode of transport. ¶0150 the navigation control may include one or more of an equipment decline control 490 (e.g., as shown in FIG. 4C), a proceed-to-emergency control 495 (e.g., as shown in FIG. 4A), a proceed-to-equipment control 590 (e.g., as shown in FIG. 5A), and an equipment acquisition control 936 (e.g., as shown in FIG. 9), and an arrive-at-emergency control 1110 (e.g., as shown in FIG. 11A). These controls are described in further detail with regard to the aforementioned figures. In brief, each control notifies the software application 225 of an update or change in the navigation status of the registered responder. At stage 84, the method 200c includes updating the interactive map to provide the navigation status and an indication of the selection of the at least one item of registered equipment. For example, as discussed above, the software application 225 may update the interactive map 410 as the location of the responder changes to show the proximity of the responder to equipment and/or the emergency event. The interactive map 410 may also reflect a selection of medical equipment by the responder. ¶0223 In some cases, the system 270 may manage multiple responders. For example, one responder may acquire the AED and/or other medical equipment and two other responders may proceed directly to the victim. The system 270 may instruct the first of these two responders to arrive at the victim to start chest compressions and may instruct the second of these two responders to arrive to start ventilation. The responder acquiring the medical equipment may arrive after the other two have started treatment.).
Although not explicitly taught by Pierson, Dillingham teaches in the analogous art of graphical user interface for transportation management:
wherein the preparation start time is calculated based on (iii) the distance and (iv) a movement speed of the transport device (¶0094 Based at least in part on information received from the dispatch service and/or the aviation management service with regard to the dispatch request and the selected transport vehicle, the medical transport dispatch application may populate one or more input fields to determine an estimated transport cycle time for completion of the dispatch request. For instance, the duty time screen may include a start time input field 1314, a distance to location time input field 1316, a location time input field 1318, a distance from location time input field 1320 and an end time input field 1322. The start time input field 1314 may be used to specify the amount of time that is spent on the ground prior to dispatch of the transport vehicle to the requested location. This may include the amount of time required to perform any pre-flight checks or other pre-flight procedures as required by the dispatch service, aviation management service or other authority (e.g., FAA). The distance to location time input field 1316 may be used to specify the amount of time required by the transport vehicle to travel from the dispatch location to the requested location. The time input into this field 1316 may be calculated by the medical transport dispatch application by determining an average speed for the transport vehicle selected above through the transport vehicle selection window 1308 and a flight distance from the dispatch location to the requested location (e.g., received from the dispatch service, the aviation management service and/or use of GPS mapping).).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the graphical user interface for transportation management of Dillingham with the system for management of medical equipment and responders of Pierson for the following reasons:
(1) a finding that there was some teaching, suggestion, or motivation, either in the references themselves or in the knowledge generally available to one of ordinary skill in the art, to modify the reference or to combine reference teachings, e.g. Pierson ¶0004 teaches that it is desirable to have a system with access to appropriate and publicly available medical equipment which may enable these lay responders to provide the potentially life-saving care;
(2) a finding that there was reasonable expectation of success since the only difference between the claimed invention and the prior art being the lack of actual combination of the elements in a single prior art reference, e.g. Pierson Abstract teaches a system for managing responders acquiring medical equipment and responding to an emergency medical event includes mobile devices associated with responders, and Dillingham Abstract teaches a mobile device provides the user with a graphical user interface, which may be used to review information regarding the request and, if required, modify the information based on the fulfillment of the request; and
(3) whatever additional findings based on the Graham factual inquiries may be necessary, in view of the facts of the case under consideration, to explain a conclusion of obviousness, e.g. Pierson at least the above cited paragraphs, and Dillingham at least the inclusively cited paragraphs.
Therefore, it would be obvious to one skilled in the art at the time of the invention to combine the graphical user interface for transportation management of Dillingham with the system for management of medical equipment and responders of Pierson. The rationale to support a conclusion that the claim would have been obvious is that "a person of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to combine the prior art to achieve the claimed invention and whether there would have been a reasonable expectation of success in doing so." DyStar Textilfarben GmbH & Co. Deutschland KG v. C.H. Patrick Co., 464 F.3d 1356, 1360, 80 USPQ2d 1641, 1645 (Fed. Cir. 2006). See MPEP 2143(G).
Pierson teaches:
Claim 2. The medical procedure preparation system according to claim 1, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to: receive a medical chart information; determine the medical device used in the medical procedure based on the medical procedure; and wherein the medical chart information includes a type of the medical procedure to be performed on an examinee (¶0014 The one or more methods may include providing the end of event screen to one or more second computing devices associated with one or more additional registered responders en route to the emergency event. The one or more methods may include receiving a patient care record from the EMS agency for the emergency event, appending the patient care record with stored management system information for the emergency event based on activities of the at least one registered responder, and sending the appended patient care record to the EMS agency.).
Pierson teaches:
Claim 3. The medical procedure preparation system according to claim 1, wherein the advance notice is a display image (¶0104 Referring again to FIG. 2A, once the registered responder 110 selects the proceed-to-equipment control 590, the method 200a proceeds from the stage 43 to stage 51. At the stage 51, the software application 225 may provide directions to the location of the selected medical equipment along with various instructions, prompts, and/or user selectable location indicators at the interactive map 410. These are discussed below with reference to examples of navigation and information features provided by the software application 225 as shown in FIGS. 6 and 7. ¶0225 In an implementation, one or more of the estimated travel times to equipment and/or to the emergency event (e.g., the travel times shown on the interactive map 410 by the indicators 460a and 460b) may include an interior travel time. The interior travel time may be a time between when a responder enters a facility or area in which the registered medical equipment is stored and when the responder arrives at the storage location within the facility or area. The management system 270 may access an indoor map and/or indoor mapping information for the facility or area to determine the interior travel time. Although referred to as an “interior” travel time and an “indoor” map, the facility or area may be outdoors, indoors, or a combination thereof. This map may include three-dimensional location information (e.g., latitude, longitude, and altitude). The three-dimensional location information may include global coordinates (e.g., latitude, longitude, and altitude) and/or descriptive information (e.g., a location on a floor of a building which may include a descriptor such as office, lobby, breakroom, corridor, courtyard, etc. and an indication of which floor of a building, such as, “equipment is located on the third floor of the building in Office Number 52 in the north-east corner). For example, the facility or area may be a multi-story building and the medical equipment may be stored on the second floor. The interior travel time may indicate the time to traverse the distance from the entryway of the building to the second floor location and then to return to the entryway of the building.).
Pierson teaches:
Claim 4. The medical procedure preparation system according to claim 1, wherein the preparation start time is calculated further based on (vi) a location of the transport device that moves between (i) the medical procedure location and (ii) the storage location (¶0105 The interactive map 410 may provide the responder location as a responder navigation icon 620. The responder navigation icon 620 may indicate a position of the registered responder along a navigation path towards the selected medical equipment and/or towards the emergency event. The responder navigation icon 620 may differ in appearance from the responder location indicator 420. In an implementation, the responder location indicator 420 may represent a static responder location. The static responder location may correspond to a location without navigation mode of the application 225 for the registered responder corresponding to the responder location indicator 420.).
Pierson teaches:
Claim 5. The medical procedure preparation system according to claim 1, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to: generate a schedule of the medical procedure including (a) the preparation start time and (b) the performing time; wherein generating the schedule is based on one or more of (i) the medical procedure location, (ii) the storage location, (iv) the movement speed, (v) a location of the transport device, and (vi) a medical chart information, wherein (v) the location of the transport device that carries the medical device from (ii) the storage location to (i) the medical procedure location, wherein (vi) the medical chart information includes a type of the medical procedure to be performed on an examinee, and output the schedule to at least one of the examinee or a medical professional (¶0105 The static responder location may correspond to a location without navigation mode of the application 225 for the registered responder corresponding to the responder location indicator 420. In contrast, the responder navigation icon 620 may correspond to a dynamic, or evolving, responder location. The dynamic responder location may correspond to a navigation mode of the application 225. The application 225 may switch from the location without navigation mode to the navigation mode in response to a confirmation captured via one or more of the controls 490, 495, 590, 936, and 1110 as shown in FIGS. 4A, 4C, 5A, 9, and 11A. These buttons may enable the registered responder to confirm that he/she is proceeding to and/or arrived at the equipment and/or emergency event location ¶0110 One or more of the windows 725, 780, and 731 may include one or more of the timer 470, the directions icon 720, and the equipment information icon 730. Inclusion of the timer 470 with these various windows may cause the registered responder 110 to remain aware of the elapsed time from the emergency assistance request. Based on the elapsed time, the registered responder 110 may increase his/her speed in traversing the route to the medical equipment and/or the emergency event. Further, while viewing any one of the windows 725, 780, and 731, the registered responder 110 may readily switch to any other one of these windows based on the available access to the timer 470 and the icons 720 and 730. The totality of information available from the various window in FIG. 7 may enable the registered responder 110 to adjust his/her activities to improve the emergency response based on this information.).
Pierson teaches:
Claim 6. The medical procedure preparation system according to claim 5, wherein the advance notice comprises a first display image, and wherein the at least one processor is further configured to: output a second display image indicating the medical device that is already prepared and placed on the transport device (¶0105 The static responder location may correspond to a location without navigation mode of the application 225 for the registered responder corresponding to the responder location indicator 420. In contrast, the responder navigation icon 620 may correspond to a dynamic, or evolving, responder location. The dynamic responder location may correspond to a navigation mode of the application 225. The application 225 may switch from the location without navigation mode to the navigation mode in response to a confirmation captured via one or more of the controls 490, 495, 590, 936, and 1110 as shown in FIGS. 4A, 4C, 5A, 9, and 11A. These buttons may enable the registered responder to confirm that he/she is proceeding to and/or arrived at the equipment and/or emergency event location).
Pierson teaches:
Claim 7. The medical procedure preparation system according to claim 6, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to: switch the first display image and the second display image (¶0105 The static responder location may correspond to a location without navigation mode of the application 225 for the registered responder corresponding to the responder location indicator 420. In contrast, the responder navigation icon 620 may correspond to a dynamic, or evolving, responder location. The dynamic responder location may correspond to a navigation mode of the application 225. The application 225 may switch from the location without navigation mode to the navigation mode in response to a confirmation captured via one or more of the controls 490, 495, 590, 936, and 1110 as shown in FIGS. 4A, 4C, 5A, 9, and 11A. These buttons may enable the registered responder to confirm that he/she is proceeding to and/or arrived at the equipment and/or emergency event location.).
Pierson teaches:
Claim 8. The medical procedure preparation system according to claim 1, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to: calculate an updated preparation start time of the medical device, and wherein the updated preparation start time is calculated based on (iii) the distance, (iv) the movement speed of the transport device, (v) a preparation status that is already prepared and placed on the transport device and (vi) a location of the transport device that moves between (i) the medical procedure location and (ii) the storage location (¶0115 when any one of these responders enters, changes, and/or confirms a status, the activity log 780 available to all of the responders associated with the emergency event 840 may automatically update to include the entered, changed, and/or confirmed status information. As another example, the software application 225 may determine a navigation status or equipment acquisition status for one or more of the responders. This status may be a current status and the software application 225 may include this determined status in the activity log 780. Further, the software application 225 may automatically update the activity log 780 in response to changes in the navigation status and/or equipment acquisition status for one or more of the registered responders.).
Pierson teaches:
Claim 9. The medical procedure preparation system according to claim 1, wherein the advance notice further indicates (i) the medical procedure location and (ii) the storage location (¶0114 Referring to FIG. 8, a schematic example of activity logs for a response scenario is shown. In an implementation, the activity log 780 may include logged information for one or more responders, one or more items of medical equipment, and/or one or more types of medical equipment. In the example of FIG. 8, three responders 810A, 810B, and 810C (e.g., responder 1, responder 2, and responder 3) are shown. Each of these three responders 810A, 810B, and 810C is associated with a respective mobile device, for example the mobile devices 820A, 820B, and 820C. These three responders are all associated with the emergency event 840).
Pierson teaches:
Claim 10. The medical procedure preparation system according to claim 1, wherein the preparation start time is calculated further based on (v) a cleaning status of the medical device (¶0053 Medical and/or public safety equipment like automated external defibrillators (AEDs), drug overdose kits (e.g., NARCAN®), fire extinguishers, first aid kits, trauma kits, etc. may be publicly available and designed for ease of use without specialized training. In this way, a lay person, or a professional, may provide resuscitative care to the victim within minutes of an emergency event (e.g., a cardiac arrest, a drug overdose, a fire, an injury, etc.) and possibly prior to treatment by medical professionals and/or emergency medical services. However, in order to ensure that this equipment is ready for use and compliant with local regulations and/or manufacturer's guidelines, the medical equipment may require monitoring of operational status along with routine maintenance and/or inspection. Public safety equipment, emergency equipment, and/or hospital equipment may require monitoring, maintenance, and possibly inspections to ensure that the medical equipment is in working order at the time of use).
Pierson teaches:
Claim 11. The medical procedure preparation system according to claim 1, wherein calculation one of (a) and (b) is further based on a time of arrival of the medical device at (i) the medical procedure location (¶0006 One or more of the methods may include displaying a timer with the activity log. The timer may indicate an elapsed time between a current time and a time of receipt of the emergency event information from an emergency dispatch service. One or more of the methods may include automatically updating the activity log based on an update to the responder status information. The activity log may include a time-stamp for the responder status information. The responder status information may include current status information and historical status information).
Pierson teaches:
Claim 13. The medical procedure preparation system according to claim 1, wherein when device (¶0115 the software application 225 may automatically provide status information for each member of a group of registered responders to each other member of the group of registered responders. The status information may include one or more of the response status (e.g., via the accept button 320 shown in FIG. 3), the navigation status (e.g., via one or more of the buttons 490, 495, 590, 936, and 1110 as shown in FIGS. 4A, 4C, 5A, 9, and 11) and/or the equipment acquisition status (e.g., via the equipment acquisition control 936 shown in FIG. 7). The equipment acquisition status may also provide a navigation status as acquisition of the emergency equipment may indicate that the registered responder has arrived at the registered medical equipment. The navigation status may further include an automatic update when the registered responder reaches the location of the emergency event as described below with regard to FIG. 10B. ¶0190 As an example, the equipment status may be a time availability of the equipment. The time availability refers to times of day that the equipment is available based on, for example, times at which a building or other structure that houses the medical equipment provides access to the equipment. As discussed below with regard to FIG. 24, an equipment registration process may prompt the user for time availability information. In an implementation, unavailable equipment may be gray and available equipment may be another color or a different shade of gray. Alternatively or additionally, unavailable equipment may have a smaller icon than available equipment. As another example, the equipment status may be an operational status of the equipment. The operational status of the equipment may include or refer to an operational status of equipment components.. In an implementation, the equipment status may be a combination of time availability and operational status ¶0225 In an implementation, one or more of the estimated travel times to equipment and/or to the emergency event (e.g., the travel times shown on the interactive map 410 by the indicators 460a and 460b) may include an interior travel time. The interior travel time may be a time between when a responder enters a facility or area in which the registered medical equipment is stored and when the responder arrives at the storage location within the facility or area.).
Pierson teaches:
Claim 16. The medical procedure preparation system according to claim 1, wherein the preparation start time is calculated further based on arrival/departure location information indicating an arrival/departure location of the medical device between (i) the medical procedure location and (ii) the storage location (¶0226 The ordering may depend on the travel time to the medical equipment and/or to the emergency event. In an implementation, the estimated travel times to the equipment and/or from the equipment to the emergency event may include time needed for a responder to locate the equipment within a storage location, e.g., an interior travel time. For example, if the medical equipment is located inside of a building, it will take the responder a certain amount of time to reach the equipment once they enter the building and then additional time to exit from the building. Thus, the management system 270 may estimate the amount of time to reach the equipment once the responder enters the facility and/or the equipment database may include a pre-determined time for use by the management system 270 in determining estimated travel times. In an implementation, the management system 270 may access an interior map of the storage location and estimate or determine the interior travel time based on the interior map. Although referred to as an “interior” map, the storage location may be indoors, outdoors, or a combination thereof. For example, the storage location may include a courtyard, balcony, and/or rooftop area and/or may be a facility such as a stadium, airport, shopping center, etc. that may include indoor and/or outdoor areas.).
Pierson teaches:
Claim 17. The medical procedure preparation system according to claim 1, further comprising: the transport device configured to the medical device from (ii) the storage location to (i) the medical procedure location (¶0226 the responder 110 may tap on a location indicator for the equipment and/or respond to a prompt to confirm that he/she has acquired an item of registered medical equipment. In an implementation, the management system 270 may determine the navigable routes between the equipment and the emergency event and/or the recommendations of the navigable routes in response to and/or based on the confirmation of acquisition of the registered medical equipment. In various implementations, the management system 270 may determine the estimated travel times based on a mode of transport of the responder. The management system 270 may use a default mode of transport and/or may prompt the responder to indicate the mode of transport and use the indicated mode of transport. The mode of transport may be, for example, but not limited to, walking or running or vehicular (e.g., driving, biking, public transportation, ambulance, fire truck, etc.). The management system 270 may estimate the travel times using an assumed, estimated, and/or default speed associated with the mode of transport.).
Pierson teaches:
Claim 18. The medical procedure preparation system according to claim 8, wherein the advance notice comprises a first display image, and wherein the at least one processor is further configured to: output a second display image indicating (c) the updated preparation start time to the display; and switch the first display image and the second display image (¶0115 the activity log 780 may provide information on activities of one or more of the responders involved with the emergency event 840. In the example of FIG. 8, the activity log 780 includes the activities for all of the responders 810A, 810B, and 810C. For example, when any one of these responders enters, changes, and/or confirms a status, the activity log 780 available to all of the responders associated with the emergency event 840 may automatically update to include the entered, changed, and/or confirmed status information. As another example, the software application 225 may determine a navigation status or equipment acquisition status for one or more of the responders. This status may be a current status and the software application 225 may include this determined status in the activity log 780. Further, the software application 225 may automatically update the activity log 780 in response to changes in the navigation status and/or equipment acquisition status for one or more of the registered responders.).
As per claims 19 and 20, the method and method tracks the system of claims 1 and 1, respectively, resulting in substantially similar limitations. The same cited prior art and rationale of claims 1 and 1 are applied to claims 19 and 20, respectively. Claim 20 has additional limitation as follows, however:
Pierson teaches:
receiving an input signal from an input interface (¶0068 A processor of the computing device 220 (e.g., the processor 1010a shown in FIG. 30A) may execute functions of the software application 225 to control an output device (e.g., the output device 1040a shown in FIG. 30A) and/or an input device (e.g., the input device 1030a shown in FIG. 30A) to provide information to and capture information from the registered responder 110. In an implementation, as illustrated for example in FIGS. 3-10, the software application 225 may provide and receive information via a graphical user interface (GUI) on a display screen. The display screen may be a touchscreen configured to function as both an input and an output device. Alternatively, or additionally, the software application 225 may provide and receive all or a portion of the information described with regard to FIGS. 2A-10 via other input and/or output devices which may include, for example, but not limited to, one or more of audio and/or haptic devices, a camera, a radio receiver and/or transmitter, etc.).
Claims 12 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Pierson et al. (US 20220359064 A1) hereinafter referred to as Pierson in view of Dillingham et al. (US 20160098930 A1) hereinafter referred to as Dillingham in further view of Hirose et al. (US 20130297343 A1) hereinafter referred to as Hirose.
Pierson teaches:
Claim 12. The medical procedure preparation system according to claim 1, wherein the medical device comprises an endoscope (¶0220 The medical equipment may perform a self-test either automatically or upon user initiation. The medical device information may additionally or alternatively include software update and/or configuration information. In an implementation, the medical device information may be specific to the particular type of medical device. For example, the medical device information for an AED may include battery information, electrode pad information, and/or information for other consumable components. The medical device information for a drug delivery device may include a drug expiration date. The medical device information for a fire extinguisher may include inspection information such as a pressure gauge reading.).
Although not explicitly taught by Pierson in view of Dillingham, Hirose teaches in the analogous art of medical information management system and management apparatus:
wherein the medical device comprises an endoscope (¶0032 Accordingly, the management apparatus 50 is configured to perform processing for associating execution information with biological information based on the fact that a location where medical practice has been executed and a location where the monitor device 30 is arranged match each other. In the embodiment in FIG. 1, a situation is illustrated, in which the endoscope system 10 and the monitor device 30 are installed in the same examination room 2. The corresponding information holding unit 74 holds location information for specifying a location where medical practice is executed and identification information on a device installed in the location, by mapping them to each other).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the medical information management system and management apparatus of Hirose with the system for management of medical equipment and responders of Pierson in view of Dillingham for the following reasons:
(1) a finding that there was some teaching, suggestion, or motivation, either in the references themselves or in the knowledge generally available to one of ordinary skill in the art, to modify the reference or to combine reference teachings, e.g. Pierson ¶0004 teaches that it is desirable to have a system with access to appropriate and publicly available medical equipment which may enable these lay responders to provide the potentially life-saving care;
(2) a finding that there was reasonable expectation of success since the only difference between the claimed invention and the prior art being the lack of actual combination of the elements in a single prior art reference, e.g. Pierson Abstract teaches a system for managing responders acquiring medical equipment and responding to an emergency medical event includes mobile devices associated with responders, Dillingham Abstract teaches a mobile device provides the user with a graphical user interface, which may be used to review information regarding the request and, if required, modify the information based on the fulfillment of the request, and Hirose Abstract teaches an information acquiring unit acquires state information on a state of a patient and a transmission unit transmits the patient identification information and the state information to a management apparatus; and
(3) whatever additional findings based on the Graham factual inquiries may be necessary, in view of the facts of the case under consideration, to explain a conclusion of obviousness, e.g. Pierson in view of Dillingham at least the above cited paragraphs, and Hirose at least the inclusively cited paragraphs.
Therefore, it would be obvious to one skilled in the art at the time of the invention to combine the medical information management system and management apparatus of Hirose with the system for management of medical equipment and responders of Pierson in view of Dillingham. The rationale to support a conclusion that the claim would have been obvious is that "a person of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to combine the prior art to achieve the claimed invention and whether there would have been a reasonable expectation of success in doing so." DyStar Textilfarben GmbH & Co. Deutschland KG v. C.H. Patrick Co., 464 F.3d 1356, 1360, 80 USPQ2d 1641, 1645 (Fed. Cir. 2006). See MPEP 2143(G).
Conclusion
Applicant's amendment necessitated the new ground(s) of rejection presented in this Office action. Accordingly, THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. See MPEP § 706.07(a). Applicant is reminded of the extension of time policy as set forth in 37 CFR 1.136(a).
A shortened statutory period for reply to this final action is set to expire THREE MONTHS from the mailing date of this action. In the event a first reply is filed within TWO MONTHS of the mailing date of this final action and the advisory action is not mailed until after the end of the THREE-MONTH shortened statutory period, then the shortened statutory period will expire on the date the advisory action is mailed, and any extension fee pursuant to 37 CFR 1.136(a) will be calculated from the mailing date of the advisory action. In no event, however, will the statutory period for reply expire later than SIX MONTHS from the date of this final action.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to KURTIS GILLS whose telephone number is (571)270-3315. The examiner can normally be reached on M-F 8-5 PM.
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/KURTIS GILLS/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3624
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