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 Objections
Claims 2, 8, 9, 10, 11 and 12 are objected to because of the following informalities:
Claim 2 ends with two periods. Appropriate correction is required.
Claim 8, variables W and L are not defined. Appropriate correction is required.
Claim 9, variables dz and delta z are not defined. Further, the claim recites “i.e.” in lines 9 and 20. In order to avoid 112 issues, the recitation of “i.e.” should be avoided or eliminated. Appropriate correction is required.
Claim 10, variables I, W and dx are not defined. Appropriate correction is required.
Claim 11, variables J, W and dy are not defined. Appropriate correction is required.
Claim 12, variable B is not defined. Appropriate correction is required.
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.
(a)(2) the claimed invention was described in a patent issued under section 151, or in an application for patent published or deemed published under section 122(b), in which the patent or application, as the case may be, names another inventor and was effectively filed before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claim(s) 1 and 5 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) and (a)(2) as being anticipated by Friedman et al. (US 6,613,005 B1, hereinafter Fri).
Regarding claim 1, Fri discloses an ultrasonic phased array system based on a method for intelligent planning of target parameters (see abstract), comprising a central control unit (see fig. 2, elements 16, 20 and col. 4, lns 36-38)), an ultrasonic imaging unit (see abstract), a phased array emission unit (see abstract), a mechanical motion unit (see abstract), a degassed water treatment unit (see col.6, lns 44-46) and a composite probe (see abstract, transducer array including a plurality of sub arrays), wherein:
the central control unit comprises one or more processors, which are used for controlling the ultrasonic imaging unit, the phased array emission unit, the mechanical motion unit, the degassed water treatment unit and the composite probe and for planning target coordinates and emission parameters in a target region (see abstract, fig. 2, elements 16, 20; col. 4, lns 36-38; and col 6, lns 43-54);
the ultrasonic imaging unit acquiring image data (i.e. ultrasound system) of the target region through an ultrasonic imaging probe in the composite probe (see abstract and col. 3, lns 33-37);
the phased array emission unit generating one or more focal points in the target region by independently controlling emission phases of different array elements of a phased array transducer and being able to control focusing positions of one or more focal points (see col. 5, lns 62-67);
the mechanical motion unit comprising a mechanical motion driver and a multi-dimensional motion mechanical structure, and being used for moving the composite probe (see col. 6, lns 7-26 and lns 36-41);
the degassed water treatment unit being used for generating degassed water, transmitting the degassed water to a water tank of the composite probe and controlling the degassed water to circulate between the water tank and the degassed water treatment unit (see col. 6, lns 43-54); and
the composite probe comprising a phased array transducer, an ultrasonic imaging probe and an information storage device (see abstract and col. 2, ln 61 through col. 3, ln 12).
Regarding claim 5, Fri discloses the ultrasonic phased array system based on a method for intelligent planning of target parameters according to claim 1, wherein the information storage device is used for storing various parameters of the phased array transducer (see col. 3, lns 3-12);
the phased array transducer consisting of two or more independent array elements (see col. 2, lns, 50-60, col. 3, lns 12-23); and the ultrasonic imaging probe being coaxially assembled with the center of the phased array transducer, and the ultrasonic imaging probe being a 2D ultrasonic imaging probe or a 3D ultrasonic imaging probe (see col. 2, lns 50-65, and col 3. lns 33-37, ultrasound imaging covers 2D or 3D imaging).
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 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(s) 2 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Fri and further in view of Pahk et al. (US 2021/0169515 A1, hereinafter Pah).
Regarding claim 2, Fri discloses the ultrasonic phased array system based on a method for intelligent planning of target parameters according to claim 1. However, Fri fails to disclose wherein the central control unit receives the following information set by a user: spatial peak time average sound intensity I , ultrasonic irradiation time t and temperature threshold Tₚ of the focal region.
Pah discloses that the unit of ultrasound intensity is indicated by spatial-peak temporal-average intensity (Ispta) and spatial-peak pulse average intensity (Isppa) according to the Acoustic Output Measurement Standard for Diagnostic Ultrasound Equipment by American Institute for Ultrasound in Medicine and National Electronics Manufacturers Administration (see para. 0006). Pah also discloses the importance of controlling the intensity of focused ultrasound by adjusting ultrasonic irradiation time and knowing the temperature of the tissue reaching a threshold (see para. 0060).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Fri’s invention to incorporate the teachings of Pah for the benefit of controlling the ultrasound output by adjusting the pressure and intensity on a focused target.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 3-4 and 6-12 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.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to MANUEL A RIVERA VARGAS whose telephone number is (571)270-7870. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 9:00-6:00.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Shelby Turner can be reached at 571-272-6334. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/MANUEL A RIVERA VARGAS/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2857
