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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 .
Double Patenting
The nonstatutory double patenting rejection is based on a judicially created doctrine grounded in public policy (a policy reflected in the statute) so as to prevent the unjustified or improper timewise extension of the “right to exclude” granted by a patent and to prevent possible harassment by multiple assignees. A nonstatutory double patenting rejection is appropriate where the claims at issue are not identical, but at least one examined application claim is not patentably distinct from the reference claim(s) because the examined application claim is either anticipated by, or would have been obvious over, the reference claim(s). See, e.g., In re Berg, 140 F.3d 1428, 46 USPQ2d 1226 (Fed. Cir. 1998); In re Goodman, 11 F.3d 1046, 29 USPQ2d 2010 (Fed. Cir. 1993); In re Longi, 759 F.2d 887, 225 USPQ 645 (Fed. Cir. 1985); In re Van Ornum, 686 F.2d 937, 214 USPQ 761 (CCPA 1982); In re Vogel, 422 F.2d 438, 164 USPQ 619 (CCPA 1970); and In re Thorington, 418 F.2d 528, 163 USPQ 644 (CCPA 1969).
A timely filed terminal disclaimer in compliance with 37 CFR 1.321(c) or 1.321(d) may be used to overcome an actual or provisional rejection based on a nonstatutory double patenting ground provided the reference application or patent either is shown to be commonly owned with this application, or claims an invention made as a result of activities undertaken within the scope of a joint research agreement. A terminal disclaimer must be signed in compliance with 37 CFR 1.321(b).
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Claims 1-24 are non-provisionally rejected on the ground of nonstatutory obviousness-type double patenting as being unpatentable over claims 1-20 of US Patent No.12,100,142. Although the claims at issue are not identical, they are not patentably distinct from each other because claims 1-20 of US Patent No. 12,100,142 encompasses the limitations of claims 1-20 of instant application. Moreover, omission of a reference element whose function is not needed would be obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art. It is well settled that the omission of an element and its functions is an obvious expedient if the remaining elements performs the same function as before In re Karison, 163 USPQ 184 (CCPA 1963). Also note Ex parte Rainu, 168 uspq 375 (Bd. App. 1969).
More specifically, the independent claims 1-24 of the present application are same scope, same function and same results as claims 1-20 of the US Patent No. 12,100,142. In addition, even though the claims of present application omitted or simply rearranged claimed structure, or added the limitation using similar claimed elements, the function and results of claimed invention of the US Patent No. 12,100,142 is same as claimed invention of the present application.
In addition, the independent claims 1, 18, and 24 of the present application is the same invention as the independent claims 1, 17, and 20 of the US Patent No. 12,100,142. The subject matter in the instant application is fully disclosed in the US Patent No. 12,100,142 and is covered by the US Patent No. 12,100,142 since the US Patent No. 12,100,142 and the instant application are claiming common subject matter, as follows, and the difference of the limitations are wordings differently.
For example;
Instant Application
U.S. Patent No. 12,100,142, Application No. 17/655,542
1. A method for evaluating fluid flow, comprising:
generating a visualization of a structure, the structure comprising at least one fluid flow path;
determining a region of the at least one fluid flow path for flow analysis; and performing the flow analysis, wherein performing the flow analysis comprises:
defining a guide curve along at least a portion of the at least one fluid flow path;
defining a plurality of subsets of planes along the guide curve, each plane of the plurality of subsets of planes intersecting the region to define a respective cross-section of a plurality of cross-sections of the region, and
determining which one of the plurality of cross-sections has a smallest surface area; and displaying a size of the smallest surface area;
each subset of planes of the plurality of subsets of planes comprising a respective plurality of planes sharing a respective intersection point with the guide curve;
1. A method for evaluating fluid flow, comprising:
generating a model of a structure based on a plurality of images of the structure, the structure comprising at least one fluid flow path;
determining a region of the at least one fluid flow path for flow analysis; and performing the flow analysis, wherein performing the flow analysis comprises:
defining a guide curve along at least a portion of the at least one fluid flow path;
defining a first plurality of planes along the guide curve, each of the first plurality of planes orthogonal to the guide curve and intersecting the region to define at least some of a plurality of cross-sections of the region;
defining a second plurality of planes, each of the second plurality of planes corresponding to a rotation of one of the one or more of the first plurality of planes about a first axis perpendicular to the guide curve, each of the second plurality of planes intersecting the region to define at least some of the plurality of cross-sections of the region;
determining which one of the plurality of cross-sections has a smallest surface area; and displaying a size of the smallest surface area.
12. A method of claim 10 ……..determining which one of the one or more planes in each subset has the smallest surface area, wherein each subset consists of a selection of planes sharing an intersection point with the guide curve.
2. The method of claim 1, wherein defining the plurality of subsets of planes along the guide curve comprises:
defining a first plurality of planes along the guide curve, the first plurality of planes orthogonal to the guide curve and intersecting the region to define at least some of the plurality of cross-sections of the region;
defining a second plurality of planes, each of the second plurality of planes corresponding to a respective rotation of a respective plane of the first plurality of planes about a first axis perpendicular to the guide curve, the second plurality of planes intersecting the region to define at least some of the plurality of cross-sections of the region; and dividing the first plurality of planes and the second plurality of planes into the plurality of subsets of planes.
1. A method for evaluating fluid flow……
defining a first plurality of planes along the guide curve, each of the first plurality of planes orthogonal to the guide curve and intersecting the region to define at least some of a plurality of cross-sections of the region;
defining a second plurality of planes, each of the second plurality of planes corresponding to a rotation of one of the one or more of the first plurality of planes about a first axis perpendicular to the guide curve, each of the second plurality of planes intersecting the region to define at least some of the plurality of cross-sections of the region
3. The method of claim 2, wherein defining the plurality of subsets of planes along the guide curve further comprises defining a third plurality of planes, each of the third plurality of planes corresponding to a respective rotation of a respective plane of the first plurality of planes about a second axis perpendicular to the guide curve and the first axis, the third plurality of planes intersecting the region to define at least some of the plurality of cross-sections of the region.
10. The method of claim 1, further comprising defining a third plurality of planes, each of the third plurality of planes corresponding to a rotation of one of the one or more of the first plurality of planes about a second axis perpendicular to the guide curve and the first axis, each of the third plurality of planes intersecting the region to define at least some of the plurality of cross-sections of the region.
4. The method of claim 3, wherein defining the plurality of subsets of planes along the guide curve further comprises defining a fourth plurality of planes, each of the fourth plurality of planes corresponding to a respective rotation of a respective plane of the second plurality of planes or the third plurality of planes about a third axis tangential to the guide curve, the fourth plurality of planes intersecting the region to define at least some of the plurality of cross-sections of the region.
11. The method of claim 10, further comprising defining a fourth plurality of planes, each of the fourth plurality of planes corresponding to a rotation of one of the one or more of the first plurality of planes, the second plurality of planes, or the third plurality of planes about a third axis tangential to the guide curve, each of the fourth plurality of planes intersecting the region to define at least some of the plurality of cross-sections of the region.
6. The method of claim 1, wherein the visualization of the structure further comprises a virtual model of a prosthetic device, and further comprising selecting a revised virtual model of the prosthetic device based on a treatment plan to improve fluid flow in a second fluid flow path.
2. The method of claim 1, wherein the model of the structure further comprises a virtual model of a prosthetic device, and further comprising selecting a revised virtual model of the prosthetic device based on a treatment plan to improve fluid flow in a second fluid flow path.
7. The method of claim 6, wherein: the visualization of the structure comprises a visualization of at least a portion of a heart of a patient; the region of the at least one fluid flow path for the flow analysis comprises a left ventricle outflow tract of the at least the portion of the heart of the patient; and the virtual model of the prosthetic device comprises a virtual model of a prosthetic mitral valve.
3. The method of claim 2, wherein: the model of the structure comprises a model of at least a portion of a heart of a patient; the region of the at least one fluid flow path for the flow analysis comprises a left ventricle outflow tract of at least the portion of the heart of the patient; and the virtual model of the prosthetic device comprises a virtual model of a prosthetic mitral valve.
8. The method of claim 1, wherein defining the guide curve comprises: selecting a first point at a first location of the at least one fluid flow path; and selecting a second point at a second location of the at least one fluid flow path, wherein defining the guide curve comprises defining the guide curve from the first point to the second point such that the guide curve follows a direction of fluid flow through the at least one fluid flow path.
4. The method of claim 1, wherein defining the guide curve comprises: selecting a first point at a first location of the at least one fluid flow path; and selecting a second point at a second location of the at least one fluid flow path, wherein defining the guide curve comprises defining the guide curve from the first point to the second point such that the guide curve follows a direction of fluid flow through the at least one fluid flow path.
9. The method of claim 8, wherein: the first point and the second point comprise points located at opposite ends of the at least one fluid flow path which are centered in the at least one fluid flow path; or the second point comprises a point near a fluid flow exit of a model of the structure and the first point comprises: an arbitrary point located within the model of the structure, a point indicated within the model of the structure, an anatomical landmark within the model of the structure, or a point at a center of the region of the at least one fluid flow path.
5. The method of claim 4, wherein: the first point and the second point comprise points located at opposite ends of the at least one fluid flow path which are centered in the at least one fluid flow path; or the first point comprises: an arbitrary point located within the model of the structure, a point indicated within the model of the structure, an anatomical landmark within the model of the structure, or a point at a center of the region of the at least one fluid flow path, and the second point comprises a point near a fluid flow exit of the model of the structure.
10. The method of claim 1, wherein defining the guide curve comprises calculating a centerline path of the at least one fluid flow path, wherein the centerline path is bounded by the structure, and wherein the guide curve follows the centerline path.
6. The method of claim 1, wherein defining the guide curve comprises calculating a centerline path of the at least one fluid flow path, wherein the centerline path is bounded by the structure, and wherein the guide curve follows the centerline path.
11. The method of claim 1, wherein defining the guide curve comprises defining a straight line segment between a first point in the structure and a second point within a threshold of an exit of the at least one fluid flow path from the structure.
12. The method of claim 11, wherein the first point is one of a center or an apex of the structure.
7. The method of claim 1, wherein defining the guide curve comprises defining a straight line segment between a first point in the structure and a second point within a threshold of an exit of the at least one fluid flow path from the structure.
8. The method of claim 7, wherein the first point is one of a center or an apex of the structure.
13. The method of claim 11, wherein the structure is a left ventricle of a heart of a patient, and wherein the second point is one of a point near an aortic valve, a manually indicated point near the aortic valve, or a center of the aortic valve.
9. The method of claim 7, wherein the structure is a left ventricle of a heart of a patient, and wherein the second point is one of a point near an aortic valve, a manually indicated point near the aortic valve, or a center of the aortic valve.
14. The method claim 1, wherein determining which one of the plurality of cross-sections has the smallest surface area comprises determining for each subset of planes of the plurality of subsets of planes which one of the respective plurality of planes in said subset of planes has a respective cross section with a respective smallest surface area, the method further comprising, based on the respective smallest surface area of each of the plurality of subsets of planes, profiling each respective smallest surface area along the guide curve to generate a smallest surface area profile.
12. A method of claim 10 ……………... wherein determining which one of the plurality of cross-sections has the smallest surface area comprises determining which one of the one or more planes in each subset has the smallest surface area
13. The method claim 12, further comprising, based on the smallest surface area of each of the two or more subsets, profiling the smallest surface area along the guide curve to generate a smallest surface area profile.
15. The method of claim 14, further comprising, based on the smallest surface area profile, identifying a discrete stenosis or a tunnel stenosis.
14. The method of claim 13, further comprising, based on the smallest surface area profile, identifying a discrete stenosis or a tunnel stenosis.
16. The method of claim 1, wherein the visualization of the structure comprises one or more of: one or more images of the structure; or a virtual three-dimensional model based on one or more images of the structure.
1. A method for evaluating fluid flow, comprising: generating a model of a structure based on a plurality of images of the structure….
17. The method of claim 16, wherein the one or more images comprise a plurality of computed tomography (CT) scans of the structure.
15. The method of claim 1, wherein the plurality of images comprise a plurality of computed tomography (CT) scans of the structure.
18. An apparatus for evaluating fluid flow, comprising: memory and one or more processors communicatively coupled to the memory, the one or more processors configured to:
generate a visualization of a structure, the structure comprising at least one fluid flow path;
determine a region of the at least one fluid flow path for flow analysis; and perform the flow analysis, wherein to perform the flow analysis comprises to: define a guide curve along at least a portion of the at least one fluid flow path;
define a plurality of subsets of planes along the guide curve, each plane of the plurality of subsets of planes intersecting the region to define a respective cross-section of a plurality of cross-sections of the region, and
determine which one of the plurality of cross-sections has a smallest surface area; and
display a size of the smallest surface area.
each subset of planes of the plurality of subsets of planes comprising a respective plurality of planes sharing a respective intersection point with the guide curve;
17. An apparatus for evaluating fluid flow, comprising: a memory; and a processor communicatively coupled to the memory, the processor and the memory configured to:
generate a model of a structure based on a plurality of images of the structure, the structure comprising at least one fluid flow path;
determine a region of the at least one fluid flow path for flow analysis and perform the flow analysis, wherein performing the flow analysis comprises: defining a guide curve along at least a portion of the at least one fluid flow path;
defining a first plurality of planes along the guide curve, each of the first plurality of planes orthogonal to the guide curve and intersecting the region to define at least some of a plurality of cross-sections of the region; defining a second plurality of planes, each of the second plurality of planes corresponding to a rotation of one of the one or more of the first plurality of planes about a first axis perpendicular to the guide curve, each of the second plurality of planes intersecting the region to define at least some of the plurality of cross-sections of the region;
determining which one of the plurality of cross-sections has a smallest surface area; and
displaying a size of the smallest surface area.
12. A method of claim 10,….. determining which one of the one or more planes in each subset has the smallest surface area, wherein each subset consists of a selection of planes sharing an intersection point with the guide curve.
19. The apparatus of claim 18, wherein the visualization of the structure further comprises a virtual model of a prosthetic device, and wherein the one or more processors are further configured to select a revised virtual model of the prosthetic device based on a treatment plan to improve fluid flow in a second fluid flow path.
18. The apparatus of claim 17, wherein the model of the structure further comprises a virtual model of a prosthetic device, and wherein the processor and the memory are further configured to select a revised virtual model of the prosthetic device based on a treatment plan to improve fluid flow in a second fluid flow path.
20. The apparatus of claim 18, wherein to define the guide curve comprises to calculate a centerline path of the at least one fluid flow path, wherein the centerline path is bounded by the structure, and wherein the guide curve follows the centerline path.
6. The method of claim 1, wherein defining the guide curve comprises calculating a centerline path of the at least one fluid flow path, wherein the centerline path is bounded by the structure, and wherein the guide curve follows the centerline path.
21. The apparatus of claim 18, wherein to define the guide curve comprises to define a straight line segment between a first point in the structure and a second point within a threshold of an exit of the at least one fluid flow path from the structure.
7. The method of claim 1, wherein defining the guide curve comprises defining a straight line segment between a first point in the structure and a second point within a threshold of an exit of the at least one fluid flow path from the structure.
22. The apparatus of claim 18, wherein the visualization of the structure comprises one or more of: one or more images of the structure; or a virtual three-dimensional model based on one or more images of the structure.
17. An apparatus for evaluating fluid flow generate a model of a structure based on a plurality of images of the structure…….
23. The apparatus of claim 22, wherein the one or more images comprise a plurality of computed tomography (CT) scans of the structure.
15. The method of claim 1, wherein the plurality of images comprise a plurality of computed tomography (CT) scans of the structure.
24. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium that stores instructions that when executed by one or more processors of an apparatus cause the apparatus to perform operations for evaluating fluid flow, the operations comprising:
generating a visualization of a structure, the structure comprising at least one fluid flow path;
determining a region of the at least one fluid flow path for flow analysis; and
performing the flow analysis, wherein performing the flow analysis comprises: defining a guide curve along at least a portion of the at least one fluid flow path;
defining a plurality of subsets of planes along the guide curve, each plane of the plurality of subsets of planes intersecting the region to define a respective cross-section of a plurality of cross-sections of the region, and
determining which one of the plurality of cross-sections has a smallest surface area; and
displaying a size of the smallest surface area.
each subset of planes of the plurality of subsets of planes comprising a respective plurality of planes sharing a respective intersection point with the guide curve;
20. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium that stores instructions that when executed by a processor of an apparatus cause the apparatus to perform a method for evaluating fluid flow, the method comprising:
generating a model of a structure based on a plurality of images of the structure, the structure comprising at least one fluid flow path;
determining a region of the at least one fluid flow path for flow analysis; and
performing the flow analysis, wherein performing the flow analysis comprises: defining a guide curve along at least a portion of the at least one fluid flow path;
defining a first plurality of planes along the guide curve, each of the first plurality of planes orthogonal to the guide curve and intersecting the region to define at least some of a plurality of cross-sections of the region;
defining a second plurality of planes, each of the second plurality of planes corresponding to a rotation of one of the one or more of the first plurality of planes about a first axis perpendicular to the guide curve, each of the second plurality of planes intersecting the region to define at least some of the plurality of cross-sections of the region;
determining which one of the plurality of cross-sections has a smallest surface area; and
displaying a size of the smallest surface area.
12. A method of claim 10 ……determining which one of the one or more planes in each subset has the smallest surface area, wherein each subset consists of a selection of planes sharing an intersection point with the guide curve.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. Sahbaee Bagherzadeh et al. (US Patent #12,059,237), Schoenhagen et al. (US 2023/0022472), Lavi et al. (US Patent #11,076,770), Schoenhagen et al. (US 2020/0402232), Freiman et al. (US 2020/0375564), Samady et al. (US 2020/0352536), Gopalan (US Patent #10,415,251), Dehghan Marvast et al. (US 2019/0105008), Arakita et al. (US 2018/0357767), Berger et al. (US 2018/0218514), Brown et al. (US 2018/0082420), Sharma et al. (US Patent #9,538,925), Rapaka et al. (US 2016/0260208), Lavi et al. (US 2016/0247279), Benishti et al. (US 2015/0339847), Fonte et al. (US Patent #8,824,752), Taylor et al. (US 2013/0064438), and Helm et al. (US 2012/0099768).
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