DETAILED ACTION
The following Office Action is in response to the Amendment filed on April 10, 2026. Claims 1-15 are currently pending.
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 .
Response to Amendment
Concerning the “Claim Objections” section on page 5 of the Applicant’s Response filed on April 10, 2026, the amendments to claims 1 and 3 to address the informalities have obviated the necessity of the objections to the claims. Therefore, the objections are withdrawn.
Response to Arguments
Concerning the “Claim Rejections under 35 U.S.C. §102/§103” section on pages 5-6 of the Applicant’s Response filed on April 10, 2026, the applicant’s arguments have been fully considered, but they are moot in view of the new ground(s) of rejection.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
The following is a quotation of the first paragraph of 35 U.S.C. 112(a):
(a) IN GENERAL.—The specification shall contain a written description of the invention, and of the manner and process of making and using it, in such full, clear, concise, and exact terms as to enable any person skilled in the art to which it pertains, or with which it is most nearly connected, to make and use the same, and shall set forth the best mode contemplated by the inventor or joint inventor of carrying out the invention.
The following is a quotation of the first paragraph of pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112:
The specification shall contain a written description of the invention, and of the manner and process of making and using it, in such full, clear, concise, and exact terms as to enable any person skilled in the art to which it pertains, or with which it is most nearly connected, to make and use the same, and shall set forth the best mode contemplated by the inventor of carrying out his invention.
Claims 1-15 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(a) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), first paragraph, as failing to comply with the written description requirement. The claim(s) contains subject matter which was not described in the specification in such a way as to reasonably convey to one skilled in the relevant art that the inventor or a joint inventor, or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the inventor(s), at the time the application was filed, had possession of the claimed invention. Lines 5-7 of claim 1 recite the limitation of “an elongated member having an anchor engaging portion at a first end thereof configured to engage the anchor and an anchor engaging portion at an opposite end thereof configured to engage the anchor”. However, there is no teaching in the Specification that suggests that both ends of the elongate member are configured to engage the anchor. The Specification only describes one anchor engaging portion associated with the elongate member (Figures 2 & 4; 188). The opposite end includes a tracking device and structures for engaging a drape (Figures 2, 4, & 5; 220), but there is no teaching that this end of the elongate member is designed to or configured to engage the anchor, therein failing to define an additional anchor engaging portion. Thus, the claims fail to comply with the written description requirement given the inclusion of an anchor engaging portion at a first end of the elongated member and an anchor engaging portion at an opposite end of the elongated member has not been described in such a way as to reasonably convey to one skilled in the relevant art that the inventor had possession of the claimed invention at the time the application was filed. Claims 2-15 are further rejected for being dependent on a claim introducing new matter.
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 nonprovisional extension fee (37 CFR 1.17(a)) 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 mailing date of this final action.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to MARTIN TRUYEN TON whose telephone number is (571)270-5122. The examiner can normally be reached Monday - Friday; EST 10:00 AM - 6:30 PM.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Darwin Erezo can be reached at 571-272-4695. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/MARTIN T TON/Examiner, Art Unit 3771 6/12/2026
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