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 .
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Receipt is acknowledged of certified copies of papers required by 37 CFR 1.55.
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on 8/27/2024 is in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statement is being considered by the examiner.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
In the event the determination of the status of the application as subject to AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103 (or as subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103) is incorrect, any correction of the statutory basis (i.e., changing from AIA to pre-AIA ) for the rejection will not be considered a new ground of rejection if the prior art relied upon, and the rationale supporting the rejection, would be the same under either status.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 103 which forms the basis for all obviousness rejections set forth in this Office action:
A patent for a claimed invention may not be obtained, notwithstanding that the claimed invention is not identically disclosed as set forth in section 102, if the differences between the claimed invention and the prior art are such that the claimed invention as a whole would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art to which the claimed invention pertains. Patentability shall not be negated by the manner in which the invention was made.
The factual inquiries for establishing a background for determining obviousness under 35 U.S.C. 103 are summarized as follows:
1. Determining the scope and contents of the prior art.
2. Ascertaining the differences between the prior art and the claims at issue.
3. Resolving the level of ordinary skill in the pertinent art.
4. Considering objective evidence present in the application indicating obviousness or nonobviousness.
Claim(s) 1-3, 5, 10, 12-13, 15-16, 19-20 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Ichihara et. al. (United States Patent Application Publication US-20140350393-A1) in view of Arts et. al. (Arts T, Onkenhout LP, Amier RP, et al. Non-Invasive Assessment of Damping of Blood Flow Velocity Pulsatility in Cerebral Arteries With MRI. J Magn Reson Imaging. 2022;55(6):1785-1794. doi:10.1002/jmri.27989.
Regarding claim 1, Ichihara et. al. discloses a medical image processing apparatus comprising: processing circuitry configured to acquire medical image data of a site including a first blood vessel that is an artery and a second blood vessel that is an artery or a vein (Ichihara et. al. Abstract: The blood flow information generation unit generates, based on volume data or the data of the series of images, first blood flow information of a first region and second blood flow information of a second region different from the first region.);
specify a dominant area of the first blood vessel based on the medical image data (Ichihara et. al. [0118]: Fig. 5, a user such as a doctor uses an operation unit to specify a suspected stenosed portion on an image displayed on a display unit, and set, by ROI marks, a dominant region (to be referred to as a stenosed blood vessel downstream region) which receives supply of a blood from a blood vessel distributed downstream of the stenosed blood vessel, and a region (to be referred to as an unstenosed blood vessel downstream region) dominated by an unstenosed blood vessel branched from the stenosed blood vessel.),
a blood flow strength coefficient (Ichihara et. al. [0046]: Based on the first blood flow information and second blood flow information, the blood flow inhibition index generation unit generates a blood flow inhibition index representing the degree of inhibition of a blood flow in a blood vessel regarding the first or second region. The blood flow inhibition index is an index equivalent to a fractional flow reserve (FFR)),
and a blood flow strength coefficient of the second blood vessel (Ichihara et. al. [0046]-[0047]);
and output data for displaying the specified dominant area (Ichihara et. al. Figure 11: display blood flow inhibition index together with first and second regions).
However, Ichihara et. al. fails to disclose a damping coefficient of the first blood vessel, and a damping coefficient of the second blood vessel.
Arts et. al. teaches a damping coefficient of the first blood vessel, and a damping coefficient of the second blood vessel (Arts et. al.: Damping Index, Table 1). The damping coefficient or index is an important measure of the amount of damping between the middle cerebral artery and cerebral perforating arteries using one measure. It is a key parameter in the dynamic response of the arterial system. This is an important factor in the claimed invention because the damping coefficient determines how reliable the system reflects true arterial pressure, which can affect diagnosis and treatment decisions. Thus, it would have been obvious to one skilled in the art prior to the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have combined the teachings of Ichihara et. al. and Arts et. al. so that both the damping coefficient and the blood flow strength coefficient are considered in the solution of the claimed invention.
Regarding claim 2, Ichihara et. al. discloses the medical image processing apparatus of claim 1, wherein the blood flow strength coefficient of the first blood vessel is a coefficient based on at least one of a vascular diameter, a vascular length, a vascular position, a thickness of a vascular wall, blood pressure, and blood flow of the first blood vessel, the blood flow strength coefficient of the second blood vessel is a coefficient based on at least one of a vascular diameter, a vascular length, a vascular position, a thickness of a vascular wall, blood pressure, and blood flow of the second blood vessel (Ichihara et. al. [0046]-[0047]): FFR is defined by dividing the blood flow volume of a stenosed blood vessel by the blood flow volume of a blood vessel assumed not to be stenosed).
However, Ichihara et. al. fails to disclose the damping coefficient of the first blood vessel is a coefficient based on at least one of a distance from the first blood vessel, a position of a thrombus in the first blood vessel, and properties of tissue surrounding the first blood vessel, and the damping coefficient of the second blood vessel is a coefficient based on at least one of a distance from the second blood vessel, a position of a thrombus in the second blood vessel, and properties of tissue surrounding the second blood vessel.
Arts et. al. teaches the damping coefficient of the first blood vessel is a coefficient based on at least one of a distance from the first blood vessel, a position of a thrombus in the first blood vessel, and properties of tissue surrounding the first blood vessel, and the damping coefficient of the second blood vessel is a coefficient based on at least one of a distance from the second blood vessel, a position of a thrombus in the second blood vessel, and properties of tissue surrounding the second blood vessel (Arts et. al. Damping Index).
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Here, Arts et. al. defines the damping index of blood vessels using the equations above, which can be derived from properties of tissue surrounding the blood vessel of the basal ganglia (BG) and the middle cerebral artery (M1).
These factors are important in characterizing the blood vessels for further analysis and diagnosis. Thus, it would have been obvious to one skilled in the art prior to the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have combined the teachings of Ichihara et. al. and Arts et. al. so that both the blood flow strength coefficient and damping coefficient are considered.
Regarding claim 3, Ichihara et. al. discloses the medical image processing apparatus of claim 1, wherein the second blood vessel is an artery adjacent to the first blood vessel (Ichihara et. al. Figure 5, where the first blood vessel is stenosed indicated by the LAD (left anterior descending) ROI and the second blood vessel is unstenosed indicated by the LCX (left circumflex artery) ROI, the blood flow strength coefficient of the first blood vessel represents a strength of a blood flow of blood diffused from inside to outside of the first blood vessel, the blood flow strength coefficient of the second blood vessel represents a strength of a blood flow of blood diffused from inside to outside of the second blood vessel (Ichihara et. al. [0046]-[0047]): FFR is defined by dividing the blood flow volume of a stenosed blood vessel by the blood flow volume of a blood vessel assumed not to be stenosed. By definition, blood flow in the circulatory system is always from regions of higher pressure to regions of lower pressure, which means it moves from the inside (arterial) end of a vessel toward the outside (venous) end based on the fluid gradient created), wherein the processing circuitry is further configured to specify dominant areas of the first blood vessel and the second blood vessel; and output data for displaying the dominant areas of the first blood vessel and the second blood vessel (Ichihara et. al. Figure 11: display blood flow inhibition index together with first and second regions).
However, Ichihara et. al. fails to disclose the damping coefficient of the first blood vessel represents damping characteristics of the blood flow in a peripheral tissue of the first blood vessel, and the damping coefficient of the second blood vessel represents damping characteristics of the blood flow in a peripheral tissue of the second blood vessel.
Arts et. al. discloses the damping coefficient of the first blood vessel represents damping characteristics of the blood flow in a peripheral tissue of the first blood vessel, and the damping coefficient of the second blood vessel represents damping characteristics of the blood flow in a peripheral tissue of the second blood vessel (Arts et. al. Damping Index).
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Based on the ROI defined by Ichihara et. al., Arts et. al. can define the damping characteristics for the peripheral tissue shown. Thus, it would have been obvious to one skilled in the art prior to the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have combined the teachings of Ichihara et. al. and Arts et. al. so that both the blood flow strength coefficient and damping coefficient are properly defined.
Regarding claim 5, Ichihara et. al. and Arts et. al. disclose the medical image processing apparatus of claim 3. Ichihara et. al. discloses wherein the site of the medical image data includes a third blood vessel that is a vein (Ichihara et. al. [0094]-[0097]) Anatomically, the great cardiac vein is the largest tributary of the coronary sinus and is the main venous vessel that runs close to the left anterior descending artery), a blood flow strength coefficient of the third blood vessel represents a strength of a blood flow of blood that converges from outside to inside of the third blood vessel (Ichihara et. al. [0046]-[0047]): FFR is defined by dividing the blood flow volume of a stenosed blood vessel by the blood flow volume of a blood vessel assumed not to be stenosed. By definition, blood flow in the circulatory system is always from regions of higher pressure to regions of lower pressure, which means it moves from the inside (arterial) end of a vessel toward the outside (venous) end based on the fluid gradient created) , wherein the processing circuitry is further configured to specify dominant areas of the first blood vessel and the second blood vessel based on the medical image data and blood flow strength coefficients; and output data for displaying the dominant areas of the first blood vessel and the second blood vessel (Ichihara et. al. Figure 11: display blood flow inhibition index together with first and second regions).
Arts et. al. teaches the damping coefficient of the third blood vessel represents damping characteristics of the blood flow in a peripheral tissue of the third blood vessel, wherein the processing circuitry is further configured to specify dominant areas of the first blood vessel and the second blood vessel based on the medical image data and blood flow strength coefficients and damping coefficients of the first to third blood vessels (Arts et. al. Damping Index).
Based on the ROI defined by Ichihara et. al., Arts et. al. can define the damping characteristics for the peripheral tissue shown. Thus, it would have been obvious to one skilled in the art prior to the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have combined the teachings of Ichihara et. al. and Arts et. al. so that both the blood flow strength coefficient and damping coefficient are properly defined.
Regarding claim 10, Ichihara et. al. and Arts et. al. disclose the medical image processing apparatus of claim 1, wherein the second blood vessel is a vein adjacent to the first blood vessel (Ichihara et. al. [0094]-[0097]) Anatomically, the great cardiac vein is the largest tributary of the coronary sinus and is the main venous vessel that runs close to the left anterior descending artery), the blood flow strength coefficient of the first blood vessel represents a strength of a blood flow of blood diffused from inside to outside of the first blood vessel, the blood flow strength coefficient of the second blood vessel represents a strength of a blood flow of blood that converges from outside to inside of the second blood vessel (Ichihara et. al. [0046]-[0047]): FFR is defined by dividing the blood flow volume of a stenosed blood vessel by the blood flow volume of a blood vessel assumed not to be stenosed. By definition, blood flow in the circulatory system is always from regions of higher pressure to regions of lower pressure, which means it moves from the inside (arterial) end of a vessel toward the outside (venous) end based on the fluid gradient created), wherein the processing circuitry is further configured to specify a dominant area of the first blood vessel; and output data for displaying the dominant area of the first blood vessel (Ichihara et. al. Figure 11: display blood flow inhibition index together with first and second regions).
Ichihara et. al. fails to disclose the damping coefficient of the first blood vessel represents damping characteristics of the blood flow in a peripheral tissue of the first blood vessel, and the damping coefficient of the second blood vessel represents damping characteristics of the blood flow in a peripheral tissue of the second blood vessel.
Arts et. al. teaches the damping coefficient of the first blood vessel represents damping characteristics of the blood flow in a peripheral tissue of the first blood vessel, and the damping coefficient of the second blood vessel represents damping characteristics of the blood flow in a peripheral tissue of the second blood vessel (Arts et. al. Damping Index).
Based on the ROI defined by Ichihara et. al., Arts et. al. can define the damping characteristics for the peripheral tissue shown. Thus, it would have been obvious to one skilled in the art prior to the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have combined the teachings of Ichihara et. al. and Arts et. al. so that both the blood flow strength coefficient and damping coefficient are properly defined.
Regarding claim 12, Ichihara et. al. and Arts et. al. disclose the medical image processing apparatus of claim 1, and Ichihara et. al. further discloses wherein the processing circuitry is further configured to output data for displaying the boundary of the dominant area together with the first and second blood vessels, wherein a display mode of the boundary changes according to a magnitude of a blood flow oriented toward the boundary (Ichihara et. al. Figure 11: display blood flow inhibition index together with first and second regions).
Regarding claim 13, Ichihara et. al. and Arts et. al. disclose the medical image processing apparatus of claim 1, and Ichihara et. al. further discloses wherein the processing circuitry is further configured to output data for displaying the boundary of the dominant area together with the first and second blood vessels, wherein the boundary is displayed by gradation along the boundary according to a magnitude of a blood flow oriented toward the boundary (Ichihara et. al. Figure 11: display blood flow inhibition index together with first and second regions).
Regarding claim 15, Ichihara et. al. and Arts et. al. disclose the medical image processing apparatus of claim 1, and Ichihara et. al. further discloses wherein the processing circuitry is further configured to output data for indicating which dominant area among the specified dominant areas a tissue of which properties differ from normal belongs to (Ichihara et. al. Figure 11: display blood flow inhibition index together with first and second regions).
Regarding claim 16, Ichihara et. al. and Arts et. al. disclose the medical image processing apparatus of claim 1, and Ichihara et. al. further discloses wherein the processing circuitry is further configured to output, when a size of the specified dominant area differs from a standard size by a predetermined value or more, data for indicating information to that effect (Ichihara et. al. Figure 11: display blood flow inhibition index together with first and second regions).
Regarding claim 19, which is a medical image processing method comprising of the medical image processing apparatus, which the rejection analysis is incorporated herein.
Regarding claim 20, which is a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium storing a program for causing a computer to execute a process, comprising of the medical image processing method, which the rejection analysis is incorporated herein.
Claim(s) 4, 6-9, 11 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Ichihara et. al. (United States Patent Application Publication US-20140350393-A1) in view of Arts et. al. (Arts T, Onkenhout LP, Amier RP, et al. Non-Invasive Assessment of Damping of Blood Flow Velocity Pulsatility in Cerebral Arteries With MRI. J Magn Reson Imaging. 2022;55(6):1785-1794. doi:10.1002/jmri.27989 as applied to claim 3 above, and further in view of Okada et. al. (United States Patent Application Publication US 2024/0135536 A1).
Regarding claim 4, Ichihara et. al. and Arts et. al. disclose the medical image processing apparatus of claim 3, and Ichihara et. al. further discloses demarcate a boundary between the dominant area of the first blood vessel and the dominant area of the second blood vessel based on the first vector field and the second vector field (Ichihara et. al. Figure 5 shows boundaries or ROI of the stenoses and unstenosed areas). However, Ichihara et. al. and Arts et. al. fail to disclose wherein the processing circuitry is further configured to generate a first vector field with respect to the first blood vessel, wherein a blood flow vector constituting the first vector field has a direction of diffusion from the first blood vessel and a magnitude in accordance with the blood flow strength coefficient and the damping coefficient of the first blood vessel; generate a second vector field with respect to the second blood vessel, wherein a blood flow vector constituting the second vector field has a direction of diffusion from the second blood vessel and a magnitude in accordance with the blood flow strength coefficient and the damping coefficient of the second blood vessel; and demarcate a boundary between the dominant area of the first blood vessel and the dominant area of the second blood vessel based on the first vector field and the second vector field.
Okada et. al. teaches wherein the processing circuitry is further configured to generate a first vector field with respect to the first blood vessel, wherein a blood flow vector constituting the first vector field has a direction of diffusion from the first blood vessel and a magnitude in accordance with the blood flow strength coefficient and the damping coefficient of the first blood vessel; generate a second vector field with respect to the second blood vessel, wherein a blood flow vector constituting the second vector field has a direction of diffusion from the second blood vessel and a magnitude in accordance with the blood flow strength coefficient and the damping coefficient of the second blood vessel (Okada et. al. Abstract, Figure 5, 8, [0042]-[0045]: The flow velocity vector image using known four-dimensional flow MRI for performing blood flow analysis based on such volume data.).
This vector field is important to the claimed invention because it helps to characterize the directionality of the flow and also the magnitude based on the dominant region. Thus, it would have been obvious to one skilled in the art prior to the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have combined the teachings of Ichihara et. al., Arts et. al., and Okada et. al. so that these features are included in the solution of the claimed invention.
Regarding claim 6, Ichihara et. al. and Arts et. al. disclose the medical image processing apparatus of claim 5, and demarcate a boundary between the dominant area of the first blood vessel and the dominant area of the second blood vessel based on the first synthetic vector field and the second synthetic vector field (Ichihara et. al. Figure 5 shows boundaries or ROI of the stenoses and unstenosed areas).
However, Ichihara et. al. and Arts et. al. fail to disclose wherein the processing circuitry is further configured to generate a first vector field with respect to the first blood vessel, wherein a blood flow vector constituting the first vector field has a direction of diffusion from the first blood vessel and a magnitude in accordance with the blood flow strength coefficient and the damping coefficient of the first blood vessel; generate a second vector field with respect to the second blood vessel, wherein a blood flow vector constituting the second vector field has a direction of diffusion from the second blood vessel and a magnitude in accordance with the blood flow strength coefficient and the damping coefficient of the second blood vessel; generate a third vector field with respect to the third blood vessel, wherein a blood flow vector constituting the third vector field has a direction of convergence toward the third blood vessel and a magnitude in accordance with the blood flow strength coefficient and the damping coefficient of the third blood vessel; generate a first synthetic vector field by synthesizing the first vector field and the third vector field and generate a second synthetic vector field by synthesizing the second vector field and the third vector field.
Okada et. al. teaches wherein the processing circuitry is further configured to generate a first vector field with respect to the first blood vessel, wherein a blood flow vector constituting the first vector field has a direction of diffusion from the first blood vessel and a magnitude in accordance with the blood flow strength coefficient and the damping coefficient of the first blood vessel; generate a second vector field with respect to the second blood vessel, wherein a blood flow vector constituting the second vector field has a direction of diffusion from the second blood vessel and a magnitude in accordance with the blood flow strength coefficient and the damping coefficient of the second blood vessel; generate a third vector field with respect to the third blood vessel, wherein a blood flow vector constituting the third vector field has a direction of convergence toward the third blood vessel and a magnitude in accordance with the blood flow strength coefficient and the damping coefficient of the third blood vessel; generate a first synthetic vector field by synthesizing the first vector field and the third vector field and generate a second synthetic vector field by synthesizing the second vector field and the third vector field (Okada et. al. Abstract, Figure 5, 8, [0042]-[0045]: The flow velocity vector image using known four-dimensional flow MRI for performing blood flow analysis based on such volume data.).
This vector field is important to the claimed invention because it helps to characterize the directionality of the flow and also the magnitude based on the dominant region. Thus, it would have been obvious to one skilled in the art prior to the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have combined the teachings of Ichihara et. al., Arts et. al., and Okada et. al. so that these features are included in the solution of the claimed invention. Furthermore, the construction of multiple vector fields for a plurality of blood vessels is implied due to the anatomical structure of the organs of interest (brain, heart, etc.).
Regarding claim 7, Ichihara et. al., Arts et. al. and Okada et. al. disclose the medical image processing apparatus of claim 6, and Okada et. al. further discloses wherein the processing circuitry is further configured to output data for displaying a blood flow from the first blood vessel toward the third blood vessel based on the first synthetic vector field and/or output data for displaying a blood flow from the second blood vessel toward the third blood vessel based on the second synthetic vector field (Okada et. al. Figure 8).
Regarding claim 8, Ichihara et. al., Arts et. al. and Okada et. al. disclose the medical image processing apparatus of claim 7, and Okada et. al. further discloses wherein a line representing the blood flow is displayed by gradation so that a side of an artery is colored in a first color and a side of a vein is colored in a second color (Okada et. al. [0058], Figure 7: The display image generation unit generates color data based on the vector fluctuation data using the color conversion table. The color conversion table is, for example, a table that has the vector fluctuation value as an input value and RGB (that is, red (R), green (G), and blue (B)) values as output values. The color data is data for expressing a magnitude of the fluctuation value of the flow velocity vector in the vector fluctuation data with color.).
Regarding claim 9, Ichihara et. al., Arts et. al. and Okada et. al. discloses the medical image processing apparatus of claim 6, and Okada et. al. further discloses wherein the processing circuitry is further configured to output data for displaying the dominant area of the first blood vessel and the dominant area of the second blood vessel by gradation so that a side of an artery is colored in a first color and a side of a vein is colored in a second color (Okada et. al. [0058], Figure 7: The display image generation unit generates color data based on the vector fluctuation data using the color conversion table. The color conversion table is, for example, a table that has the vector fluctuation value as an input value and RGB (that is, red (R), green (G), and blue (B)) values as output values. The color data is data for expressing a magnitude of the fluctuation value of the flow velocity vector in the vector fluctuation data with color.).
Regarding claim 11, Ichihara et. al. and Arts et. al. disclose the medical image processing apparatus of claim 10. However, Ichihara et. al. and Arts et. al. fail to disclose wherein the processing circuitry is further configured to generate a first vector field with respect to the first blood vessel, wherein a blood flow vector constituting the first vector field has a direction of diffusion from the first blood vessel and a magnitude in accordance with the blood flow strength coefficient and the damping coefficient of the first blood vessel; generate a second vector field with respect to the second blood vessel, wherein a blood flow vector constituting the second vector field has a direction of convergence toward the second blood vessel and a magnitude in accordance with the blood flow strength coefficient and the damping coefficient of the second blood vessel; and demarcate a boundary of the dominant area of the first blood vessel based on the first vector field and the second vector field.
Okada et. al. teaches wherein the processing circuitry is further configured to generate a first vector field with respect to the first blood vessel, wherein a blood flow vector constituting the first vector field has a direction of diffusion from the first blood vessel and a magnitude in accordance with the blood flow strength coefficient and the damping coefficient of the first blood vessel; generate a second vector field with respect to the second blood vessel, wherein a blood flow vector constituting the second vector field has a direction of convergence toward the second blood vessel and a magnitude in accordance with the blood flow strength coefficient and the damping coefficient of the second blood vessel; and demarcate a boundary of the dominant area of the first blood vessel based on the first vector field and the second vector field (Okada et. al. Abstract, Figure 5, 8, [0042]-[0045]: The flow velocity vector image using known four-dimensional flow MRI for performing blood flow analysis based on such volume data.).
This vector field is important to the claimed invention because it helps to characterize the directionality of the flow and also the magnitude based on the dominant region. Thus, it would have been obvious to one skilled in the art prior to the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have combined the teachings of Ichihara et. al., Arts et. al., and Okada et. al. so that these features are included in the solution of the claimed invention.
Claim(s) 14 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Ichihara et. al. (United States Patent Application Publication US-20140350393-A1) in view of Arts et. al. (Arts T, Onkenhout LP, Amier RP, et al. Non-Invasive Assessment of Damping of Blood Flow Velocity Pulsatility in Cerebral Arteries With MRI. J Magn Reson Imaging. 2022;55(6):1785-1794. doi:10.1002/jmri.27989 as applied to claim 1 above, and further in view of Brandt AH, Nguyen TQ, Gutte H, et al. Carotid Stenosis Assessment with Vector Concentration before and after Stenting. Diagnostics (Basel). 2020;10(6):420. Published 2020 Jun 20. doi:10.3390/diagnostics10060420.
Regarding claim 14, Ichihara et. al. and Arts et. al. disclose the medical image processing apparatus of claim 1, and Ichihara et. al. further discloses wherein the processing circuitry is further configured to specify a first dominant area of the first blood vessel based on the blood flow strength coefficient prior to treatment and output data for comparably displaying the first and second dominant areas (Ichihara et. al. Figure 11: display blood flow inhibition index together with first and second regions).
Arts et. al. teaches the damping coefficient of the first blood vessel prior to treatment (Arts et. al. Damping Index).
Ichihara et. al. and Arts et. al. fail to specify a second dominant area of the first blood vessel based on the blood flow strength coefficient and the damping coefficient of the first blood vessel after a virtual treatment.
Brandt et. al. teaches to specify a second dominant area of the first blood vessel based on the blood flow strength coefficient and the damping coefficient of the first blood vessel after a virtual treatment (Brandt et. al. Figure 1 Vector flow imaging comparison of a carotid artery stenosis before and after carotid artery stenting treatment).
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This is important to the claimed invention because the dominant area is an important indicator of estimating the effectiveness of the treatment. Thus, it would have been obvious to one skilled in the art prior to the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have combined the teachings of Ichihara et. al., Arts et. al. and Brandt et. al. so that there is a comparison of blood vessel strength and damping coefficients before and after a virtual treatment.
Claim(s) 17-18 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Ichihara et. al. (United States Patent Application Publication US-20140350393-A1) in view of Arts et. al. (Arts T, Onkenhout LP, Amier RP, et al. Non-Invasive Assessment of Damping of Blood Flow Velocity Pulsatility in Cerebral Arteries With MRI. J Magn Reson Imaging. 2022;55(6):1785-1794. doi:10.1002/jmri.27989 as applied to claim 1 above, and further in view of Cohen et. al. (United States Patent Application Publication US 2019/0259490 A1).
Regarding claim 17, Ichihara et. al. and Arts et. al. disclose the medical image processing apparatus of claim 1, wherein the second blood vessel is an artery adjacent to the first blood vessel, wherein the processing circuitry is further configured to determine which of a first specification method and a second specification method is to be used to perform specification of dominant areas based on predetermined conditions, wherein the first specification method is a method of specifying a dominant area of the first blood vessel and a dominant area of the second blood vessel based on the medical image data (Ichihara et. al. [0118]: Fig. 5, a user such as a doctor uses an operation unit to specify a suspected stenosed portion on an image displayed on a display unit, and set, by ROI marks, a dominant region (to be referred to as a stenosed blood vessel downstream region) which receives supply of a blood from a blood vessel distributed downstream of the stenosed blood vessel, and a region (to be referred to as an unstenosed blood vessel downstream region) dominated by an unstenosed blood vessel branched from the stenosed blood vessel.), the blood flow strength coefficient of the first blood vessel, and the blood flow strength coefficient of the second blood vessel, and when it is determined that specification of dominant areas by the second specification method is to be performed, specify the dominant areas of the first and second blood vessels by the second specification method and output data for displaying the dominant areas specified by the second specification method in place of data for displaying the dominant areas specified by the first specification method (Ichihara et. al. Figure 11: display blood flow inhibition index together with first and second regions).
Arts et. al. teaches the damping coefficient of the first blood vessel and second blood vessel (Arts et. al. Damping Index).
Ichihara et. al. and Arts et. al. fail to disclose the second specification method is a method of specifying a dominant area of the first blood vessel and a dominant area of the second blood vessel by Voronoi tessellation based on shape information of the first blood vessel and shape information of the second blood vessel.
Cohen et. al. teaches the second specification method is a method of specifying a dominant area of the first blood vessel and a dominant area of the second blood vessel by Voronoi tessellation based on shape information of the first blood vessel and shape information of the second blood vessel (Cohen et. al. [0012]: the processor is configured to partition the mesh by computing a Voronoi tessellation of the mesh with respect to the points.).
This is important to the claimed invention because the Voronoi tessellation method allows for characterization of abnormal shapes with greater accuracy in a simulated environment. Thus, it would have been obvious to one skilled in the art prior to the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have combined the teachings of Ichihara et. al, Arts et. al., and Cohen et. al. to include the Voronoi tessellation method as a solution of the claimed invention.
Regarding claim 18, Ichihara et. al. and Arts et. al. disclose the medical image processing apparatus of claim 1, and Ichihara et. al. further discloses wherein the second blood vessel is an artery adjacent to the first blood vessel (Ichihara et. al. [0118]: Fig. 5, a user such as a doctor uses an operation unit to specify a suspected stenosed portion on an image displayed on a display unit, and set, by ROI marks, a dominant region (to be referred to as a stenosed blood vessel downstream region) which receives supply of a blood from a blood vessel distributed downstream of the stenosed blood vessel, and a region (to be referred to as an unstenosed blood vessel downstream region) dominated by an unstenosed blood vessel branched from the stenosed blood vessel.), wherein the processing circuitry is further configured to specify a dominant area of the first blood vessel; and output data for displaying the specified dominant areas (Ichihara et. al. Figure 11: display blood flow inhibition index together with first and second regions).
However, Ichihara et. al. and Arts et. al. fail to disclose a dominant area of the second blood vessel by Voronoi tessellation based on shape information of the first blood vessel and shape information of the second blood vessel.
Cohen et. al. teaches a dominant area of the second blood vessel by Voronoi tessellation based on shape information of the first blood vessel and shape information of the second blood vessel (Cohen et. al. [0012]: the processor is configured to partition the mesh by computing a Voronoi tessellation of the mesh with respect to the points.).
This is important to the claimed invention because the Voronoi tessellation method allows for characterization of abnormal shapes with greater accuracy in a simulated environment. Thus, it would have been obvious to one skilled in the art prior to the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have combined the teachings of Ichihara et. al, Arts et. al., and Cohen et. al. to include the Voronoi tessellation method as a solution of the claimed invention.
Conclusion
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/JESSICA YIFANG LIN/Examiner, Art Unit 2668 June 18, 2026
/VU LE/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2668
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