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 Rejections - 35 USC § 103
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.
Claim(s) 1-6, 8-13, 20 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Luffler et al. (US 2004/0111004).
Luffler discloses a flexible delivery system for a radioactive source, comprising:
a main body, a delivery channel, a flexible pushing wire, and a wire driving mechanism (see Fig. 1, see para. 0064, para. 0116, 0039) wherein:
the flexible pushing wire is disposed in the delivery channel, the delivery channel being configured to guide the flexible pushing wire to move forward and backward, the wire driving mechanism being configured to drive the flexible pushing wire to move reciprocally along the delivery channel, the flexible pushing wire being configured to push seeds, or seed strands, or seed strand casings to be delivered to a target position through the delivery channel, (, See Fig. 7, channel 12, seeds, 2 “The wire 20 is made of a nickel-titanium alloy and is wound, like the radiation source chain 1, onto the spool 11 with a constant radius. The associated drive control allows the wire 20 to advance into the main channel 12 with the radiation source chain 1 only if the entrance location is not obstructed.”and
the delivery channel includes a flexible delivery tube and a wire output channel, the flexible delivery tube being connected with the wire output channel, (see Figs 5-7)
Although Luffler does not explicitly discloses that the length of the flexible pushing wire being greater than 600 mm, Luffler does discloses the length of the wire matches the radiation source seed chain (see para. 0119), therefore, in the absence of any showing of criticality, It would have been an obvious matter of design choice to for the wire to be 600mm since such a modification would have involved a mere change in the size of a component. A change in size is generally recognized as being within the level of ordinary skill in the art. In re Rose, 105 USPQ 237 (CCPA 1955)..
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With respect to claim 2, Luffler discloses wherein the flexible pushing wire is a flexible wire with elasticity, the flexible pushing wire is capable of being bent under an external force and being restored to a straight state after the external force is withdrawn, and a material of the flexible pushing wire includes one or a combination of several types, including nickel-titanium alloy, spring steel, and composite materials (see para. 0116).
With respect to claim 3, Luffler discloses wherein the wire output channel includes a first flexible section, the first flexible section is a flexible and bendable tube, a length of the first flexible section is greater than 200 mm, and the first flexible section is made of a plastic tube or a medical braided tube (see para. 00062, 0063).
With respect to claim 4, Luffler discloses wherein one end of the flexible delivery tube is connected with a puncture needle or a quick-connection coupler capable of connecting with the puncture needle, and the quick-connect coupler is connected with the puncture needle through at least one of thread, latch, or adhesive (see para. 0039, 0042).
With respect to claim 6, Luffler discloses wherein the flexible delivery tube is provided with an air exhaust structure, the air exhaust structure being configured to equalize air pressures inside and outside of the flexible delivery tube when the flexible pushing wire moves reciprocally along the flexible delivery tube (see para. 0104, 0108).
8 With respect to claim 8, Luffler discloses wherein the flexible delivery tube includes a second flexible section, the second flexible section being a bendable and flexible connection tube, a length of the second flexible section being greater than 600 mm, and the second flexible section being made of a plastic tube or a medical braided tube (see Fig. 9).
With respect to claim 9, Luffler discloses wherein: the flexible delivery tube includes an inner tube and an outer tube, the outer tube being sleeved outside the inner tube, the inner tube is clearance-matched with the outer tube and is pluggable relative to the outer tube, and the inner tube is configured to be connected with a puncture needle (see para. 0043, 100).
With respect to claim 10, Luffler discloses, wherein the inner tube and the outer tube are made of a plastic tube or a medical braided tube (See Fig. 1-3, 5, 7).
With respect to claim 11, Luffler discloses wherein a mounting bracket is provided on the wire driving mechanism, the mounting bracket being provided with a wheel-shaped container with a concave inner surface, the flexible pushing wire being coiled on a concave inner side of the wheel-shaped container, and the wheel-shaped container rotates freely on the mounting bracket (see Fig. 4).
With respect to claim 12, Luffler discloses further comprising: a radioactive source feeding mechanism, the radioactive source feeding mechanism being disposed on the wire output channel, and the radioactive source feeding mechanism being configured to provide the seeds, or the seed strands, or the seed strand casings through a magazine, wherein: the seeds, or the seed strands, or the seed strand casings are mounted in a storage slot or a storage hole inside a magazine, and the seeds, or the seed strands, or the seed strand casings are provided at the front of the flexible pushing wire for feeding through a magazine feeding mechanism mounted on the magazine (see para. 0064, 0067-0069).
With respect to claim 13, Luffler discloses wherein: the radioactive source feeding mechanism is a seed magazine or a seed strand magazine, and the wire driving mechanism includes the seed magazine or the seed strand magazine configured to store radioactive seeds and a seed pushing driving mechanism configured to drive the flexible pushing wire to push the radioactive seeds out of the seed magazine or the seed strand magazine and deliver the radioactive seeds through the delivery channel (see para. 0064, 0067-0069).
With respect to claim 20, Luffler discloses a method for using a flexible delivery system for a radioactive source, comprising: connecting a plurality of flexible delivery tubes with a connection part through a quick connector, respectively, wherein a front end of each of the plurality of flexible delivery tubes is connected with one of a plurality of hollow puncture needles inserted into a target body; (see Fig. 4, see para. 0039-0045), positioning, through a movement of a first motion platform, a docking tube structure at a terminal end of a wire output channel and different quick connectors on the first connection part, and docking, through a back-and-forth movement of the first motion platform, the docking tube structure at the terminal end of the wire output channel with the different quick connectors on the first connection part; (see para. Para. 0057-0063) and driving, by a wire driving mechanism, a flexible pushing wire to push out seeds, or seed strands, or seed strand casings disposed in front of the flexible pushing wire by a radioactive source feeding mechanism to a target position through a flexible delivery tube and implanting the seeds, or the seed strands, or the seed strand casings into the target body through the plurality of hollow puncture needles (see para. 0064, 0067-0069).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 5, 7, 14-19 are 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.
The prior art of record fails to teach the system of claim 4, wherein a front end of the puncture needle is provided with a first sharp portion, the puncture needle being made of a bendable and deformable material, an elastic modulus of the bendable and deformable material being less than 50 GPa, and the bendable and deformable material including at least one of nickel-titanium alloy, plastic, or a composite material.
The prior art of record fails to teach the system of claim 1, wherein: the interior of the flexible delivery tube is provided with a flexible stylet, the flexible stylet is clearance-matched with the flexible delivery tube and is pluggable relative to the flexible delivery tube, the flexible stylet is a flexible wire with elasticity and capable of being bent under an external force and being restored to a straight state after the external force is withdrawn, a length of the flexible stylet is greater than 600 mm, a portion of a rear end of the flexible stylet extends backward from a rear end of the flexible delivery tube, and a front end of the flexible stylet is located within the interior of the puncture needle connected with a front end of the flexible delivery tube.
The prior art of record fails to teach the system of claim 1, further comprising: a first motion platform and a first connection portion, one end of the wire output channel and the first connection portion being mounted on opposite sides of the first motion platform, respectively, wherein: the first motion platform is configured to realize a relative movement in space between the one end of the wire output channel and the first connection portion; the first connection portion is connected with a first connection part, the first connection part being provided with a plurality of connection holes, and the first connection portion being at least one of an adhesive connection portion, a welded connection portion, a threaded connection portion, a snap connection portion, or a lock connection portion; one end of each of the multiple flexible delivery tubes is installed on a different connection hole of the first connection part; and the wire output channel is configured to deliver the seeds, or the seed strands, or the seed strand casings by docking with one of the plurality of flexible delivery tubes on the first connection part to realize a multi-channel delivery.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to JOSEPH M SANTOS RODRIGUEZ whose telephone number is (571)270-7782. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday 8:30am to 5:30pm.
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/JOSEPH M SANTOS RODRIGUEZ/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3797
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