DETAILED ACTION
Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status
1. 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 § 102
2. 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.
3. 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.
4. Claims 1-3, 7-9, 13, and 17 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Birkner et al., C.N. Patent No. 114269223 A (“Birkner”).
As to Claim 1, Birkner teaches the following:
A method of measuring eye-tissue biomechanics via blink stimulation (see “The present disclosure generally relates to eye diagnosis system and method, and more specifically relates to system and method for tracking the position, orientation and/or condition of the eye in imaging, diagnosis, and/or surgical system.” in para. [0002]), the method comprising, by a computer (“control logic”) 318 in communication with an optical coherence tomography (OCT) device (“retinal imaging system”) 330 (see “Optionally, the retinal imaging system 330 may include any device or system for imaging the retina of the eye 302. retinal imaging system 330 may be implemented as a retinal optical coherence tomography (OCT) system, retinal optical system or similar system for imaging the retina. In some embodiments, the retina imaging system 330 and/or control logic 318 is configured for detecting the patient concave at least one time during the whole measuring sequence.” in para. [0068]):
monitoring movement relative to an eye of a patient (“detect relative eye movement”) via one or more images from a camera (“eye tracking module”) 310 (see “The control logic 318 is configured to detect relative eye movement during operation of the eye tracking module 310, which may include detecting and tracking the eye characteristics (e.g., detecting pupil) according to the image of the capture and the illumination source position. For example, detecting and calculating the deviation of the deviation amount of the centre of the pupil and the cornea curvature can provide information about the relative gaze of the eye.” in para. [0067]; and see “Referring to FIG. 3, a system 300 according to one or more embodiments includes a communicably coupled eye tracking module 310 (also referred to herein as an "eye tracker"). and optionally a retinal imaging system 330. The eye tracking module 310 is configured to track the orientation of the eye 302 and may include a first imaging device 312, a second imaging device 313, and one or more illumination components 314. In some embodiments, the first imaging device 312 and the second imaging device 313 is a digital camera or other digital imaging device, which is configured for some characteristic of the eye such as pupil and corneal limbus (cornea and eye white, namely the boundary between sclera). and reflections from one or more illumination members 314 are imaged. In some embodiments, for example, the illumination component 314 may include a light emitting diode (LED) ring (e.g., coaxial illumination around the imaging device) located around the camera optical device, such that the center of the ring is similar to the curvature center of the cornea.” in para. [0064]);
detecting a blink of the eye of the patient responsive to the monitoring (see “The control logic 318 may further include a gaze tracking component 318B configured to track whether the eye 302 is properly watched and/or deviated from the gaze position, and a tear film state component 318C configured to detect and track the state of the eye 302 film The eye measurement may be performed based on a gaze state and/or a tear film state. For example, the tear film state component 318C may include help during the measurement period of the tear film of the program. In a plurality of different embodiments, it can indicate patient blinking or other way to open and close the eye 302 to provide moisture to the eye 302. tear film state component 318C can detect the eye close and open again, and tracking until the tear film stable time.” in para. [0066]);
responsive to the detected blink (“When a blink and/or blink sequence has been detected”), recording data resultant from a scan (“the retinal image of the capture retinal image analysis module 516”), by the OCT device 330 (see “retinal imager 570” in fig. 5), of at least a portion of a tissue (“retinal”) of the eye (see “The retinal image analysis module 516 includes program instructions for instructing the processor 512 to use the retinal image of the retinal imager 570 capture/or to analyze the retinal image of the capture retinal image analysis module 516 may neural network, the neural network is trained to receive the one capture more retinal images (e.g., image of the capture, real-time retinal image stream, stored retinal image and so on), extracting the related image characteristic, and detecting the presence or absence of the central concave (e.g., the output indicates the classification of the central concave detection, outputting proper eye position and/or probability of alignment and so on).” in para. [0097]; and see “When a blink and/or blink sequence has been detected and the measurement process is being performed, the tear film state module 519 may further indicate the user interface device 534 to generate a second sound, such as two-sound buzz. In this way, patient is reported that the measurement process has begun, which strengthens the necessity of the patient.” in para. [0101]); and
measuring a tissue response (“central concave is detected”) to the detected blink based on the recorded data (“retinal data capture eye tracking data”) from the scan (“image stream of the capture”) (see “system 500 can store the retinal data capture eye tracking data, tear film data, and ophthalmic program data for later processing, comprising an online processing (e.g., during the subsequent program) and off-line processing. The storage device 524 may store retinal image data 526 for patient capture, which may include a patient identifier, image stream of the capture, time information (e.g., time stamp, sequence index and so on) and/or information about whether the central concave is detected in the image.” in para. [0103]).
As to Claim 2, Birkner teaches the following:
at least one of recording (“store”) or displaying data resultant from the measured tissue response (see “system 500 can store the retinal data capture eye tracking data, tear film data, and ophthalmic program data for later processing, comprising an online processing (e.g., during the subsequent program) and off-line processing. The storage device 524 may store retinal image data 526 for patient capture, which may include a patient identifier, image stream of the capture, time information (e.g., time stamp, sequence index and so on) and/or information about whether the central concave is detected in the image.” in para. [0103]).
As to Claim 3, Birkner teaches the following:
wherein:
the monitoring movement comprises monitoring eyelid movement of the patient (see “The tear film state module 519 receives the image sequence from the eye tracker and analyzes the images to determine one or more tear state events, these events may include blinking, open-eye event and eye-closing event and so on. For example, it may be necessary to distinguish the unintentional blinking and the measuring sequence of the beginning of the patient.” in para. [0100]); and
the detecting a blink comprises detecting a closing of the eye followed by an opening of the eye responsive to the monitoring eyelid movement (see “In some embodiments, the blinking sequence is defined as a continuous two or more times blinking, tear film state module 519 can detect one or more deliberate blink or long time blinking, during this period patient ensure the time period of the eye closing. In one approach, the tear film state module 519 detects one or more eye characteristics in the image sequence (e.g., pupil, reflection of the illumination source) (e.g., open eyes), detecting the one or more of the eye characteristics of the obstruction (e.g., eye). and then detecting the presence of the one or more eye characteristics (e.g., again open eyes).” in para. [0100]).
As to Claim 4, Birkner teaches the following:
wherein the monitoring movement comprises: monitoring eyelid movement of the patient via one or more images from a first camera (“first imaging device”) 312; and monitoring head movement of the patient via one or more images from a second camera (“second imaging device”) 313 (see “Referring to FIG. 3, a system 300 according to one or more embodiments includes a communicably coupled eye tracking module 310 (also referred to herein as an "eye tracker"). and optionally a retinal imaging system 330. The eye tracking module 310 is configured to track the orientation of the eye 302 and may include a first imaging device 312, a second imaging device 313, and one or more illumination components 314. In some embodiments, the first imaging device 312 and the second imaging device 313 is a digital camera or other digital imaging device, which is configured for some characteristic of the eye such as pupil and corneal limbus (cornea and eye white, namely the boundary between sclera). and reflections from one or more illumination members 314 are imaged. In some embodiments, for example, the illumination component 314 may include a light emitting diode (LED) ring (e.g., coaxial illumination around the imaging device) located around the camera optical device, such that the center of the ring is similar to the curvature center of the cornea.” in para. [0064]).
As to Claim 7, Birkner teaches the following:
causing the OCT device 330 (see “retinal imager 570” in fig. 5) to continuously scan the at least a portion of the tissue of the eye (see “The retinal image analysis module 516 includes program instructions for instructing the processor 512 to use the retinal image of the retinal imager 570 capture/or to analyze the retinal image of the capture retinal image analysis module 516 may neural network, the neural network is trained to receive the one capture more retinal images (e.g., image of the capture, real-time retinal image stream, stored retinal image and so on), extracting the related image characteristic, and detecting the presence or absence of the central concave (e.g., the output indicates the classification of the central concave detection, outputting proper eye position and/or probability of alignment and so on).” in para. [0097]), wherein the recording data comprises:
selecting OCT data resultant from one or more scans, by the OCT device 330 (see “retinal imager 570” in fig. 5), occurring within a predetermined time interval after the detected blink (see “storage device 524 may also store eye tracker data 528, which may include a patient identifier, image capture, time information (e.g., time stamp, sequence index and so on), capture the image is corresponding to the detected watching time period and/or providing information of the reference position of the eye during the gazing period, and/or calibration deviation amount and gain information.” in para. [0103]); and
storing the selected OCT data in association with the patient (see “storage device 524 may also store program data 530 for the patient capture in the program, comprising a patient identifier, data stream capture e.g., image, data reading, data calculation result and so on) during the program period, time information (e.g., timestamp, sequence index and so on), aiming at the deviation amount information calculated by the eye position at a certain time point in the program, and/or whether the eye at a certain time in the program is at the gaze.” in para. [0103]).
As to Claim 8, Birkner teaches the following:
causing the OCT device 330 to continuously scan the at least a portion of the tissue of the eye, wherein the recording data comprises excluding, from patient data storage, OCT data resultant from one or more OCT scans, by the OCT device 330, occurring outside of a predetermined time interval after the detected blink (see “The current image is compared with (multiple) reference images and the deviation amount is calculated. if the deviation amount is less than the threshold value, the eye is at the gaze and the corresponding retinal image is accurate. if the deviation amount is greater than the threshold value, the eye is not gaze and the corresponding retinal image can be marked out, discarding or taking other actions. These images can also be synchronized with other information (including tear state), the information can be stored together with the time reference value, so as to allow to be synchronized and processed with the stored image later.” in para. [0077]).
As to Claim 9, Birkner teaches the following:
wherein the recording data comprises:
causing the OCT device 330 (see “retinal imager 570” in fig. 5) to scan the at least a portion of the tissue of the eye responsive to the detected blink (see “When a blink and/or blink sequence has been detected and the measurement process is being performed, the tear film state module 519 may further indicate the user interface device 534 to generate a second sound, such as two-sound buzz. In this way, patient is reported that the measurement process has begun, which strengthens the necessity of the patient.” in para. [0101]); and
storing OCT data resultant from the caused scan (see “The retinal image analysis module 516 includes program instructions for instructing the processor 512 to use the retinal image of the retinal imager 570 capture/or to analyze the retinal image of the capture retinal image analysis module 516 may neural network, the neural network is trained to receive the one capture more retinal images (e.g., image of the capture, real-time retinal image stream, stored retinal image and so on), extracting the related image characteristic, and detecting the presence or absence of the central concave (e.g., the output indicates the classification of the central concave detection, outputting proper eye position and/or probability of alignment and so on).” in para. [0097]).
As to Claim 13, Birkner teaches the following:
A system for measuring eye-tissue biomechanics via blink stimulation (see “The present disclosure generally relates to eye diagnosis system and method, and more specifically relates to system and method for tracking the position, orientation and/or condition of the eye in imaging, diagnosis, and/or surgical system.” in para. [0002]), the system comprising:
an optical coherence tomography (OCT) device (“retinal imaging system”) 330 (see “Optionally, the retinal imaging system 330 may include any device or system for imaging the retina of the eye 302. retinal imaging system 330 may be implemented as a retinal optical coherence tomography (OCT) system, retinal optical system or similar system for imaging the retina. In some embodiments, the retina imaging system 330 and/or control logic 318 is configured for detecting the patient concave at least one time during the whole measuring sequence.” in para. [0068]);
a first camera (“eye tracking module”) 310 operable to provide one or more images of an eye of a patient (see “Referring to FIG. 3, a system 300 according to one or more embodiments includes a communicably coupled eye tracking module 310 (also referred to herein as an "eye tracker"). and optionally a retinal imaging system 330. The eye tracking module 310 is configured to track the orientation of the eye 302 and may include a first imaging device 312, a second imaging device 313, and one or more illumination components 314. In some embodiments, the first imaging device 312 and the second imaging device 313 is a digital camera or other digital imaging device, which is configured for some characteristic of the eye such as pupil and corneal limbus (cornea and eye white, namely the boundary between sclera). and reflections from one or more illumination members 314 are imaged. In some embodiments, for example, the illumination component 314 may include a light emitting diode (LED) ring (e.g., coaxial illumination around the imaging device) located around the camera optical device, such that the center of the ring is similar to the curvature center of the cornea.” in para. [0064]); and
a computer (“control logic”) 318 communicably coupled to the OCT device 330 and the first camera 310 (see fig. 3), wherein the computer 318 is operable to:
monitor movement relative to the eye (“detect relative eye movement”) of the patient via the one or more images from the first camera 310 (see “The control logic 318 is configured to detect relative eye movement during operation of the eye tracking module 310, which may include detecting and tracking the eye characteristics (e.g., detecting pupil) according to the image of the capture and the illumination source position. For example, detecting and calculating the deviation of the deviation amount of the centre of the pupil and the cornea curvature can provide information about the relative gaze of the eye.” in para. [0067]);
detect a blink of the eye of the patient responsive to the monitoring (see “The control logic 318 may further include a gaze tracking component 318B configured to track whether the eye 302 is properly watched and/or deviated from the gaze position, and a tear film state component 318C configured to detect and track the state of the eye 302 film The eye measurement may be performed based on a gaze state and/or a tear film state. For example, the tear film state component 318C may include help during the measurement period of the tear film of the program. In a plurality of different embodiments, it can indicate patient blinking or other way to open and close the eye 302 to provide moisture to the eye 302. tear film state component 318C can detect the eye close and open again, and tracking until the tear film stable time.” in para. [0066]);
responsive to the detected blink (“When a blink and/or blink sequence has been detected”), recorddata resultant from a scan (“the retinal image of the capture retinal image analysis module 516”), by the OCT device 330 (see “retinal imager 570” in fig. 5), of at least a portion of a tissue (“retinal”) of the eye (see “The retinal image analysis module 516 includes program instructions for instructing the processor 512 to use the retinal image of the retinal imager 570 capture/or to analyze the retinal image of the capture retinal image analysis module 516 may neural network, the neural network is trained to receive the one capture more retinal images (e.g., image of the capture, real-time retinal image stream, stored retinal image and so on), extracting the related image characteristic, and detecting the presence or absence of the central concave (e.g., the output indicates the classification of the central concave detection, outputting proper eye position and/or probability of alignment and so on).” in para. [0097]; and see “When a blink and/or blink sequence has been detected and the measurement process is being performed, the tear film state module 519 may further indicate the user interface device 534 to generate a second sound, such as two-sound buzz. In this way, patient is reported that the measurement process has begun, which strengthens the necessity of the patient.” in para. [0101]); and
measure a tissue response (“central concave is detected”) to the detected blink based on the recorded data (“retinal data capture eye tracking data”) from the scan (“image stream of the capture”) (see “system 500 can store the retinal data capture eye tracking data, tear film data, and ophthalmic program data for later processing, comprising an online processing (e.g., during the subsequent program) and off-line processing. The storage device 524 may store retinal image data 526 for patient capture, which may include a patient identifier, image stream of the capture, time information (e.g., time stamp, sequence index and so on) and/or information about whether the central concave is detected in the image.” in para. [0103]).
As to Claim 17, Birkner teaches the following:
A computer-program product comprising a non-transitory computer-usable medium having computer-readable program code embodied therein (see “The present disclosure generally relates to eye diagnosis system and method, and more specifically relates to system and method for tracking the position, orientation and/or condition of the eye in imaging, diagnosis, and/or surgical system.” in para. [0002]) , the computer-readable program code adapted to be executed to implement a method comprising:
monitoring movement relative to an eye (“detect relative eye movement”) of a patient via one or more images from a camera (“eye tracking module”) 310 (see “The control logic 318 is configured to detect relative eye movement during operation of the eye tracking module 310, which may include detecting and tracking the eye characteristics (e.g., detecting pupil) according to the image of the capture and the illumination source position. For example, detecting and calculating the deviation of the deviation amount of the centre of the pupil and the cornea curvature can provide information about the relative gaze of the eye.” in para. [0067]; and see “Referring to FIG. 3, a system 300 according to one or more embodiments includes a communicably coupled eye tracking module 310 (also referred to herein as an "eye tracker"). and optionally a retinal imaging system 330. The eye tracking module 310 is configured to track the orientation of the eye 302 and may include a first imaging device 312, a second imaging device 313, and one or more illumination components 314. In some embodiments, the first imaging device 312 and the second imaging device 313 is a digital camera or other digital imaging device, which is configured for some characteristic of the eye such as pupil and corneal limbus (cornea and eye white, namely the boundary between sclera). and reflections from one or more illumination members 314 are imaged. In some embodiments, for example, the illumination component 314 may include a light emitting diode (LED) ring (e.g., coaxial illumination around the imaging device) located around the camera optical device, such that the center of the ring is similar to the curvature center of the cornea.” in para. [0064]);
detecting a blink of the eye of the patient responsive to the monitoring (see “The control logic 318 may further include a gaze tracking component 318B configured to track whether the eye 302 is properly watched and/or deviated from the gaze position, and a tear film state component 318C configured to detect and track the state of the eye 302 film The eye measurement may be performed based on a gaze state and/or a tear film state. For example, the tear film state component 318C may include help during the measurement period of the tear film of the program. In a plurality of different embodiments, it can indicate patient blinking or other way to open and close the eye 302 to provide moisture to the eye 302. tear film state component 318C can detect the eye close and open again, and tracking until the tear film stable time.” in para. [0066]);
responsive to the detected blink (“When a blink and/or blink sequence has been detected”) , recording data resultant from a scan (“the retinal image of the capture retinal image analysis module 516”), by an optical coherence tomography (OCT) device (“retinal imaging system”) 330, of at least a portion of a tissue (“retinal”) of the eye (see “The retinal image analysis module 516 includes program instructions for instructing the processor 512 to use the retinal image of the retinal imager 570 capture/or to analyze the retinal image of the capture retinal image analysis module 516 may neural network, the neural network is trained to receive the one capture more retinal images (e.g., image of the capture, real-time retinal image stream, stored retinal image and so on), extracting the related image characteristic, and detecting the presence or absence of the central concave (e.g., the output indicates the classification of the central concave detection, outputting proper eye position and/or probability of alignment and so on).” in para. [0097]; and see “When a blink and/or blink sequence has been detected and the measurement process is being performed, the tear film state module 519 may further indicate the user interface device 534 to generate a second sound, such as two-sound buzz. In this way, patient is reported that the measurement process has begun, which strengthens the necessity of the patient.” in para. [0101]); and
measuring a tissue response (“central concave is detected”) to the detected blink based on the recorded data (“retinal data capture eye tracking data”) from the scan (“image stream of the capture”) (see “system 500 can store the retinal data capture eye tracking data, tear film data, and ophthalmic program data for later processing, comprising an online processing (e.g., during the subsequent program) and off-line processing. The storage device 524 may store retinal image data 526 for patient capture, which may include a patient identifier, image stream of the capture, time information (e.g., time stamp, sequence index and so on) and/or information about whether the central concave is detected in the image.” in para. [0103]).
Allowable Subject Matter
5. Claims 4-6, 10-12, 14-16, and 18-20 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.
6. The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter:
As to Claims 4-6, Birkner teaches the following:
wherein the monitoring movement comprises:
monitoring eyelid movement of the patient via one or more images from a first camera (“first imaging device”) 312 (see “Referring to FIG. 3, a system 300 according to one or more embodiments includes a communicably coupled eye tracking module 310 (also referred to herein as an "eye tracker"). and optionally a retinal imaging system 330. The eye tracking module 310 is configured to track the orientation of the eye 302 and may include a first imaging device 312, a second imaging device 313, and one or more illumination components 314. In some embodiments, the first imaging device 312 and the second imaging device 313 is a digital camera or other digital imaging device, which is configured for some characteristic of the eye such as pupil and corneal limbus (cornea and eye white, namely the boundary between sclera). and reflections from one or more illumination members 314 are imaged. In some embodiments, for example, the illumination component 314 may include a light emitting diode (LED) ring (e.g., coaxial illumination around the imaging device) located around the camera optical device, such that the center of the ring is similar to the curvature center of the cornea.” in para. [0064]); and
…
However, neither Birkner nor the prior art of record teaches the method of base claim 1, including the following, in combination with all other limitations of the base claim:
wherein the monitoring movement comprises:
…
monitoring head movement of the patient via one or more images from a second camera.
As to Claims 10-12, neither Birkner nor the prior art of record teaches the method of base claim 1, including the following, in combination with all other limitations of the base claim:
wherein the measuring a tissue response comprises:
generating an OCT amplitude and a phase signal based on the recorded data; and
quantifying tissue stiffness based on the OCT amplitude and the phase signal.
As to Claims 14-16, neither Birkner nor the prior art of record teaches the system of base claim 13, including the following, in combination with all other limitations of the base claim:
a second camera operable to provide one or more images of a head of the patient, wherein the computer is operable to:
monitor eyelid movement of the patient via the one or more images from the first camera; and
monitor head movement of the patient via the one or more images from the second camera.
As to Claims 18-20, neither Birkner nor the prior art of record teaches the computer-program product of base claim 17, including the following, in combination with all other limitations of the base claim:
wherein the monitoring movement comprises:
monitoring eyelid movement of the patient via one or more images from a first camera; and
monitoring head movement of the patient via one or more images from a second camera.
Conclusion
7. Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to NAVIN NATNITHITHADHA whose telephone number is (571)272-4732. The examiner can normally be reached Monday - Friday 8:00 am - 8:00 am - 4:00 pm.
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/NAVIN NATNITHITHADHA/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3791 08/28/2026
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