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 .
Drawings
The drawings were received on 09/09/2024. These drawings are acceptable.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
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.
Claim 1-6, 10-11, and 13-17 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Al-Qaisi et al. US PGPub 2018/0214309 A1 (hereinafter, “Al-Qaisi”).
Regarding independent claim 1, Al-Qaisi discloses a system of visualizing a target site in an eye using a polarization sensitive optical coherence tomography (PS-OCT) device, the system comprising:
a controller having at least one processor and at least one non-transitory, tangible memory on which instructions are recorded, the target site being one or more vitreous opacities in a vitreous humor of the eye (Fig. 6 shows system 600 with control device 625, processor 650, memory 655, par. [0056], and processor 650 may include circuitry to execute program instructions, par. [0065], and PS-OCT system 605 may be identical to the PS-OCT system 100 described in Fig. 1, par. [0056], where system 100 is depicted as targeting sample 101, par. [0044], where sample 101 is an eye);
wherein the PS-OCT device includes a source adapted to generate a PS-OCT source beam and a polarizer adapted to control a polarization of the PS-OCT source beam (Fig. 6, system 600 includes femtosecond laser 620, and PS-OCT system 605 may be identical to the PS-OCT system 100 described in Fig. 1, par. [0056], where system 100 includes polarization component 110 disposed to control a polarization of light emitted by light source 105, par. [0039]);
wherein the PS-OCT device includes one or more polarization sensitive detectors adapted to detect an interference pattern based in part on a reflected PS-OCT beam, and generate PS-OCT data relating to the interference pattern (Fig. 6, PS-OCT system 605 also includes vertical polarization sensitive detector 610 and horizontal polarization sensitive detector 615, which are both connected to processor 650, par. [0056], and PS-OCT system 605 generates data related to interference pattern of reflected PS-OCT beams, pars. [0059-61]); and
wherein the controller is configured to receive the PS-OCT data, and determine at least one parameter corresponding to birefringence properties of collagen fibrils in the vitreous humor based on the PS-OCT data, the at least one parameter including a respective spacing of the collagen fibrils (Fig. 4B, digitally processed image 455 generated by PS-OCT shows banding pattern due to tissue birefringence, par. [0054], and processor 650 may process the data to determine certain polarization properties of the portion of the sample reflecting the sample beam, such as the relative fiber orientation, based on the birefringence properties of the portion of the sample, eye 601, par. [0060]); and
wherein the controller is configured to determine a respective location of the one or more vitreous opacities when the at least one parameter is outside a predefined range and generate a control signal adapted for guiding a treatment beam at the respective location of the one or more vitreous opacities (generate a control signal operable to adjust the photodisruption pattern horizontally or vertically when it is determined that the photodisruption pattern should be adjusted, and the processor is further operable to determine whether the relative fiber orientation of the sample is lower than a user-specified threshold, and generate the control signal to adjust the photodisruption pattern when the relative fiber orientation is lower than the user-specified threshold, pars. [0007-8], [0025], specifically processor 650 may generate a control signal to adjust the photodisruption pattern generated by the femtosecond laser 620 horizontally or vertically, when it is determined that the photodisruption pattern should be adjusted and the control signal may be transmitted to control device 625 to adjust the photodisruption pattern, par. [0060]).
Regarding dependent claim 2, Al-Qaisi discloses the system of claim 1, wherein the at least one parameter includes a respective orientation of the collagen fibrils (the processor is operable to receive data relating to the interference pattern of the reflected PS-OCT beam, and determine a relative fiber orientation of the portion of the sample reflecting the sample beam, par. [0007], and Fig. 7 shows steps 710 and 715 of method 700 include the determination of relative fiber orientation by the reflected light of the sample beam, pars. [0067-68]).
Regarding dependent claim 3, Al-Qaisi discloses the system of claim 1, wherein the PS-OCT device includes:
a beam splitter adapted to split the PS-OCT source beam into a sample beam propagating in a sample arm and a reference beam propagating in a reference arm, the reference arm having a reference mirror (Fig. 1, system 100 includes beam splitter 115 and reference reflector 120, par. [0039-40], the sample beam may be referred to as propagated on sample arm 160, and the reference beam may be referred to as propagated on reference arm 170, par. [0043]); and
a polarizing beam splitter adapted to split the reflected PS-OCT beam into two orthogonally polarized components, the reflected PS-OCT beam being a combination of respective reflected beams of the sample beam and the reference beam (Fig. 1, polarizing beam splitter 125, par. [0039], and Al-Qaisi teaches after each component beam is respectively reflected by the sample and the reference reflector, they may be recombined at the beam splitter to form a reflected PS-OCT beam, par. [0038]).
Regarding dependent claim 4, Al-Qaisi discloses the system of claim 3, wherein the PS-OCT device includes:
a first quarter-wave plate adapted to convert the sample beam into a polarized sample beam incident upon the target site (Fig. 1, when the sample beam is transmitted along sample arm 160, it passes through wave plate 145 before reaching sample 101 where wave plate 145 is a quarter wave plate, par. [0044]); and
a second quarter-wave plate adapted to convert the reference beam into a polarized reference beam incident upon the reference mirror (Fig. 1, PS-OCT system 100 includes polarization system 150 that is a quarter wave plate, par. [0040], and when the reference beam is transmitted along the reference arm 170, it passes through polarization system 150 before reaching reference reflector 120, where polarization system 150 is a QWP, par. [0045]).
Regarding dependent claim 5, Al-Qaisi discloses the system of claim 4, wherein:
the two orthogonally polarized components include a vertically polarized component and a horizontally polarized component (Fig. 1, when the PS-OCT source beam passes through vertical polarizer 110, the transmitted light that reaches beam splitter 115 is vertically polarized, par. [0041], and the polarization state of the reference beam is known because the reference beam is converted by means of a polarization system 150, prior to reaching reference reflector, to produce two orthogonal polarization components with equal intensities upon re-entry of the beam splitter, par. [0043]); and
the one or more polarization sensitive detectors include a vertical detector adapted to receive the vertically polarized component and a horizontal detector adapted to receive the horizontally polarized component (Fig. 1, PS-OCT system 100 includes vertical polarization sensitive detector 130 and horizontal sensitive detector 135, par. [0039]).
Regarding dependent claim 6, Al-Qaisi discloses the system of claim 4, wherein the first quarter-wave plate is oriented at an angle of 22.5 degrees and the second quarter-wave plate is oriented at the angle of 45 degrees (Fig. 1, polarization system 150 is a quarter wave plate positioned at 22.5 degrees, par. [0040], and wave plate 145 is positioned at 45 degrees, par. [0045]).
Regarding dependent claim 10, Al-Qaisi discloses the system of claim 1, further comprising: a laser unit adapted to selectively generate the treatment beam directed towards the one or more vitreous opacities, the treatment beam including a plurality of ultra-short laser pulses, the plurality of ultra-short laser pulses defining a respective time duration of between about a femtosecond and about 50 picoseconds (Fig. 6, femtosecond laser 620 is connected to control device 625 to adjust the photodisruption pattern generated by femtosecond laser 620, par. [0056], where Examiner understands a laser emitting light in femtosecond pulses satisfies the limitation of delivering a plurality of pulses of at least one femtosecond but less than 50 picoseconds).
Regarding dependent claim 11, Al-Qaisi discloses the system of claim 10, wherein the laser unit and the PS-OCT device have a shared aperture for guiding the treatment beam and the PS-OCT beam towards the target site, the shared aperture being centered about a center axis (Fig. 1 shows light passing through waveplate 145 to reach and return from sample 101 along a center axis).
Regarding independent claim 13, Al-Qaisi discloses a method of visualizing a target site in an eye using a polarization sensitive optical coherence tomography (PS-OCT) device in a system having a controller with at least one processor and at least one non-transitory, tangible memory, the method comprising:
generating a PS-OCT source beam, via a light source in the PS-OCT device, the target site being one or more vitreous opacities in a vitreous humor of the eye (Fig. 6, system 600 includes femtosecond laser 620, and PS-OCT system 605 may be identical to the PS-OCT system 100 described in Fig. 1, par. [0056], where system 100 includes polarization component 110 disposed to control a polarization of light emitted by light source 105, par. [0039]);
controlling a polarization of the PS-OCT source beam, via a polarizer in the PS-OCT device (Fig. 6, system 600 includes femtosecond laser 620, and PS-OCT system 605 may be identical to the PS-OCT system 100 described in Fig. 1, par. [0056], where system 100 includes polarization component 110 disposed to control a polarization of light emitted by light source 105, par. [0039]);
detecting an interference pattern based in part on a reflected PS-OCT beam and generating PS-OCT data relating to the interference pattern, via one or more polarization sensitive detectors in the PS-OCT device (Fig. 6, PS-OCT system 605 also includes vertical polarization sensitive detector 610 and horizontal polarization sensitive detector 615, which are both connected to processor 650, par. [0056], and PS-OCT system 605 generates data related to interference pattern of reflected PS-OCT beams, pars. [0059-61]);
receiving the PS-OCT data; via the controller (Fig. 4B, digitally processed image 455 generated by PS-OCT shows banding pattern due to tissue birefringence, par. [0054], and processor 650 may process the data to determine certain polarization properties of the portion of the sample reflecting the sample beam, such as the relative fiber orientation, based on the birefringence properties of the portion of the sample, eye 601, par. [0060]);
determining at least one parameter corresponding to birefringence properties of collagen fibrils in the vitreous humor based on the PS-OCT data, via the controller, the at least one parameter including a respective spacing of the collagen fibrils (Fig. 4B, digitally processed image 455 generated by PS-OCT shows banding pattern due to tissue birefringence, par. [0054], and processor 650 may process the data to determine certain polarization properties of the portion of the sample reflecting the sample beam, such as the relative fiber orientation, based on the birefringence properties of the portion of the sample, eye 601, par. [0060]);
determining a respective location of the one or more vitreous opacities when the at least one parameter is outside a predefined range, via the controller (when the relative fiber orientation is lower than the user-specified threshold, pars. [0007-8], [0025], specifically processor 650 may generate a control signal to adjust the photodisruption pattern generated by the femtosecond laser 620 horizontally or vertically, when it is determined that the photodisruption pattern should be adjusted and the control signal may be transmitted to control device 625 to adjust the photodisruption pattern, par. [0060]); and
generating a control signal adapted for guiding a treatment beam at the respective location of the one or more vitreous opacities, via the controller (generate a control signal operable to adjust the photodisruption pattern horizontally or vertically when it is determined that the photodisruption pattern should be adjusted, and the processor is further operable to determine whether the relative fiber orientation of the sample is lower than a user-specified threshold, and generate the control signal to adjust the photodisruption pattern when the relative fiber orientation is lower than the user-specified threshold, pars. [0007-8], [0025], specifically processor 650 may generate a control signal to adjust the photodisruption pattern generated by the femtosecond laser 620 horizontally or vertically, when it is determined that the photodisruption pattern should be adjusted and the control signal may be transmitted to control device 625 to adjust the photodisruption pattern, par. [0060]).
Regarding dependent claim 14, Al-Qaisi discloses the method of claim 13, further comprising: incorporating a respective orientation of the collagen fibrils in the at least one parameter (processor 650 may process the data to determine certain polarization properties of the portion of the sample reflecting the sample beam, such as the relative fiber orientation, based on the birefringence properties of the portion of the sample, eye 601, par. [0060]).
Regarding dependent claim 15, Al-Qaisi discloses the method of claim 13, further comprising: employing a beam splitter to split the PS-OCT source beam into a sample beam propagating in a sample arm and a reference beam propagating in a reference arm, the reference arm having a reference mirror (Fig. 1, system 100 includes beam splitter 115 and reference reflector 120, pars. [0039-40], and the sample beam may be referred to as propagated on sample arm 160, and the reference beam may be referred to as propagated on reference arm 170, par. [0043]); employing a polarizing beam splitter to split the reflected PS-OCT beam into two orthogonally polarized components, the reflected PS-OCT beam being a combination of respective reflected beams of the sample beam and the reference beam (Fig. 1, polarizing beam splitter 125, par. [0039], and Al-Qaisi teaches after each component beam is respectively reflected by the sample and the reference reflector, they may be recombined at the beam splitter to form a reflected PS-OCT beam, par. [0038]); converting the sample beam into a polarized sample beam incident upon the target site, via a first quarter-wave plate (Fig. 1, when the sample beam is transmitted along sample arm 160, it passes through wave plate 145 before reaching sample 101 where wave plate 145 is a quarter wave plate, par. [0044]); and converting the reference beam into a polarized reference beam incident upon the reference mirror, via a first quarter-wave plate (Fig. 1, when the sample beam is transmitted along sample arm 160, it passes through wave plate 145 before reaching sample 101 where wave plate 145 is a quarter wave plate, par. [0044]).
Regarding dependent claim 16, Al-Qaisi discloses the method of claim 13, further comprising: orienting the first quarter-wave plate at an angle of 22.5 degrees and orienting the second quarter-wave plate at the angle of 45 degrees (Fig. 1, polarization system 150 is a quarter wave plate positioned at 22.5 degrees, par. [0040], and wave plate 145 is positioned at 45 degrees, par. [0045]).
Regarding dependent claim 17, Al-Qaisi discloses the method of claim 13, further comprising: selectively generating the treatment beam directed towards the one or more vitreous opacities, via a laser unit, the treatment beam including a plurality of ultra-short laser pulses (Fig. 6, femtosecond laser 620 is connected to control device 625 to adjust the photodisruption pattern generated by femtosecond laser 620, par. [0056], where Examiner understands a laser emitting light in femtosecond pulses satisfies the limitation of delivering a plurality of pulses of at least one femtosecond but less than 50 picoseconds); and configuring the laser unit and the PS-OCT device to have a shared aperture for guiding the treatment beam and the PS-OCT beam towards the target site, the shared aperture being centered about a center axis (Fig. 1 shows light passing through waveplate 145 to reach and return from sample 101 along a center axis).
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.
Claims 7 and 18 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Al-Qaisi as applied to claims 1 and 13 above, in view of Boppart et al. US Patent 8,983,580 B2 (hereinafter, “Boppart”).
Regarding dependent claim 7, Al-Qaisi discloses the system of claim 1, wherein the PS-OCT device includes a first channel and a second channel adapted to respectively detect a signal from the PS-OCT data in a first orthogonal polarization state and a second orthogonal polarization state (Fig. 1, PS-OCT system 100 includes vertical polarization sensitive detector 130 and horizontal sensitive detector 135, par. [0039], and Al-Qaisi teaches any beam of light in system 100 may be propagated by optical fibers, such a polarization maintaining (PM) fiber, which allows the light to be propagated in two linear orthogonal channels, fast and slow, par. [0040]), the signal being converted to a fast-Fourier transformed signal.
Al-Qaisi does not disclose the signal being converted to a fast-Fourier transformed signal.
In a related field of invention, Boppart discloses a method of forming an image of tissue including acquiring optical coherence tomography data (refer to at least the abstract), and Boppart teaches fast-Fourier transform of the signal (col. 39, lines 32-35).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to have applied the teachings of Boppart to the disclosure of Al-Qaisi and included a step where the signal is transformed by a fast-Fourier transform, because Boppart teaches such a process improves the performance for frequencies higher than half the Nyquist rate (Boppart, col. 52, lines 4-7).
Regarding dependent claim 18, Al-Qaisi discloses the method of claim 13, further comprising: incorporating a first channel and a second channel in the PS-OCT device for respectively detecting a signal from the PS-OCT data in a first orthogonal polarization state and a second orthogonal polarization state (Fig. 1, PS-OCT system 100 includes vertical polarization sensitive detector 130 and horizontal sensitive detector 135, par. [0039], and Al-Qaisi teaches any beam of light in system 100 may be propagated by optical fibers, such a polarization maintaining (PM) fiber, which allows the light to be propagated in two linear orthogonal channels, fast and slow, par. [0040]), the signal being converted to a fast-Fourier transformed signal.
Al-Qaisi does not disclose the signal being converted to a fast-Fourier transformed signal.
In a related field of invention, Boppart discloses a method of forming an image of tissue including acquiring optical coherence tomography data (refer to at least the abstract), and Boppart teaches fast-Fourier transform of the signal (col. 39, lines 32-35).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to have applied the teachings of Boppart to the disclosure of Al-Qaisi and included a step where the signal is transformed by a fast-Fourier transform, because Boppart teaches such a process improves the performance for frequencies higher than half the Nyquist rate (Boppart, col. 52, lines 4-7).
Claim 12 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Al-Qaisi as applied to claim 11 above, and further in view of Charles US PGPub 2022/0031511 A1 (of record, see IDS dated 10/28/2024, hereinafter, “Charles”).
Regarding dependent claim 12, Al-Qaisi discloses the system of claim 11, but the reference is silent as to the limitation wherein the treatment beam travels at an off-axis angle from the center axis, the off-axis angle being at or above 15 degrees.
In the same field of invention, Charles discloses a system for treating a media opacity in a vitreous media of an eye (refer to at least abstract), where Fig. 2 shows a schematic view of system 10 configured to treat at least one media opacity 26 in the eye 16 (par. [0021]), where laser module 14 is configured to selectively generate at least one treatment beam 32 directed towards the media opacity 26, via a laser source 34 (par. [0022]). Charles teaches the direction of the treatment beam 32 may be varied based on the application at hand, such as in an off-axis angle 84 that is at or above 25 degrees, or above 45 degrees (par. [0044]).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to have applied the teachings of Charles to the disclosure of Al-Qaisi and modified system 100, and/or system 600, to be able to adjust the axis of the treatment beam to be at or above 25 degrees, because Charles teaches this approach is advantageous in reducing defocus and aberrations in patients having multifocal and extended depth of focus intraocular lenses (Charles, par. [0047]).
Claims 1-6, 10-11, and 13-17 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kang et al. US PGPub 2013/0271757 A1 (hereinafter, “Kang”), in view of Reisman et al. US PGPub 2016/0206190 A1 (of record, see IDS dated 02/06/2025, hereinafter, “Reisman”), Leiderman et al. US PGPub 2023/0301727 A1 (hereinafter, “Leiderman”), Al-Qaisi, and Goodwin, Matthew, et al. "Quantifying birefringence in the bovine model of early osteoarthritis using polarisation-sensitive optical coherence tomography and mechanical indentation." Scientific Reports 8.1 (2018): 8568 (hereinafter, “Goodwin”).
Regarding independent claim 1, Kang discloses a system of visualizing a target site in an eye using an optical coherence tomography (OCT) device (Kang discloses an optical interferometer configured to illuminate a target with light and to receive light returned from the target, refer to abstract, and see Fig. 1 depicting sample SP, par. [0029], equivalent to a target, in optical coherence tomography system 100, where sample SP is target 104, par. [0083]), the system comprising:
a controller having at least one processor and at least one non-transitory, tangible memory (Fig. 1, optical coherence tomography system 100 includes parallel processor 116, par. [0083], as part of computer 118, par. [0086], where computer 118 is equivalent to a controller, and refer to Fig. 2 showing the processing architecture for data acquisition, signal processing, and visualization with host memory and graphics memory, par. [0094], see also Fig. 13 showing a flowchart of processing data, par. [0043]);
wherein the OCT device includes a source adapted to generate a OCT source beam (Fig. 1, optical coherence tomography system 100 includes optical interferometer 102 configured to illuminate target 104 with light 106, par. [0083], and system 100 includes a superluminescence diode SLED as a light source, par. [0088]) and a polarizer adapted to control a polarization of the OCT source beam (Figs. 12, 20A, 20B, 22, and 28 present schematics of other embodiments of the optical coherence tomography systems disclosed by Kang, where Fig. 12 shows the system with polarization controller PC, pars. [0042], [0050], [0052], [0058]);
wherein the OCT device includes one or more detectors (Fig. 1, optical coherence tomography system 100 includes CMOS camera, par. [0088], equivalent to a detector) adapted to detect an interference pattern (Kang teaches raw OCT interference spectrums are received from the CMOS camera, par. [0094]) based in part on a reflected OCT beam (optical coherence tomography system 100 includes an optical interferometer 102 configured to illuminate a target 104 with light 106 and to receive light returned from the target 104, par. [0083], where returned light is equivalent to reflected light), and generate OCT data (Fig. 1, optical detection system 108 provides output data signals 112 and optical coherence tomography system 100 further includes a data processing system 114 adapted to communicate with the optical detection system 108 to receive the output data signals 112, par. [0083]); and
wherein the controller is configured to receive the OCT data (data processing system 114 is adapted to communicate with the optical detection system 108 to receive the output data signals 112, par. [0083]), and determine at least one parameter (Kang discloses output data signals 112, par. [0083], equivalent to at least one parameter).
Kang does not disclose a polarization sensitive optical coherence tomography device (Kang teaches embodiments of the disclosed system are directed to Fourier domain (FD) OCT systems, par. [0082]), and Kang does not specifically disclose memory on which instructions are recorded (though Kang discloses computer 118 with processor 116 with memory, see Fig. 1, Kang does not explicitly disclose the recording of instructions on memory, though such a feature in the system could be implied by the inclusion of a computer with memory for the system to function as intended), nor does Kang specifically disclose the target site being one or more vitreous opacities in a vitreous humor of the eye (Kang discloses the testing of the imaging capability of optical coherence tomography system 100 on biological tissue, par. [0174], and Kang discusses retinal imaging through vitreous humor, par. [0202], but does not teach or suggest targeting vitreous opacities), and because Kang does not specifically disclose polarization sensitive optical coherence tomography, Kang consequently does not disclose polarization sensitive detectors, nor PS-OCT data relating to the interference pattern, and therefore Kang does not disclose a parameter corresponding to birefringence properties of collagen fibrils in the vitreous humor based on the PS-OCT data, the at least one parameter including a respective spacing of the collagen fibrils, and therefore Kang does not disclose wherein the controller is configured to determine a respective location of the one or more vitreous opacities when the at least one parameter is outside a predefined range and generate a control signal adapted for guiding a treatment beam at the respective location of the one or more vitreous opacities.
In a related field of invention, Reisman discloses systems and methods of polarization-sensitive optical coherence tomography for identifying diseased areas in an eye (Reisman teaches identifying diseased areas of the subject's eye based at least in part on determined ratio of the intensities of imaging signals or representative values using polarization sensitive optical coherence tomography, par. [0022], and further teaches identifying diseased areas of the subject's eye based at least in part on a generated map of a ratio of the intensities of backscattered imaging signals, pars. [0023-24], and Reisman teaches that polarization-sensitive OCT uses polarized light, par. [0044]). Reisman further teaches the determination and measurement of which locations specifically are diseased, and/or the area of individual disease-affected regions, and/or the number of individual disease-affected regions, and/or the total area of disease-affected regions, and/or the circumference of individual disease-affected regions, and/or the total circumference of disease-affected regions (par. [0048]).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to have applied the teachings of Reisman to the disclosure of Kang and modified optical coherence tomography system 100 such that optical detection system 108 of optical coherence tomography system 100 emitted polarized light, because Reisman teaches the polarization-sensitive OCT technique is particularly useful in retinal imaging because the retina contains both birefringent and depolarizing tissues and the polarization-sensitive OCT technique offers increased sensitivity for differentiating between various retinal layers (Reisman, par. [0044]).
As a consequence, the prior art combination of Kang in view of Reisman teaches and renders obvious the limitation wherein the PS-OCT device includes one or more polarization sensitive detectors, because Reisman teaches the detection of changes in polarity between the source light and the backscattered light (Reisman par. [0044]), therefore the prior art combination includes polarization sensitive detectors to function as intended, and the prior art combination teaches and renders obvious the generation of PS-OCT data (Reisman Fig. 3, OCT data is acquired from the OCT system at step 300, par. [0070]), and therefore the prior art combination teaches a parameter corresponding to birefringence properties based on the PS-OCT data (as noted, Reisman teaches the PS-OCT technique is useful for tissues with birefringent properties, par. [0044], therefore the system of Kang in view of Reisman will produce PS-OCT data related to birefringence properties), wherein the controller is configured to determine a respective location when the at least one parameter is outside a predefined range (Reisman teaches with PS-OCT, healthy tissue layers can be better identified using the derived characteristic degree of polarization uniformity and a thresholding methodology, par. [0053]).
The prior art combination of Kang in view of Reisman does not disclose memory on which instructions are recorded (though Kang discloses computer 118 with processor 116 with memory, see Fig. 1, Kang does not explicitly disclose the recording of instructions on memory, though such a feature in the system could be implied by the inclusion of a computer with memory for using the system, and Reisman teaches a processor that may be part of a computer for operations, par. [0081], but does not explicitly specify the storing of instructions on a processor), nor does the prior art combination teach PS-OCT data relating to the interference pattern (Kang teaches raw OCT interference spectrums are received from the CMOS camera, par. [0094], and Reisman teaches OCT imaging data, par. [0080]), therefore the prior art combination does not disclose the parameter corresponding to birefringence properties of collagen fibrils in the vitreous humor (Kang discusses retinal imaging through vitreous humor, par. [0202], but does not teach or suggest targeting vitreous opacities, and Reisman discusses decreases in reflectivity can result from floaters in the vitreous, par. [0006], but the prior art combination does not teach or suggest a parameter corresponding to birefringence properties of collagen fibrils in the vitreous humor), therefore the prior art combination does not teach or suggest the at least one parameter includes a respective spacing of the collagen fibrils (Kang and Reisman are silent as to the relationship between birefringence properties of tissue and collage fibril spacing), nor does the prior art combination teach or suggest determining a respective location of the one or more vitreous opacities and generate a control signal adapted for guiding a treatment beam at the respective location of the one or more vitreous opacities (Kang does not teach or suggest control signals for targeting treatment beams, and Reisman teaches maps of locations for disease-affected regions, par. [0048], but does not teach or suggest a control signal for guiding treatment beams).
In a related field of invention, Leiderman discloses an image-guided tool and method for ophthalmic surgical procedures (refer to at least abstract), wherein Fig. 1 depicts a block diagram of an image-guided surgical system 100 with computer processor 106 and memory device 108 (par. [0028]), and Leiderman explicitly teaches the memory device, coupled to the processor, stores instructions executable by the processor (par. [0074]). Leiderman further discloses an artificial intelligence-based image-guided surgical system that may allow for automated control of laser treatment (par. [0061]).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to have applied the teachings of Leiderman to the disclosure of Kang and ensured computer 118 of optical coherence tomography system 100 disclosed by Kang included memory on which instructions are recorded, because Leiderman teaches such stored instructions are useful for the computer to perform calculations and analyses (Leiderman, par. [0074]), and to have adapted the optical coherence tomography system 100 of Kang with an artificial intelligence-based image-guided surgical system as taught by Leiderman, because Leiderman teaches such a system is an efficient method for targeted laser delivery of treatment beams (Leiderman, par. [0061]).
The prior art combination of Kang in view of Reisman and Leiderman therefore teaches and renders obvious the limitation determining a respective location of the one or more targets and generating a control signal adapted for guiding a treatment beam at the respective location of the one or more targets, because Kang in view of Reisman teaches a polarization-sensitive OCT system for mapping of images of diseased areas of an eye, and Kang in view of Leiderman teaches automated control of a treatment beam.
The prior art combination of Kang in view of Reisman and Leiderman does not disclose PS-OCT data relating to the interference pattern (Kang teaches raw OCT interference spectrums are received from the CMOS camera, par. [0094], and Reisman teaches OCT imaging data, par. [0080], and Leiderman teaches the use of optical coherence tomography in intraocular surgery, par. [0025], but the prior art cited do not specifically disclose PS-OCT data relating to the interference pattern), therefore the prior art combination does not disclose the parameter corresponding to birefringence properties of collagen fibrils in the vitreous humor (Kang discusses retinal imaging through vitreous humor, par. [0202], but does not teach or suggest targeting vitreous opacities, and Reisman discusses decreases in reflectivity can result from floaters in the vitreous, par. [0006], and Leiderman discusses artificial intelligence model of the image-guided surgical system identifying vitreous body, par. [0025], but the prior art combination does not teach or suggest a parameter corresponding to birefringence properties of collagen fibrils in the vitreous humor), therefore the prior art combination does not teach or suggest the at least one parameter includes a respective spacing of the collagen fibrils (Kang, Reisman, and Leiderman are silent as to the relationship between birefringence properties of tissue and collagen fibril spacing).
In the same field of invention, Al-Qaisi discloses a system and method for cutting a flap in laser ophthalmic surgery using polarization sensitive optical coherence tomography (PS-OCT) (refer to at least the abstract), wherein the PS-OCT system 100, shown in at least Fig. 1, includes polarization sensitive detectors 130 and 135 operable to receive a reflected PS-OCT beam, detect an interference pattern of the reflected PS-OCT beam, and generate data relating to the interference pattern (pars. [0007], [0026], [0035-39]).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to have applied the teachings of Al-Qaisi to the disclosure of Kang and modified optical coherence tomography system 100 with polarization-sensitive detectors capable of detecting an interference pattern from a reflected OCT beam, because Al-Qaisi teaches when the reflected sample beam and reflected reference beam are combined, an interference pattern is generated, which may be used to measure distances and depth profiles of the sample and other information and to image internal target structures that the sample beam passed through (Al-Qaisi, par. [0036]).
The prior art combination of Kang in view of Reisman, Leiderman, and Al-Qaisi does not disclose the at least one parameter includes a respective spacing of the collagen fibrils (Kang, Reisman, and Leiderman are silent as to the relationship between birefringence properties of tissue and collagen fibril spacing).
In the general field of optical coherence tomography, Goodwin teaches polarisation-sensitive OCT is a development of OCT where the polarisation state of the backscattered light is measured, enabling the detection of tissue birefringence, where tissue birefringence is dependent on collagen fibre organisation and orientation (first full paragraph on page 2).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to have applied the teachings of Goodwin to the disclosure of Kang and modified optical coherence tomography system 100 to use polarization states of light reflected from a target or sample to determine collagen fibril orientation and organization, where Examiner understands information about the orientation and organization of collagen fibrils to include information about spacing between collagen fibrils, because Goodwin teaches the birefringence of the target or sample tissue is dependent on collagen fiber organization and orientation which includes information about collagen fibril spacing (Goodwin first full paragraph on page 2).
Regarding dependent claim 2, Kang in view of Reisman, Leiderman, Al-Qaisi, and Goodwin (hereinafter, “modified Kang”) discloses the system of claim 1, and Goodwin further discloses wherein the at least one parameter includes a respective orientation of the collagen fibrils (Goodwin teaches polarisation-sensitive OCT enables the detection of tissue birefringence, where tissue birefringence is dependent on collagen fibre organisation and orientation, first full paragraph on page 2).
Regarding dependent claim 3, modified Kang discloses the system of claim 1, and Al-Qaisi further discloses wherein the PS-OCT device includes:
a beam splitter adapted to split the PS-OCT source beam into a sample beam propagating in a sample arm and a reference beam propagating in a reference arm, the reference arm having a reference mirror (Al-Qaisi Fig. 1, system 100 includes beam splitter 115 and reference reflector 120, par. [0039-40], the sample beam may be referred to as propagated on sample arm 160, and the reference beam may be referred to as propagated on reference arm 170, par. [0043]); and
a polarizing beam splitter adapted to split the reflected PS-OCT beam into two orthogonally polarized components, the reflected PS-OCT beam being a combination of respective reflected beams of the sample beam and the reference beam (Al-Qaisi Fig. 1, polarizing beam splitter 125, par. [0039], and Al-Qaisi teaches after each component beam is respectively reflected by the sample and the reference reflector, they may be recombined at the beam splitter to form a reflected PS-OCT beam, par. [0038]).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to have modified Kang optical coherence tomography system 100 with a beam splitter and a polarizing beam splitter, as taught by Al-Qaisi, because Al-Qaisi teaches such a system generates data related to information about internal target structures the sample beam passed through (Al-Qaisi, par. [0036]).
Regarding dependent claim 4, modified Kang discloses the system of claim 3, wherein the PS-OCT device includes:
a first quarter-wave plate adapted to convert the sample beam into a polarized sample beam incident upon the target site (Al-Qaisi Fig. 1, when the sample beam is transmitted along sample arm 160, it passes through wave plate 145 before reaching sample 101 where wave plate 145 is a quarter wave plate, par. [0044]); and
a second quarter-wave plate adapted to convert the reference beam into a polarized reference beam incident upon the reference mirror (Al-Qaisi Fig. 1, PS-OCT system 100 includes polarization system 150 that is a quarter wave plate, par. [0040], and when the reference beam is transmitted along the reference arm 170, it passes through polarization system 150 before reaching reference reflector 120, where polarization system 150 is a QWP, par. [0045]).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to have modified Kang optical coherence tomography system 100 with two quarter-wave plates for polarizing beams, because Al-Qaisi teaches such a system generates data related to information about internal target structures the sample beam passed through (Al-Qaisi, par. [0036]).
Regarding dependent claim 5, modified Kang discloses the system of claim 4, wherein: the two orthogonally polarized components include a vertically polarized component and a horizontally polarized component (Al-Qaisi Fig. 1, when the PS-OCT source beam passes through vertical polarizer 110, the transmitted light that reaches beam splitter 115 is vertically polarized, par. [0041], and the polarization state of the reference beam is known because the reference beam is converted by means of a polarization system 150, prior to reaching reference reflector, to produce two orthogonal polarization components with equal intensities upon re-entry of the beam splitter, par. [0043]); and
the one or more polarization sensitive detectors include a vertical detector adapted to receive the vertically polarized component and a horizontal detector adapted to receive the horizontally polarized component (Al-Qaisi Fig. 1, PS-OCT system 100 includes vertical polarization sensitive detector 130 and horizontal sensitive detector 135, par. [0039]).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to have modified Kang optical coherence tomography system 100 with vertical and horizontal polarizing elements and respective vertical and horizontal polarization sensitive detectors, because Al-Qaisi teaches such a system generates data related to information about internal target structures the sample beam passed through (Al-Qaisi, par. [0036]).
Regarding dependent claim 6, modified Kang discloses the system of claim 4, and Al-Qaisi further discloses wherein the first quarter-wave plate is oriented at an angle of 22.5 degrees and the second quarter-wave plate is oriented at the angle of 45 degrees (Al-Qaisi Fig. 1, polarization system 150 is a quarter wave plate positioned at 22.5 degrees, par. [0040], and wave plate 145 is positioned at 45 degrees, par. [0045]).
Regarding dependent claim 10, modified Kang discloses the system of claim 1, and Leiderman further discloses the system further comprising: a laser unit adapted to selectively generate the treatment beam directed towards the one or more vitreous opacities (Leiderman Figs. 11 and 12 show an example of tool and tissue tracking with automated laser control, par. [0015], including target tissues for application of laser energy, pars. [0025], [0061]), the treatment beam including a plurality of ultra-short laser pulses, the plurality of ultra-short laser pulses defining a respective time duration of between about a femtosecond and about 50 picoseconds (Al-Qaisi Fig. 6, femtosecond laser 620 is connected to control device 625 to adjust the photodisruption pattern generated by femtosecond laser 620, par. [0056], where Examiner understands a laser emitting light in femtosecond pulses satisfies the limitation of delivering a plurality of pulses of at least one femtosecond but less than 50 picoseconds).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to have modified Kang optical coherence tomography system 100 with a femtosecond laser as taught by Al-Qaisi, because Al-Qaisi teaches such a system generates data related to information about internal target structures the sample beam passed through (Al-Qaisi, par. [0036]).
Regarding dependent claim 11, modified Kang discloses the system of claim 10, wherein the laser unit and the PS-OCT device have a shared aperture for guiding the treatment beam and the PS-OCT beam towards the target site, the shared aperture being centered about a center axis (Kang Fig. 1 shows light 106 passes through reference glass RG before reaching target 104 along a center axis, and Al-Qaisi Fig. 1 shows light passing through waveplate 145 to reach and return from sample 101 along a center axis).
Regarding independent claim 13, Kang discloses a method of visualizing a target site in an eye using a optical coherence tomography (OCT) device in a system having a controller with at least one processor and at least one non-transitory, tangible memory, the method comprising (Fig. 1, optical coherence tomography system 100 includes parallel processor 116, par. [0083], as part of computer 118, par. [0086], where computer 118 is equivalent to a controller, and refer to Fig. 2 showing the processing architecture for data acquisition, signal processing, and visualization with host memory and graphics memory, par. [0094], see also Fig. 13 showing a flowchart of processing data, par. [0043]):
generating a OCT source beam, via a light source in the OCT device (Fig. 1, optical coherence tomography system 100 includes optical interferometer 102 configured to illuminate target 104 with light 106, par. [0083], and system 100 includes a superluminescence diode SLED as a light source, par. [0088]);
controlling a polarization of the OCT source beam, via a polarizer in the OCT device (Figs. 12, 20A, 20B, 22, and 28 present schematics of other embodiments of the optical coherence tomography systems disclosed by Kang, where Fig. 12 shows the system with polarization controller PC, pars. [0042], [0050], [0052], [0058]);
detecting a reflected OCT beam and generating OCT data, via one or more detectors in the OCT device (Fig. 1, optical coherence tomography system 100 includes CMOS camera, par. [0088], equivalent to a detector, and Kang teaches raw OCT interference spectrums are received from the CMOS camera, par. [0094]);
receiving the OCT data (Fig. 1, optical detection system 108 provides output data signals 112 and optical coherence tomography system 100 further includes a data processing system 114 adapted to communicate with the optical detection system 108 to receive the output data signals 112, par. [0083]); via the controller (data processing system 114 is adapted to communicate with the optical detection system 108 to receive the output data signals 112, par. [0083]);
Kang does not disclose a polarization sensitive optical coherence tomography (PS-OCT) device (Kang teaches embodiments of the disclosed system are directed to Fourier domain (FD) OCT systems, par. [0082]), nor does Kang disclose the target site being one or more vitreous opacities in a vitreous humor of the eye (Kang discloses the testing of the imaging capability of optical coherence tomography system 100 on biological tissue, par. [0174], and Kang discusses retinal imaging through vitreous humor, par. [0202], but does not teach or suggest targeting vitreous opacities), therefore Kang does not disclose generating PS-OCT data relating to the interference pattern, via one or more polarization sensitive detectors in the PS-OCT device, nor determining at least one parameter corresponding to birefringence properties of collagen fibrils in the vitreous humor based on the PS-OCT data, via the controller, the at least one parameter including a respective spacing of the collagen fibrils; determining a respective location of the one or more vitreous opacities when the at least one parameter is outside a predefined range, via the controller; and generating a control signal adapted for guiding a treatment beam at the respective location of the one or more vitreous opacities, via the controller.
In a related field of invention, Reisman discloses systems and methods of polarization-sensitive optical coherence tomography for identifying diseased areas in an eye (Reisman teaches identifying diseased areas of the subject's eye based at least in part on determined ratio of the intensities of imaging signals or representative values using polarization sensitive optical coherence tomography, par. [0022], and further teaches identifying diseased areas of the subject's eye based at least in part on a generated map of a ratio of the intensities of backscattered imaging signals, pars. [0023-24], and Reisman teaches that polarization-sensitive OCT uses polarized light, par. [0044]). Reisman further teaches the determination and measurement of which locations specifically are diseased, and/or the area of individual disease-affected regions, and/or the number of individual disease-affected regions, and/or the total area of disease-affected regions, and/or the circumference of individual disease-affected regions, and/or the total circumference of disease-affected regions (par. [0048]).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to have applied the teachings of Reisman to the disclosure of Kang and modified optical coherence tomography system 100 such that optical detection system 108 of optical coherence tomography system 100 emitted polarized light, because Reisman teaches the polarization-sensitive OCT technique is particularly useful in retinal imaging because the retina contains both birefringent and depolarizing tissues and the polarization-sensitive OCT technique offers increased sensitivity for differentiating between various retinal layers (Reisman, par. [0044]).
As a consequence, the prior art combination of Kang in view of Reisman teaches and renders obvious the limitation determining a respective location of the one or more targets when the at least one parameter is outside a predefined range, via the controller (Reisman teaches the PS-OCT technique is useful for tissues with birefringent properties, par. [0044], therefore the system of Kang in view of Reisman will produce PS-OCT data related to birefringence properties, and Reisman teaches with PS-OCT, healthy tissue layers can be better identified using the derived characteristic degree of polarization uniformity and a thresholding methodology, par. [0053]).
The prior art combination of Kang in view of Reisman does not disclose the at least one parameter including a respective spacing of the collagen fibrils (Kang discusses retinal imaging through vitreous humor, par. [0202], but does not teach or suggest targeting vitreous opacities, and Reisman discusses decreases in reflectivity can result from floaters in the vitreous, par. [0006], but the prior art combination does not teach or suggest a parameter corresponding to birefringence properties of collagen fibrils in the vitreous humor), nor does the prior art combination disclose determining a respective location of the one or more vitreous opacities when the at least one parameter is outside a predefined range, via the controller (Kang and Reisman are silent as to the relationship between birefringence properties of tissue and collage fibril spacing); and the prior art combination does not disclose generating a control signal adapted for guiding a treatment beam at the respective location of the one or more vitreous opacities, via the controller (Kang does not teach or suggest control signals for targeting treatment beams, and Reisman teaches maps of locations for disease-affected regions, par. [0048], but does not teach or suggest a control signal for guiding treatment beams).
In a related field of invention, Leiderman discloses an image-guided tool and method for ophthalmic surgical procedures (refer to at least abstract), wherein Fig. 1 depicts a block diagram of an image-guided surgical system 100 with computer processor 106 and memory device 108 (par. [0028]), and Leiderman explicitly teaches the memory device, coupled to the processor, stores instructions executable by the processor (par. [0074]). Leiderman further discloses an artificial intelligence-based image-guided surgical system that may allow for automated control of laser treatment (par. [0061]).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to have applied the teachings of Leiderman to the disclosure of Kang and adapted the optical coherence tomography system 100 of Kang with an artificial intelligence-based image-guided surgical system as taught by Leiderman, because Leiderman teaches such a system is an efficient method for targeted laser delivery of treatment beams (Leiderman, par. [0061]).
The prior art combination of Kang in view of Reisman and Leiderman therefore teaches and renders obvious the limitation determining a respective location of the one or more targets and generating a control signal adapted for guiding a treatment beam at the respective location of the one or more targets, because Kang in view of Reisman teaches a polarization-sensitive OCT system for mapping of images of diseased areas of an eye, and Kang in view of Leiderman teaches automated control of a treatment beam.
The prior art combination of Kang in view of Reisman and Leiderman does not disclose determining at least one parameter corresponding to birefringence properties of collagen fibrils in the vitreous humor based on the PS-OCT data, via the controller, the at least one parameter including a respective spacing of the collagen fibrils, nor does the prior art combination disclose determining a respective location of the one or more vitreous opacities when the at least one parameter is outside a predefined range, via the controller, and the prior art combination does not disclose generating a control signal adapted for guiding a treatment beam at the respective location of the one or more vitreous opacities, via the controller (Kang discusses retinal imaging through vitreous humor, par. [0202], but does not teach or suggest targeting vitreous opacities, and Reisman discusses decreases in reflectivity can result from floaters in the vitreous, par. [0006], and Leiderman discusses artificial intelligence model of the image-guided surgical system identifying vitreous body, par. [0025], but the prior art combination does not teach or suggest a parameter corresponding to birefringence properties of collagen fibrils in the vitreous humor, and Kang, Reisman, and Leiderman are silent as to the relationship between birefringence properties of tissue and collagen fibril spacing).
In the same field of invention, Al-Qaisi discloses a system and method for cutting a flap in laser ophthalmic surgery using polarization sensitive optical coherence tomography (PS-OCT) (refer to at least the abstract), wherein the PS-OCT system 100, shown in at least Fig. 1, includes polarization sensitive detectors 130 and 135 operable to receive a reflected PS-OCT beam, detect an interference pattern of the reflected PS-OCT beam, and generate data relating to the interference pattern (pars. [0007], [0026], [0035-39]).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to have applied the teachings of Al-Qaisi to the disclosure of Kang and modified optical coherence tomography system 100 with polarization-sensitive detectors capable of detecting an interference pattern from a reflected OCT beam, because Al-Qaisi teaches when the reflected sample beam and reflected reference beam are combined, an interference pattern is generated, which may be used to measure distances and depth profiles of the sample and other information and to image internal target structures that the sample beam passed through (Al-Qaisi, par. [0036]).
The prior art combination of Kang in view of Reisman, Leiderman, and Al-Qaisi does not disclose the at least one parameter including a respective spacing of the collagen fibrils (Kang, Reisman, and Leiderman are silent as to the relationship between birefringence properties of tissue and collagen fibril spacing).
In the general field of optical coherence tomography, Goodwin teaches polarisation-sensitive OCT is a development of OCT where the polarisation state of the backscattered light is measured, enabling the detection of tissue birefringence, where tissue birefringence is dependent on collagen fibre organisation and orientation (first full paragraph on page 2).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to have applied the teachings of Goodwin to the disclosure of Kang and modified optical coherence tomography system 100 to use polarization states of light reflected from a target or sample to determine collagen fibril orientation and organization, where Examiner understands information about the orientation and organization of collagen fibrils to include information about spacing between collagen fibrils, because Goodwin teaches the birefringence of the target or sample tissue is dependent on collagen fiber organization and orientation which includes information about collagen fibril spacing (Goodwin first full paragraph on page 2).
Regarding dependent claim 14, modified Kang discloses the method of claim 13, and Goodwin discloses the method further comprising: incorporating a respective orientation of the collagen fibrils in the at least one parameter (Goodwin teaches polarisation-sensitive OCT is a development of OCT where the polarisation state of the backscattered light is measured, enabling the detection of tissue birefringence, where tissue birefringence is dependent on collagen fibre organisation and orientation, first full paragraph on page 2).
Regarding dependent claim 15, modified Kang discloses the method of claim 13, further comprising:
employing a beam splitter to split the PS-OCT source beam into a sample beam propagating in a sample arm and a reference beam propagating in a reference arm, the reference arm having a reference mirror (Al-Qaisi Fig. 1, system 100 includes beam splitter 115 and reference reflector 120, pars. [0039-40], and the sample beam may be referred to as propagated on sample arm 160, and the reference beam may be referred to as propagated on reference arm 170, par. [0043]);
employing a polarizing beam splitter to split the reflected PS-OCT beam into two orthogonally polarized components, the reflected PS-OCT beam being a combination of respective reflected beams of the sample beam and the reference beam (Al-Qaisi Fig. 1, polarizing beam splitter 125, par. [0039], and Al-Qaisi teaches after each component beam is respectively reflected by the sample and the reference reflector, they may be recombined at the beam splitter to form a reflected PS-OCT beam, par. [0038]);
converting the sample beam into a polarized sample beam incident upon the target site, via a first quarter-wave plate (Al-Qaisi Fig. 1, when the sample beam is transmitted along sample arm 160, it passes through wave plate 145 before reaching sample 101 where wave plate 145 is a quarter wave plate, par. [0044]); and
converting the reference beam into a polarized reference beam incident upon the reference mirror, via a first quarter-wave plate (Al-Qaisi Fig. 1, when the sample beam is transmitted along sample arm 160, it passes through wave plate 145 before reaching sample 101 where wave plate 145 is a quarter wave plate, par. [0044]).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to have modified Kang optical coherence tomography system 100 with a beam splitter and a polarizing beam splitter, as taught by Al-Qaisi, because Al-Qaisi teaches such a system generates data related to information about internal target structures the sample beam passed through (Al-Qaisi, par. [0036]).
Regarding dependent claim 16, modified Kang discloses the method of claim 13, further comprising: orienting the first quarter-wave plate at an angle of 22.5 degrees and orienting the second quarter-wave plate at the angle of 45 degrees (Al-Qaisi Fig. 1, polarization system 150 is a quarter wave plate positioned at 22.5 degrees, par. [0040], and wave plate 145 is positioned at 45 degrees, par. [0045]).
It would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to have modified Kang optical coherence tomography system 100 with first and second quarter-wave plates at angles of 22.5 degrees and 45 degrees, respectively, because Al-Qaisi teaches such a system generates data related to information about internal target structures the sample beam passed through (Al-Qaisi, par. [0036]).
Regarding dependent claim 17, modified Kang discloses the method of claim 13, further comprising:
selectively generating the treatment beam directed towards the one or more vitreous opacities, via a laser unit, the treatment beam including a plurality of ultra-short laser pulses (Al-Qaisi Fig. 6, femtosecond laser 620 is connected to control device 625 to adjust the photodisruption pattern generated by femtosecond laser 620, par. [0056], where Examiner understands a laser emitting light in femtosecond pulses satisfies the limitation of delivering a plurality of pulses of at least one femtosecond but less than 50 picoseconds ); and
configuring the laser unit and the PS-OCT device to have a shared aperture for guiding the treatment beam and the PS-OCT beam towards the target site, the shared aperture being centered about a center axis (Kang Fig. 1 shows light 106 passes through reference glass RG before reaching target 104 along a center axis, and Al-Qaisi Fig. 1 shows light passing through waveplate 145 to reach and return from sample 101 along a center axis).
The prior art combination of Kang in view of Reisman, Leiderman and Al-Qaisi therefore teaches and renders obvious the limitation configuring the laser unit and the PS-OCT device to have a shared aperture for guiding the treatment beam and the PS-OCT beam towards the target site, the shared aperture being centered about a center axis, because Kang in view of Reisman teaches a polarization-sensitive OCT system for mapping of images of diseased areas of an eye, and Kang in view of Leiderman teaches automated control of a treatment beam.
Claims 7 and 18 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kang in view of Reisman, Leiderman, and Al-Qaisi and Goodwin, as applied to claims 1 and 13 above, and further in view of Boppart.
Regarding dependent claim 7, modified Kang discloses the system of claim 1, wherein the PS-OCT device includes a first channel and a second channel adapted to respectively detect a signal from the PS-OCT data in a first orthogonal polarization state and a second orthogonal polarization state (Al-Qaisi, Fig. 1, PS-OCT system 100 includes vertical polarization sensitive detector 130 and horizontal sensitive detector 135, par. [0039], and Al-Qaisi teaches any beam of light in system 100 may be propagated by optical fibers, such a polarization maintaining (PM) fiber, which allows the light to be propagated in two linear orthogonal channels, fast and slow, par. [0040]).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to have modified Kang optical coherence tomography system 100 with a first channel and a second channel adapted to respectively detect a signal from the PS-OCT data in a first orthogonal polarization state and a second orthogonal polarization state, because Al-Qaisi teaches such a system generates data related to information about internal target structures the sample beam passed through (Al-Qaisi, par. [0036]).
The prior art combination does not disclose the signal being converted to a fast-Fourier transformed signal.
In a related field of invention, Boppart discloses a method of forming an image of tissue including acquiring optical coherence tomography data (refer to at least the abstract), and Boppart teaches fast-Fourier transform of the signal (col. 39, lines 32-35).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to have applied the teachings of Boppart to the disclosure of Kang and included a step where the signal is transformed by a fast-Fourier transform, because Boppart teaches such a process improves the performance for frequencies higher than half the Nyquist rate (Boppart, col. 52, lines 4-7).
Regarding dependent claim 18, modified Kang discloses the method of claim 13, further comprising: incorporating a first channel and a second channel in the PS-OCT device for respectively detecting a signal from the PS-OCT data in a first orthogonal polarization state and a second orthogonal polarization state (Al-Qaisi, Fig. 1, PS-OCT system 100 includes vertical polarization sensitive detector 130 and horizontal sensitive detector 135, par. [0039], and Al-Qaisi teaches any beam of light in system 100 may be propagated by optical fibers, such a polarization maintaining (PM) fiber, which allows the light to be propagated in two linear orthogonal channels, fast and slow, par. [0040]).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to have modified Kang optical coherence tomography system 100 to incorporate a first channel and a second channel in the PS-OCT device for respectively detecting a signal from the PS-OCT data in a first orthogonal polarization state and a second orthogonal polarization state, because Al-Qaisi teaches such a system generates data related to information about internal target structures the sample beam passed through (Al-Qaisi, par. [0036]).
The prior art combination does not disclose the signal being converted to a fast-Fourier transformed signal.
In a related field of invention, Boppart discloses a method of forming an image of tissue including acquiring optical coherence tomography data (refer to at least the abstract), and Boppart teaches fast-Fourier transform of the signal (col. 39, lines 32-35).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to have applied the teachings of Boppart to the disclosure of Kang and included a step where the signal is transformed by a fast-Fourier transform, because Boppart teaches such a process improves the performance for frequencies higher than half the Nyquist rate (Boppart, col. 52, lines 4-7).
Claim 12 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kang in view of Reisman, Leiderman, and Al-Qaisi and Goodwin, as applied to claim 11 above, and further in view of Charles.
Regarding dependent claim 12, modified Kang discloses the system of claim 11, but the prior art combination is silent as to the limitation wherein the treatment beam travels at an off-axis angle from the center axis, the off-axis angle being at or above 15 degrees.
In the same field of invention, Charles discloses a system for treating a media opacity in a vitreous media of an eye (refer to at least abstract), where Fig. 2 shows a schematic view of system 10 configured to treat at least one media opacity 26 in the eye 16 (par. [0021]), where laser module 14 is configured to selectively generate at least one treatment beam 32 directed towards the media opacity 26, via a laser source 34 (par. [0022]). Charles teaches the direction of the treatment beam 32 may be varied based on the application at hand, such as in an off-axis angle 84 that is at or above 25 degrees, or above 45 degrees (par. [0044]).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to have applied the teachings of Charles to the disclosure of Kang and modified optical coherence tomography system 100 to be able to adjust the axis of the treatment beam to be at or above 25 degrees, because Charles teaches this approach is advantageous in reducing defocus and aberrations in patients having multifocal and extended depth of focus intraocular lenses (Charles, par. [0047]).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 8-9 and 19-20 are objected to as being dependent upon rejected base claims, but would be allowable if rewritten in independent form including all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims.
Regarding dependent claim 8, modified Kang in view of Boppart discloses the system of claim 7, but the prior art combination does not disclose the system further comprising:
a phase retardation mode adapted to display the PS-OCT data, the phase retardation mode being based on a retardation factor (δ), represented as
[
δ
=
tan
-
1
F
*
A
2
A
1
],
where F is a calibration factor, and A1, A2 are respective amplitudes of the fast-Fourier transformed signal from the first channel and the second channel (the prior art references do not disclose, teach, or suggest the specific relationship between the phase retardation factor, the calibration factor, and the amplitudes).
Regarding dependent claim 9, modified Kang in view of Boppart discloses the system of claim 7, but the prior art combination does not disclose the system further comprising: an optical axis mode adapted to display the PS-OCT data, the optical axis mode being based on an optical factor (θ), represented as
θ
=
π
2
-
ϕ
1
-
ϕ
2
2
where ϕ1 and ϕ2 are respective phases of the fast-Fourier transformed signal from the first channel and the second channel (the prior art references do not disclose, teach, or suggest the specific relationship between the optical axis factor and the phases of the fast-Fourier transformed signals).
Regarding dependent claim 19, the prior art combination of modified Kang in view of Boppart discloses the method of claim 18, but the prior art combination does not disclose the method further comprising: displaying the PS-OCT data in a phase retardation mode, the phase retardation mode being based on a retardation factor (δ), represented as
[
δ
=
tan
-
1
F
*
A
2
A
1
],
where F is a calibration factor, and A1, A2 are respective amplitudes of the fast-Fourier transformed signal from the first channel and the second channel (the prior art references do not disclose, teach, or suggest the specific relationship between the phase retardation factor, the calibration factor, and the amplitudes).
Regarding dependent claim 20, the prior art combination of modified Kang in view of Boppart discloses the method of claim 18, but the prior art combination does not disclose the method further comprising: displaying the PS-OCT data in an optical axis mode, the optical axis mode being based on an optical factor (θ), represented as
θ
=
π
2
-
ϕ
1
-
ϕ
2
2
where ϕ1 and ϕ2 are respective phases of the fast-Fourier transformed signal from the first channel and the second channel (the prior art references do not disclose, teach, or suggest the specific relationship between the optical axis factor and the phases of the fast-Fourier transformed signals).
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Justin W Hustoft whose telephone number is (571)272-4519. The examiner can normally be reached Monday - Friday 9:00 AM - 5:00 PM Eastern Time.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Ricky L Mack can be reached at (571)272-2333. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/JUSTIN W. HUSTOFT/ Examiner, Art Unit 2872
/RICKY L MACK/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2872
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