CTNF 18/830,024 CTNF 82925 DETAILED ACTION Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status 07-03-aia AIA 15-10-aia The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA. Claims 1-8 are pending and have been examined. Priority 02-26 AIA Receipt is acknowledged of certified copies of papers required by 37 CFR 1.55. 23-19 AIA Should applicant desire to obtain the benefit of foreign priority under 35 U.S.C. 119(a)-(d) prior to declaration of an interference, a certified English translation of the foreign application must be submitted in reply to this action. 37 CFR 41.154(b) and 41.202(e). Failure to provide a certified translation may result in no benefit being accorded for the non-English application. Drawings 06-22-07 AIA The drawings are objected to as failing to comply with 37 CFR 1.84(p)(5) because they include the following reference character(s) not mentioned in the description: 141, 401, and 402 . Corrected drawing sheets in compliance with 37 CFR 1.121(d), or amendment to the specification to add the reference character(s) in the description in compliance with 37 CFR 1.121(b) are required in reply to the Office action to avoid abandonment of the application. Any amended replacement drawing sheet should include all of the figures appearing on the immediate prior version of the sheet, even if only one figure is being amended. Each drawing sheet submitted after the filing date of an application must be labeled in the top margin as either “Replacement Sheet” or “New Sheet” pursuant to 37 CFR 1.121(d). If the changes are not accepted by the examiner, the applicant will be notified and informed of any required corrective action in the next Office action. The objection to the drawings will not be held in abeyance. 06-36-01 AIA Figure 6B should be designated by a legend such as --Prior Art-- because only that which is old is illustrated. See MPEP § 608.02(g). Corrected drawings in compliance with 37 CFR 1.121(d) are required in reply to the Office action to avoid abandonment of the application. The replacement sheet(s) should be labeled “Replacement Sheet” in the page header (as per 37 CFR 1.84(c)) so as not to obstruct any portion of the drawing figures. If the changes are not accepted by the examiner, the applicant will be notified and informed of any required corrective action in the next Office action. The objection to the drawings will not be held in abeyance. Figures 4 and 5 include data that cannot be read or are very difficult to read (gray headings, just under the “Fig. 4” and “Fig. 5”). Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 101 07-04-01 AIA 07-04 35 U.S.C. 101 reads as follows: Whoever invents or discovers any new and useful process, machine, manufacture, or composition of matter, or any new and useful improvement thereof, may obtain a patent therefor, subject to the conditions and requirements of this title. Claims 1-8 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 101 because the claimed invention is directed to an abstract idea without significantly more. Claims 1-8 are directed to a system or method, which are statutory categories of invention. ( Step 1: YES ). The Examiner has identified method Claim 8 as the claim that represents the claimed invention for analysis and is similar to system Claim 1. Claim 8 recites the limitations of: An operation method of a diagnostic system that issues a request for imaging via a communication line from a diagnostic hospital in which a diagnostician who diagnoses a patient is present to an imaging hospital in which a radiologist who captures a medical image of the patient is present, the operation method comprising: inquiring of a plurality of the imaging hospitals about imaging available time slots on the day of the imaging request and receiving imaging available times from the imaging hospitals; displaying , on a display unit, the imaging available time slots received from the plurality of imaging hospitals and a moving time to the imaging hospital which is read out from the storage unit; selecting one of the displayed imaging available times and transmitting the selected imaging available time to the imaging hospital to make a reservation ; and receiving a medical image obtained by capturing the patient who has moved from the diagnostic hospital, from the reserved imaging hospital. These above limitations, under their broadest reasonable interpretation, cover performance of the limitation as certain methods of organizing human activity. The claim recites elements, highlighted in bold above, which covers performance of the limitation as managing personal behavior and interactions between people. Inquiring of imaging available (following rules/instructions), displaying time slots and moving time received from imaging hospitals (teaching), selecting one available time to make a reservation (steps of following rules/instructions) and receiving a medical image capturing of a patient (teaching). If a claim limitation, under its broadest reasonable interpretation, covers performance of the limitation as a managing personal behavior or interactions between people, then it falls within the “Certain Methods of Organizing Human Activity” grouping of abstract ideas. Accordingly, the claim recites an abstract idea. Claims 1 and 19 are also abstract for similar reasons. ( Step 2A-Prong 1: YES. The claims are abstract) In as much as the claimed steps can be performed in the mind of a person with pen and paper the claims are also abstract as a mental process. A person can inquire (read) if imaging slots are available, write down a list with pen and paper t of available imaging hospitals, select one that is available (in their mind), and receive (read and analyze) a medical image. See also MPEP 2106.04(a)(2) III C where using a computer for a judicial exception is not enough to make abstract claims statutory. This judicial exception is not integrated into a practical application. In particular, the claims only recite: diagnostic system, storage unit, display unit (Claim 1); diagnostic system, display unit (Claim 8). The computer hardware is recited at a high-level of generality ( i.e. , as a generic processor performing a generic computer function) such that it amounts no more than mere instructions to apply the exception using a generic computer component. Accordingly, these additional elements, when considered separately and as an ordered combination, do not integrate the abstract idea into a practical application because they do not impose any meaningful limits on practicing the abstract idea. Therefore claims 1 and 8 are directed to an abstract idea without a practical application. ( Step 2A-Prong 2: NO. The additional claimed elements are not integrated into a practical application ) The claims do not include additional elements that are sufficient to amount to significantly more than the judicial exception because, when considered separately and as an ordered combination, they do not add significantly more (also known as an “inventive concept”) to the exception. As discussed above with respect to integration of the abstract idea into a practical application, the additional element of using a computer hardware amounts to no more than mere instructions to apply the exception using a generic computer component. Mere instructions to apply an exception using a generic computer component cannot provide an inventive concept. See Applicant’s specification para. [0029] about implantation using generic computers and MPEP 2106.05(f) where applying a computer as a tool is not indicative of significantly more. Accordingly, these additional elements, when considered separately and as an ordered combination, do not integrate the abstract idea into a practical application because they do not impose any meaningful limits on practicing the abstract idea. Steps such as receiving are steps that are considered insignificant extra solution activity and mere instructions to apply the exception using general computer components (see MPEP 2106.05(d), II). Thus claims 1 and 8 are not patent eligible. (St ep 2B: NO. The claims do not provide significantly more ) Dependent claims 2-7 further define the abstract idea that is present in their respective claim 1 and thus correspond to Certain Methods of Organizing Human Activity and hence are abstract for the reasons presented above. The dependent claims do not include any additional elements that integrate the abstract idea into a practical application or are sufficient to amount to significantly more than the judicial exception when considered both individually and as an ordered combination. Therefore, the claims 2-7 are directed to an abstract idea. Thus, the claims 1-8 are not patent-eligible. Examiner Request The Applicant is requested to indicate where in the specification there is support for amendments to claims should Applicant amend. The purpose of this is to reduce potential 35 U.S.C. §112(a) or §112 1 st paragraph issues that can arise when claims are amended without support in the specification. The Examiner thanks the Applicant in advance. Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103 07-06 AIA 15-10-15 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. 07-20-aia AIA 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. 07-23-aia AIA The factual inquiries for establishing a background for determining obviousness under 35 U.S.C. 103 are summarized as follows: 1. Determining the scope and contents of the prior art. 2. Ascertaining the differences between the prior art and the claims at issue. 3. Resolving the level of ordinary skill in the pertinent art. 4. Considering objective evidence present in the application indicating obviousness or nonobviousness. 07-21-aia AIA Claim s 1-3, 5, and 8 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Pub. No. US 2020/0411170 to Brown et al. in view of Pub. No. US 2005/0228697 to Funahashi and in further view of Pub. No. US 2024036259 to Gustafson . Regarding claims 1 and 8 (claim 8) An operation method of a diagnostic system that issues a request for imaging via a communication line from a diagnostic hospital in which a diagnostician who diagnoses a patient is present to an imaging hospital in which a radiologist who captures a medical image of the patient is present, the operation method comprising: Brown et al. teaches: Hospitals and imaging/diagnostic providers… “ The disclosed subject matter is directed to systems, computer-implemented methods, apparatus and/or computer program products that provide facilitate coordinating and optimizing resource utilization and delivery of healthcare services across an integrated healthcare system using a machine learning framework. An integrated health care delivery system is one in which all the providers whose services affect a patient work together in a coordinated fashion, sharing relevant medical information, sharing aims or goals, sharing responsibility for patient outcomes, and for resource use. For example, an integrated healthcare system can include many different operating entities that provide a variety of different healthcare services to patients, including hospitals, specialized hospital units, specialized physician clinics/offices, outpatient facilities, ambulatory services, nursing home facilities, surgery centers, imaging/diagnostic providers , pharmacy providers, traveling/in-home patient care, rehabilitation providers, telemedicine providers, and the like.” [0030] inquiring of a plurality of the imaging hospitals about imaging available time slots on the day of the imaging request and receiving imaging available times from the imaging hospitals; Identifies healthcare workers at a specific office location (plurality of hospitals) with known or expected (available) timeslots and available now, next 30 minutes (day of imaging request)… “For example, the resource availability data 116 can include but is not limited to, information that identifies a current availability status of the healthcare workers (e.g., available, unavailable), that identifies or indicates durations of time until the respective workers will become available to perform a healthcare task (e.g., available now, available between hours 1400 and 1500, available in 30 minutes), amount of time the respective workers have available to perform certain tasks (e.g., based on scheduling constraints, shift end time, etc.), and locations of the respective healthcare workers. In some embodiments, the resource availability data 116 can include information that identifies known or expected timeslots over a defined upcoming timeframe (e.g., the next 24 hours, the next week, the next month, etc.) in which one or more healthcare workers have available to perform healthcare tasks, including durations of the timeslots and in some implementations, locations associated with the time slots (e.g., a specific office location). In some embodiments, the resource availability data 116 can further identify available time that the resource assessment module 114 classifies as idle time. As discussed in greater detail infra, idle time can include time in which a healthcare worker is between tasks, traveling (e.g., driving, walking, riding as a passenger, etc.), eating lunch, waiting for laboratory results, or the like, that can be utilized to perform supplementary healthcare tasks, such as telemedicine tasks. In some embodiments, the resource availability data 116 can also include information regarding a physiological state of the healthcare workers (e.g., fatigue level, stress level, intoxication level, etc.) that can be used to facilitate determining if a particular healthcare worker is in a suitable state to perform certain healthcare tasks of the respective workers, and the like.” [0052] Workers at hospital… “FIG. 4 presents example indexed task data 400 that can be generated by the task assessment module 108 in accordance with one or more embodiments of the disclosed subject matter. The indexed task data 400 includes various task for performance by healthcare workers of a hospital, referred to herein as hospital A. In the embodiment shown, the indexed task data 400 provides a list of discrete tasks to be performed from a current point in time (e.g., 9:18 am) to defined future point in time (e.g., midnight, or another designated time). The respective tasks are identified by a unique identifier. For example, in accordance with this example, the identifiers can indicate a type of the respective tasks, which include clinical tasks, administrative (admin) tasks, transport tasks, and EVS tasks. For each identified task, if applicable, the indexed task data 400 also identifies the patient associated with the task, the status of the task (e.g., pending or in-progress), a timing constraint associated with the task, a location constraint associated with the task, and a priority level associated with the task. In accordance with this example, the timing attributes can include a timing of origination of the task, a scheduling time constraint associated with the task, and an expected duration the task will take to complete.” [0103] See Hospitals and Day below. displaying, on a display unit, the imaging available time slots received from the plurality of imaging hospitals and a moving time to the imaging hospital which is read out from the storage unit; Date/time of service and travel time/distance… “The second dimension of this model is the discrete patient that has a prescribed number of activities or services to be rendered. Taking into account unique patient's acuity or need, list of discrete services or activities to be completed, and any requires sequencing, the disclosed techniques can determine how to schedule the patient for service to optimize the time required to complete all activities. This sequencing can take taking into account the scheduled steps progress, anticipated date/time of service, the patient's physical location, required travel time/distance, and the overall patient's available time window to have these services rendered . A third dimension is space and time. In this regard, the disclosed techniques further balancing the operating entity dimension with the patient dimension in real-time with the variables of time and space. As a result, the entire system can be optimized to deliver improved operating entity performance while also improving patient movement through prescribed services and actions.” [0032] See Display below. selecting one of the displayed imaging available times and transmitting the selected imaging available time to the imaging hospital to make a reservation; and Assigning (selecting) to imaging and radiology centers… “With this operating model in mind, various embodiments described herein provide a system is provided that can facilitate optimizing scheduling of different healthcare tasks and assigning resources to the different healthcare tasks in real-time in a manner that synchronizes and harmonizes patient needs and provider capabilities under the dynamic operating conditions associated with the healthcare environment. The healthcare environment can include individual operating entities, as well as a macro ecosystem that combines the individual operating entities into a unified integrated healthcare system. For example, the operating entities can include various types of healthcare facilities that provide healthcare services, including (but not limited to), hospitals , clinics, ambulatory surgical centers, birth centers, blood banks, specialty clinics or medical offices, dialysis centers, hospice homes , imaging and radiology centers , therapy centers, mental health treatment centers, nursing homes, orthopedic and other rehabilitation centers, urgent care facilities, and the like.” [0033] Determines (selecting) timeslot… “In another embodiment, another system is provided that comprises a memory that stores computer executable components, and a processor that executes the computer executable components stored in the memory. The computer executable components can comprise an activity monitoring component that monitors activity of healthcare workers of a healthcare system over a defined time period in association with operation of the healthcare system, including monitoring performance of healthcare tasks scheduled for performance over the defined time period. The computer executable components further comprise a availability analysis component that determines, based on the monitoring, a timeslot within the defined time period in which a healthcare worker of the healthcare workers is not performing, anticipated to or scheduled to perform a healthcare task of the healthcare tasks , and a task optimization analysis component that determines a supplemental healthcare task for performance by the healthcare worker during the timeslot.” [0011] receiving a medical image obtained by capturing the patient who has moved from the diagnostic hospital, from the reserved imaging hospital. See Receiving Image below. Hospitals and Day Brown teaches hospitals. They do not teach details of hospitals, time slots, and day of imaging request. Funahashi also in the business of hospitals teaches: Medical institutions (hospitals) centrally store images… “Accordingly, a system for centrally managing medical images in a data center located apart from the medical institutions has been proposed. In the medical image central management system , image data obtained in plural medical institutions are centrally stored in a database server provided in the data center. Thereby, the necessity for the respective medical institutions to independently store recording media in which medical data have been recorded is eliminated and space or costs therefor can be reduced.” [0006] “On the other hand, since medical institutions such as clinics and small hospitals can not possess expensive diagnostic devices from a business stand point, diagnoses using expensive diagnostic devices such as CT (computed tomography) device, MRI (magnetic resonance imaging) device, ES (endoscope) device and so on are performed in medical institutions such as large hospitals that posses expensive diagnostic devices. That is, in the case where a diagnosis using a diagnostic device, which a medical institution such as a clinic does not possess, is required for a patient visiting the medical institution, a doctor of the medical institution introduces the patient to another medical institution that possesses the diagnostic device to be used for the diagnosis and that is affiliated with the medical institution. Thereby, the diagnosis of the patient is performed in the introduced medical institution.” [0007] Plurality of hospitals… “In each of hospital A (20a), hospital B (20b), hospital C (20c), . . . , a reception terminal 21, an expensive examination modality 22 such as CT (computed tomography) device, MRI (magnetic resonance imaging) device or ES (endoscope) device, an image display terminal 23 for receiving medical data such as image data representing medical images from the examination modality 22 to display medical image and transferring the medical data to the data center 30, a schedule management terminal 24 for managing a schedule of examinations , a recoding medium such as a hard disk in which a schedule database (DB) 25 storing schedule information of examinations is recorded, a firewall (FW) 26 for preventing unauthorized access, a printer 27 for printing out medical images on films or the like, etc. are connected via a local area network (LAN) to each others.” [0040] Drastically reduced waiting time and doctor immediately make an appointment, therefore inquire on day of imaging request…. “Further, in the case where the request destination hospital or the like is designated, the database server 34 generates as a calendar page the appointment status of the designated examination menu employing the designated examination modality in the designated request destination hospital based on the examination request source information, and transmits the calendar page to the client terminal 12. The doctor as an operator can grasp available dates, times and so one at a glance of the calendar page displayed on the client terminal 12. Thereby, the doctor can immediately make an appointment at the designated request destination hospital, and waiting time of the patient can be drastically reduced. ” [0056] Fig. 3, and Hospital A, etc. with CT device and appointment calendar… PNG media_image1.png 324 442 media_image1.png Greyscale “ The hospital list data transmitted from the medical institution data server 37 is received by the request destination registering unit 43d and sent to the image processing unit 43a. The list of all hospital names etc. is displayed on the display unit 42 based on the hospital list data.” [0067] “In the examination appointment screen as shown in FIG. 4, in order to grasp the appointment status at a glance, available appointment frames are displayed by a color representing availability (white in FIG. 4) and the unavailable appointment frames are displayed by a color representing unavailability (gray in FIG. 4). Here, the appointment frames are time segments corresponding to examination times. Normally, an examination employing a CT device or MR device takes time for 20 minutes or 40 minutes per one examination . Accordingly, 20 minutes as the minimum examination unit is set as time of one appointment frame, two continuous appointment frames are appointed for a 40-minute examination. Further, as shown in FIG. 4, the vertically arranged three rows of appointment frames represent the appointment status for one hour, and the rows are horizontally arranged in seven columns to represent the appointment status for seven hours.” [0075] It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date to include in the method and system of Brown the ability to use hospitals with storage for sending images to as taught by Funahashi since the claimed invention is merely a combination of old elements and in the combination each element merely would have performed the same function as it did separately, and one of ordinary skill in the art would have recognized that the results of the combination were predictable. Further motivation is provided by Funahashi who teaches the benefits of scheduling patients with imaging hospitals and Brown benefits as they also schedule imaging for patients. Display The combined references teach appointment and travel time. They do not teach display. Gustafson also I the business of appointment and travel time teaches: Indicate (display) travel time and appointment slots… “ECT can indicate the amount of additional travel time for a given appointment slot compared to an appointment slot with the least combined travel time in a set of proposed appointments or appointment slots . For example, if one appointment slot has 10 minutes of combined travel time (CTT) e.g., T.sub.B+T.sub.A compared to another appointment slot with 0 minutes of combined travel time, the ECT would be 10 minutes. In some embodiments, CTT can be substituted for ECT to compute a WES for a proposed appointment slot. For example, ECT can require a set of proposed appointments in order to perform a comparison of one proposed appointment relative to a second proposed appointment with the least combined travel time. In some circumstances, a set of proposed appointments may not be available. In such cases, using the CTT and adjusting the CTF can generate similar WES results. In such cases, the total travel time (e.g., CTT) for a proposed appointment could be used in place of the ECT. In other words, ECT can be a more user-friendly parameter for user-facing scheduling interfaces.” [0094] It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date to include in the method and system of the combined references the ability to display appointment travel time and appointment time as taught by Gustafson since the claimed invention is merely a combination of old elements and in the combination each element merely would have performed the same function as it did separately, and one of ordinary skill in the art would have recognized that the results of the combination were predictable. Further motivation is provided by the combined references that teach using such information for scheduling purposes. It would be obvious to display such information so users can schedule appointments. Receiving Image The combined references teach imaging. They do not teach receiving image from a hospital. Funahashi also in the business of imaging teaches: Medical institutions (hospitals) centrally store images… “Accordingly, a system for centrally managing medical images in a data center located apart from the medical institutions has been proposed. In the medical image central management system , image data obtained in plural medical institutions are centrally stored in a database server provided in the data center. Thereby, the necessity for the respective medical institutions to independently store recording media in which medical data have been recorded is eliminated and space or costs therefor can be reduced.” [0006] “On the other hand, since medical institutions such as clinics and small hospitals can not possess expensive diagnostic devices from a business stand point, diagnoses using expensive diagnostic devices such as CT (computed tomography) device, MRI (magnetic resonance imaging) device, ES (endoscope) device and so on are performed in medical institutions such as large hospitals that posses expensive diagnostic devices. That is, in the case where a diagnosis using a diagnostic device, which a medical institution such as a clinic does not possess, is required for a patient visiting the medical institution, a doctor of the medical institution introduces the patient to another medical institution that possesses the diagnostic device to be used for the diagnosis and that is affiliated with the medical institution. Thereby, the diagnosis of the patient is performed in the introduced medical institution.” [0007] “In each of hospital A (20a), hospital B (20b), hospital C (20c), . . . , a reception terminal 21, an expensive examination modality 22 such as CT (computed tomography) device, MRI (magnetic resonance imaging) device or ES (endoscope) device, an image display terminal 23 for receiving medical data such as image data representing medical images from the examination modality 22 to display medical image and transferring the medical data to the data center 30, a schedule management terminal 24 for managing a schedule of examinations, a recoding medium such as a hard disk in which a schedule database (DB) 25 storing schedule information of examinations is recorded, a firewall (FW) 26 for preventing unauthorized access, a printer 27 for printing out medical images on films or the like, etc. are connected via a local area network (LAN) to each others .” [0040] “Furthermore, in the case where the creation of examination result image, interpretation result report, etc. are completed in the request destination hospital, the doctor of the examination request source can be informed of timing, at which the information of images, reports or the like becomes able to be referred , based on the status of "no appointment", "appointed", "patient reception", "examination completed", "interpretation completed" and so on displayed on the client terminal 12. Thereby, the doctor of the examination request source can predict the time when the entire examination in the examination request destination hospital is completed and the patient revisits the clinic. ” [0057] Transmit image from hospital to database server… “ When an examination and an interpretation have been completed in a hospital, medical data such as image data and interpretation report data is transmitted from the image display terminal 23 to the database server 34 , and a request for status change is transmitted from the image display terminal 23 to the schedule management terminal 24. These medical data are stored in the database in the database server 34. Further, at step S111, the reception control unit 53a of the schedule management terminal 24 receives the request for status change.” [0150] It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date to include in the method and system of the combined references the ability to receive an image from a hospital as taught by Funahashi since the claimed invention is merely a combination of old elements and in the combination each element merely would have performed the same function as it did separately, and one of ordinary skill in the art would have recognized that the results of the combination were predictable. Further motivation is provided by the combined references that teach using hospitals for imagining patients when hospitals lack such equipment. It would be obvious to receive imaging data. Regarding claim 2 The diagnostic system according to claim 1, wherein the selection/reservation unit selects and reserves an imaging available time with an earliest imaging available time slot or with a shortest moving time from among the imaging available times. Brown teaches: As soon as possible (earliest time slot)… “… Also, depending on the type of operating entity and timeframe evaluated, the healthcare tasks can include tasks scheduled for performance as specific points in time (e.g., patient appointments scheduled for specific dates and times), healthcare tasks scheduled and/or requested for performance over a relatively recent timeframe or window of time (e.g., the next hour, the next 24 hours, between 2:00 pm and 5:00 pm, etc.), healthcare tasks that need to be preformed as soon as possible (e.g., urgent/critical tasks), and the like.” [0084] Regarding claim 3 The diagnostic system according to claim 1, wherein the selection/reservation unit includes a reception unit that receives selection of the imaging available time by an operator, and selects and reserves the imaging available time received by the reception unit. Brown teaches: Administrators and workers (operator) to perform prescribed optimal (selects) scheduling (reserve imaging available time)… “… The task scheduling and resource assignment information 126 can further be provided to the task management administrators and/or the healthcare workers directly to facilitate performing the healthcare tasks in accordance with the prescribed optimal scheduling and resource assignment scheme. The task scheduling and resource assignment information 126 can also be provided to individual patients to provide a real-time schedule of activities for each patient with anticipated date/time of event and coordinates the sequencing of various activities and services to be rendered (and updated in real-time).” [0060] Regarding claim 5 The diagnostic system according to claim 1, further comprising: an image interpretation request unit; and See Interpretation below. an image interpretation result reception unit, See Interpretation below. wherein one or more image interpretation hospitals in which an image interpretation doctor is present and that are connected to the diagnostic hospital via the communication line are further registered in the storage unit, See Interpretation below. the image interpretation request unit transmits the medical image received by the medical image reception unit to at least one of the image interpretation hospitals to request image interpretation, and See Interpretation below. the image interpretation result reception unit receives an image interpretation result from the image interpretation hospital. See Interpretation below. Interpretation The combined references teach image. They do not teach details of image interpretation. Funahashi also in the business of image teaches: Requesting unit… “The information requesting unit 53d regularly transmits appointment status data request signals including hospital ID numbers for specifying the request source hospital to the data server 34 so that the data server 34 transmits appointment status data stored in the schedule database server 25 and examination appointment information on the request source hospitals.” [0087] Reception control unit… “The status managing unit 53b stores the appointment status data received by the reception control unit 53a in the schedule database 25 and manage the appointment status data. Further, the status managing unit 53b generates status change request signals including statuses to be changed such as "appointed", "patient reception", "examination completed", "interpretation completed", etc. and the examination appointment information in order to change the statuses stored in the appointment status database 36 (FIG. 1) in accordance with the requests for status change transmitted from the reception terminal 21 or the image display terminal 23 or requests for status change inputted by the operator.” [0085] Request image completed in destination hospital… “Furthermore, in the case where the creation of examination result image, interpretation result report, etc. are completed in the request destination hospit al, the doctor of the examination request source can be informed of timing, at which the information of images, reports or the like becomes able to be referred, based on the status of "no appointment", "appointed", "patient reception", "examination completed", "interpretation completed" and so on displayed on the client terminal 12. Thereby, the doctor of the examination request source can predict the time when the entire examination in the examination request destination hospital is completed and the patient revisits the clinic.” [0057] Hospitals with network (communication line)… PNG media_image2.png 288 402 media_image2.png Greyscale Image data transmitted to database server (reception unit)… “When an examination and an interpretation have been completed in a hospital, medical data such as image data and interpretation report data is transmitted from the image display terminal 23 to the database server 34, and a request for status change is transmitted from the image display terminal 23 to the schedule management terminal 24. These medical data are stored in the database in the database server 34. Further, at step S111, the reception control unit 53a of the schedule management terminal 24 receives the request for status change.” [0150] Hospital registered with database…. “When a hospital to be registered is newly selected, the request destination registering unit 43d transmits a registration request signal including a hospital ID number representing the selected hospital to the database server 34 according to the instruction by the operator using the input unit 41. The registration request signal includes the clinic ID number for specifying items of the examination list table registered with respect to each clinic along with the hospital ID number representing the selected hospital. Thereby, the database server 34 updates the examination list table with respect to the request source clinic.” [0068] “When the operator designates one of the appointment frames in the appointment status calendar 73 as shown in FIG. 4 by clicking or the like, and further, clicks the appointment button 74, the appointment registering unit 43e reads out patient attribute information representing the patient who wishes to request the examination from the image database 13 or the like, and transmits the examination appointment information including examination request destination information and examination request source information to the database server 34 .” [0077] It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date to include in the method and system of the combined references the ability to interpret images as taught by Funahashi since the claimed invention is merely a combination of old elements and in the combination each element merely would have performed the same function as it did separately, and one of ordinary skill in the art would have recognized that the results of the combination were predictable. Further motivation is provided by Funahashi who teaches a system for and the benefits of interpretation . 07-21-aia AIA Claim 4 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over the combined references in section (9) above in further view of Pub. No. US 2020/0167871 to Basu et al . Regarding claim 4 The diagnostic system according to claim 1, further comprising: a billing statement creation unit that issues a billing statement for a medical examination cost to the patient, See Billing below. wherein the medical image reception unit receives an imaging fee billing statement for an imaging fee from the imaging hospital together with the medical image, and See Billing below. the billing statement creation unit creates a billing statement in which the imaging fee of the imaging hospital is added to the medical examination cost, and See Billing below. bills the patient for the imaging fee of the imaging hospital instead of the imaging hospital. See Billing below. Billing The combined references teach imaging, they do not teach billing. Basu et al. also in the business of imaging teaches: Bundles with hospitals and imaging… “A system and method for h ealthcare suppliers or providers (hospitals practices, ACOs, Direct Primary Care, labs, imaging, providers of medical services and products and other such medical entities) to store, manage, and in general list or publish medical “baskets” or bundles (consisting of procedures, services, supplies, and associated charges) to market consumers; namely healthcare groups and their healthcare members/beneficiaries. And further where such system and methods support the review, negotiation, contracting, purchase, payment, and financing, in general consumption, of medical bundles between suppliers and market consumers. This component may also optionally include the ability for the management and publication of medical supplier service bundles for market contracting, consumption, billing, and payments. Further details of this component can be found in the detailed disclosure contained hereinbelow and by reference to FIGS. 100, 200-A, 300, and 600-A, -B, and -C.” [0014] Aggregating formatted invoices (billing statements)… “The present invention streamlines the process of obtaining tax benefits or reimbursements from qualified healthcare costs by electronically aggregating, storing, and normalizing data from individual purchase/payment point of service, healthcare claims, and retail transaction streams including but not limited to: photos of purchase receipts; PDF or otherwise formatted invoice documents ; eReceipts; and point-of-sale (“POS”), benefits and HR solutions and databases, clearing house claims networks, insurer systems, employer claims records, or third party administrator sourced data (claims, t log, t log extracts, database, or other POS data streams and the like).” [0065] Where expenditures are for patients… “Additionally, patients (either themselves or their representatives) expend excess labor/time to compile, record, collect, document, and track medical or healthcare spend that may be eligible for tax deduction or eligible for tax exempt healthcare finance instruments such as FSA/HSA/HRA and the like . The present invention automates the generation of tax deduction forms and/or reimbursement forms (as applicable) for an individual patient's eligible healthcare related expenditures and corresponding insurance and taxable income. The system captures contributions and expenditures associated with a patient's medical financial account (such as an FSA or HSA). This information is collected from a number of sources, such as from the patient or the patient's family, providers, medical claims clearinghouses, pharmacy benefits managers, third party administrators, insurance companies, and other payment and retail systems. Upon the end of a defined tax year the system automatically generates an electronic copy of IRS Form 8885, 8889, and 1040 among others with all required healthcare related fields populated.” [0066] It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date to include in the method and system of the combined references the ability to bill a hospital as taught by Basu et al. since the claimed invention is merely a combination of old elements and in the combination each element merely would have performed the same function as it did separately, and one of ordinary skill in the art would have recognized that the results of the combination were predictable. Further motivation is provided by the combined references that teach providing services to patients, it would be obvious to bill for services . 07-21-aia AIA Claim s 6 and 7 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over the combined references in section (9) above in further view of Pub. No. US 2009/0076853 to Sagawa . Regarding claim 6 A medical cooperation system comprising: the diagnostic system according to claim 1, wherein the diagnostic system, in which a diagnostic hospital in which a diagnostician who diagnoses a patient is present, issues a request for imaging to an imaging hospital in which a radiologist who captures a medical image of the patient is present via a communication line; and See Diagnosis and Radiologist below. an imaging system in which the imaging hospital in which the radiologist is present receives the request from the diagnostic hospital, captures a medical image, and transmits the medical image to the diagnostic hospital via the communication line. See Diagnosis and Radiologist below. Diagnosis and Radiologist The combined references teach images. They do not teach diagnosis and radiologist. Sagawa also in the business of images teaches: Diagnosis doctor ask (transmits request) to radiologist and doctor in inspection department (radiologist) reports (transmits) to the diagnosis doctor… “For the diagnosis based on medical images, doctors of individual diagnosis and treatment departments generally ask a doctor in an inspection department, like a radiologist, for an interpretation of the medical images . In the inspection department, the doctor interprets the medical images and reports the interpretation . Then, the doctor in the diagnosis and treatment department examines the report on the image interpretation, hereinafter referred to as the image interpretation report, to diagnose a disorder (an injury or a disease) of the patient.” [0003] It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date to include in the method and system of the combined references the ability to diagnose and image with a radiologist as taught by Sagawa since the claimed invention is merely a combination of old elements and in the combination each element merely would have performed the same function as it did separately, and one of ordinary skill in the art would have recognized that the results of the combination were predictable. Further motivation is provided by Sagawa who teaches a system for and the benefits of interpretation. Regarding claim 7 The medical cooperation system according to claim 6, further comprising: an image interpretation system in which an image interpretation hospital in which an image interpretation doctor is present receives a request from the diagnostic hospital, interprets the medical image, and transmits an image interpretation result to the diagnostic hospital via the communication line. Diagnosis and Radiologist The combined references teach images. They do not teach diagnosis and radiologist. Sagawa also in the business of images teaches: Diagnosis doctor ask (transmits request) to radiologist and doctor in inspection department (radiologist) reports (transmits) to the diagnosis doctor… “For the diagnosis based on medical images, doctors of individual diagnosis and treatment departments generally ask a doctor in an inspection department, like a radiologist, for an interpretation of the medical images . In the inspection department, the doctor interprets the medical images and reports the interpretation . Then, the doctor in the diagnosis and treatment department examines the report on the image interpretation, hereinafter referred to as the image interpretation report, to diagnose a disorder (an injury or a disease) of the patient.” [0003] It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date to include in the method and system of the combined references the ability to diagnose and image with a radiologist as taught by Sagawa since the claimed invention is merely a combination of old elements and in the combination each element merely would have performed the same function as it did separately, and one of ordinary skill in the art would have recognized that the results of the combination were predictable. Further motivation is provided by Sagawa who teaches a system for and the benefits of interpretation . Conclusion 07-96 AIA The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. The following prior art teaches imaging with appointment/scheduling and move or travel time: JP-7267621-B2; JP-2012103886-A; JP-2019079343-A; US-20200411170-A1; US-20240362595-A1; US-20090076853-A1; US-20200167871-A1; US-20050228697-A1; US-20120158422-A1; US-20140236627-A1; US-20240062886-A1; US-20240112790-A1; US-20250104865-A1; US-10074059-B1; US-12499428-B2 Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to KENNETH BARTLEY whose telephone number is (571)272-5230. The examiner can normally be reached Mon-Fri: 7:30 - 4:00 EST. Examiner interviews are available via telephone, in-person, and video conferencing using a USPTO supplied web-based collaboration tool. To schedule an interview, applicant is encouraged to use the USPTO Automated Interview Request (AIR) at http://www.uspto.gov/interviewpractice. If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, SHAHID MERCHANT can be reached at (571) 270-1360. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300. Information regarding the status of published or unpublished applications may be obtained from Patent Center. Unpublished application information in Patent Center is available to registered users. To file and manage patent submissions in Patent Center, visit: https://patentcenter.uspto.gov. Visit https://www.uspto.gov/patents/apply/patent-center for more information about Patent Center and https://www.uspto.gov/patents/docx for information about filing in DOCX format. For additional questions, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000. /KENNETH BARTLEY/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3684 Application/Control Number: 18/830,024 Page 2 Art Unit: 3684 Application/Control Number: 18/830,024 Page 3 Art Unit: 3684 Application/Control Number: 18/830,024 Page 4 Art Unit: 3684 Application/Control Number: 18/830,024 Page 5 Art Unit: 3684 Application/Control Number: 18/830,024 Page 6 Art Unit: 3684 Application/Control Number: 18/830,024 Page 7 Art Unit: 3684 Application/Control Number: 18/830,024 Page 8 Art Unit: 3684 Application/Control Number: 18/830,024 Page 9 Art Unit: 3684 Application/Control Number: 18/830,024 Page 10 Art Unit: 3684 Application/Control Number: 18/830,024 Page 11 Art Unit: 3684 Application/Control Number: 18/830,024 Page 12 Art Unit: 3684 Application/Control Number: 18/830,024 Page 13 Art Unit: 3684 Application/Control Number: 18/830,024 Page 14 Art Unit: 3684 Application/Control Number: 18/830,024 Page 15 Art Unit: 3684 Application/Control Number: 18/830,024 Page 16 Art Unit: 3684 Application/Control Number: 18/830,024 Page 17 Art Unit: 3684 Application/Control Number: 18/830,024 Page 18 Art Unit: 3684 Application/Control Number: 18/830,024 Page 19 Art Unit: 3684
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