Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status
The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA .
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 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(s) 1, 3 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Matsukuma et al. [US 2007/0149963 A1, hereinafter “Matsukuma.”].
Re. claim 1, Matsukuma discloses a balloon catheter [Fig. 2], comprising:
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a balloon [2];
an outer cylinder shaft [3] connected to a proximal end of the balloon [Fig. 2, Par. 0093];
an inner cylinder shaft [4] passing through the outer cylinder shaft and connected to a distal end of the balloon [Fig. 2, Par. 0093];
a heating member [electrodes 5A and 5B, together] for heating a liquid in the balloon [“the high-frequency electrical current needed for ablation flows between the high-frequency electrodes 5A and 5B in the balloon 2. As a result, the liquid in the balloon 2 is heated by high frequency dielectric heating and Joule heating,” Par. 0118];
a first temperature sensor [9] fixed to an end of the heating member [Fig. 2, via 12A/B, Par. 0125]; and
a liquid passage [6A, Fig. 4; the space between shafts 3 and 4] formed between the outer cylinder shaft and the inner cylinder shaft and leading into the balloon [Par. 0095],
wherein the balloon can be stretched or loosened by relative movement of the inner cylinder shaft to the outer cylinder shaft [“the catheter shaft comprises an outer cylindrical shaft and an inner cylindrical shaft provided in the outer cylindrical shaft movably along the outer cylindrical shaft; that the front end of the balloon is fixed to the front end of the inner cylindrical shaft while the rear end of the balloon is fixed to the front end of the outer cylindrical shaft, so that when the inner cylindrical shaft is moved relatively to the outer cylindrical shaft, the balloon can be deformed,” Par. 0020], and
the heating member is arranged in the balloon [Fig. 2] and fixed only to the outer cylinder shaft [“The high-frequency electrodes 5A and 5B are supported by the support 3B fixed to the outer cylindrical shaft 3,” Par. 0123. Thus the heating member is fixed to the outer cylindrical shaft. And there is a “clearance” between the heating member and the inner shaft 4 as described in Par. 0094. Thus, the heating member is not fixed to the inner shaft].
Re. claim 3, Matsukuma discloses a balloon catheter system [Fig. 1], comprising: the balloon catheter of claim 1 [as set forth with respect to claim 1 above],
a supplier [6] for supplying the liquid to the liquid passage [Par. 0098];
an agitator for agitating the liquid in the balloon [“liquid agitator,” Par. 0025] by repeatedly supplying the liquid to the liquid passage and discharging the liquid from the liquid passage [Par. 0025]; and
a heater [10] electrically connected to the heating member and applying electrical energy to the heating member [Pars. 0121-0122],
wherein the heater applies the electrical energy to the heating member based on information on a temperature acquired by the first temperature sensor [Pars. 0121-0122].
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 103 which forms the basis for all obviousness rejections set forth in this Office action:
A patent for a claimed invention may not be obtained, notwithstanding that the claimed invention is not identically disclosed as set forth in section 102, if the differences between the claimed invention and the prior art are such that the claimed invention as a whole would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art to which the claimed invention pertains. Patentability shall not be negated by the manner in which the invention was made.
Claim(s) 2, 4 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Matsukuma in view of Zacca [US Pat. 5766192].
Re. claims 2 and 4, Matsukuma teaches the balloon catheter system and balloon catheter as set forth with respect to claims 1 and 3 above, but fails to teach, in the ballon catheter, the outer cylinder shaft has an extending section extending into the balloon, and the heating member is fixed to the extending section. However, Zacca teaches, in a balloon catheter system [Fig. 5, balloon 80], the outer cylinder shaft [150] has an extending section [Annotated Fig. 5] extending into the balloon.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to modify the apparatus of Matsukuma by extending the outer cylinder shaft, as taught by Zacca, because this allows air to be introduced through ports in the outer cylinder [Zacca Col. 14 lines 1-2] which allows for improved control over the inflation process.
Regarding the heating member being fixed to the extending section, because the heating member is fixed to the outer shaft, it is at least indirectly fixed to the extending section when the above teachings are combined.
Conclusion
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/ERIN MCGRATH/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3771