Election/Restrictions
Applicant’s election without traverse of Group 1, claims 1-13 in the reply filed on 2/27/2026 is acknowledged.
Claims 14-20 are withdrawn from further consideration pursuant to 37 CFR 1.142(b) as being drawn to a nonelected invention, there being no allowable generic or linking claim. Election was made without traverse in the reply filed on 2/27/2026.
Claim Interpretation
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(f):
(f) Element in Claim for a Combination. – An element in a claim for a combination may be expressed as a means or step for performing a specified function without the recital of structure, material, or acts in support thereof, and such claim shall be construed to cover the corresponding structure, material, or acts described in the specification and equivalents thereof.
The following is a quotation of pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph:
An element in a claim for a combination may be expressed as a means or step for performing a specified function without the recital of structure, material, or acts in support thereof, and such claim shall be construed to cover the corresponding structure, material, or acts described in the specification and equivalents thereof.
The claims in this application are given their broadest reasonable interpretation using the plain meaning of the claim language in light of the specification as it would be understood by one of ordinary skill in the art. The broadest reasonable interpretation of a claim element (also commonly referred to as a claim limitation) is limited by the description in the specification when 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, is invoked.
As explained in MPEP § 2181, subsection I, claim limitations that meet the following three-prong test will be interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph:
(A) the claim limitation uses the term “means” or “step” or a term used as a substitute for “means” that is a generic placeholder (also called a nonce term or a non-structural term having no specific structural meaning) for performing the claimed function;
(B) the term “means” or “step” or the generic placeholder is modified by functional language, typically, but not always linked by the transition word “for” (e.g., “means for”) or another linking word or phrase, such as “configured to” or “so that”; and
(C) the term “means” or “step” or the generic placeholder is not modified by sufficient structure, material, or acts for performing the claimed function.
Use of the word “means” (or “step”) in a claim with functional language creates a rebuttable presumption that the claim limitation is to be treated in accordance with 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph. The presumption that the claim limitation is interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, is rebutted when the claim limitation recites sufficient structure, material, or acts to entirely perform the recited function.
Absence of the word “means” (or “step”) in a claim creates a rebuttable presumption that the claim limitation is not to be treated in accordance with 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph. The presumption that the claim limitation is not interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, is rebutted when the claim limitation recites function without reciting sufficient structure, material or acts to entirely perform the recited function.
Claim limitations in this application that use the word “means” (or “step”) are being interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, except as otherwise indicated in an Office action. Conversely, claim limitations in this application that do not use the word “means” (or “step”) are not being interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, except as otherwise indicated in an Office action.
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) 1-13 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Martin et al WO 2012/162437.
Claim 1: Martin et al disclose a device (a retrieval device 400) for removing a thrombus from a vein as best seen in fig. 8, comprising: a net assembly comprising a wire (one or more leading wires in a form of am main bundle 402, see paragraph 100) and an expandable net (a distal capture portion 426, see paragraph 100) secured at a distal end of the wire, wherein, when in an expanded state, the expandable net defines an interior collection volume with a mouth that opens proximally when the net is advanced distally beyond the thrombus and expanded (fig. 8, see paragraph 100); and a dislodger assembly (a proximal capture portion 460) comprising a shaft (sheath 106) and at least one node (it is noted that each of the wire make up of area 460, fig. 8) secured at a distal end of the shaft, wherein the wire of the net assembly extends through a lumen of the shaft such that the dislodge assembly 460 may translate axially over and rotate about the wire, relative to the net (it is note that the proximally translating the shaft and retrieval device with at least a portion of the obstruction affixed thereto such that resistance of the eversible cover against the vessel resists movement of the eversible cover causing the free section of the eversible cover to evert over the proximally translated retrieval device, see paragraph15).
Claims 2-4: Martin et al disclose further comprising a delivery catheter (sheath 106, fig. 8) configured to house the net assembly and the dislodge assembly, wherein the net and the at least one node (it is noted that each of the wire make up of area 460, fig. 8) are independently deployable from the delivery catheter 106., wherein the net and the at least one node are each in a compressed state when housed in the delivery catheter prior to deployment; wherein the net and the at least one node each self-expand into an expanded state upon deployment (fig. 8).
Claims 5-8: Martin et al disclose wherein the net is self-expanding (it is noted that cover 300 can be self-expanding, fig. 4f); wherein the at least one node is self-expanding; wherein the at least one node comprises a plurality of connected/unconnected nodes (it is noted that each of the wire make up of area 460, fig. 8).
Claims 9-11: Martin et al disclose wherein the at least one node comprises a plurality of perimeter struts that together define an interior space of the at least one node for containing and entraining thrombus ( it is note that the device comprises an elongated stent comprising a plurality of struts, the stent being collapsible for positioning in the catheter during delivery and having an expanded profile such that when expanded the struts are configured to engage the obstruction; a shaft fixedly attached to the elongated stent and having a flexibility to navigate through tortuous anatomy; a fluid permeable cover having a distal end coupled to a proximal end of the elongated stent a cover wall defining a cavity and extending along the shaft, and a proximal end being moveable relative to the shaft, where the fluid permeable cover is collapsible for positioning in the catheter during delivery and is expandable upon deployment from the catheter such that at least a portion of the fluid permeable cover is expandable; where the fluid permeable cover is axially pliable such that when the device is deployed in the vessel the frictional forces between the vessel and the fluid permeable cover permit proximal movement of the shaft and elongated stent to cause inversion of the fluid permeable cover wall such that the fluid permeable cover wall everts over the elongated stent (see paragraph 018)., wherein the at least one node comprises a plurality of interior struts (it is noted that mesh 354 that is supported by the coil, fig. 10c)
that each interconnect two or more of the perimeter struts; wherein the at least one node comprises a plurality of interior supports that each interconnect the shaft to one or more of the perimeter struts (see fig. 8).
Claims 12-13: Martin et al disclose wherein the shaft 108 extends through each of the at least one node (see fig. 8), and the at least one node comprises a plurality of perimeter struts extending from the shaft that together define an interior space of the at least one node for containing and entraining thrombus (see paragraph 018); wherein the at least one node comprises a plurality of interior struts (it is noted that each of the wires that is made of the structure 460) that each interconnect two or more of the perimeter struts and/or the at least one node comprises a plurality of interior supports (it is noted that mesh 354 that is supported by the coil, fig. 10c) that each interconnect the shaft to one or more of the perimeter struts.
Conclusion
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/VI X NGUYEN/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3771
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