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 .
Abstract
The abstract of the disclosure is objected to because of the inclusion of legal phraseology involving “said” at line 3. Also, “- Fig. 2 -” (last line) should be omitted. A corrected abstract of the disclosure is required and must be presented on a separate sheet, apart from any other text (MPEP § 608.01(b)).
Specification
The disclosure is objected to because of the following informalities: The sentence bridging pages 13 and 14 lacks proper grammatical syntax. Appropriate correction is required.
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.
Claims 1-3, 5-6, and 8-10 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being clearly anticipated by Dubrul et al., US 2005/0251246 A1, which discloses a combination comprising a balloon catheter 6 through which a lumen longitudinally extends for expanding a distal balloon 4 with fluid pressure (Figure 1-B; paragraphs 0042, 0049-0050); balloon 4 expands an elastic braided wire stent structure 7 that in some embodiments is firmly seated on the balloon and designed to assume a diameter reduced shape in the absence of any externally applied forces (paragraphs 0035, 0054-0055, 0079, 0091, 0096+).
Regarding claims 2-3, braided wire stent structure 7 may be of a shape memory material such as nickel-titanium (paragraphs 0054, 0091, 0097). Regarding claims 5-6, the wires of braided stent structure 7 may have a rounded or square cross-section (paragraph 0098), the latter innately having edges pointing radially outwardly from a cross-sectional center or a centroidal axis of each wire. Regarding claims 8-9, proximal and distal ends of stent structure 7 are fixed to balloon catheter 6 in the applied embodiments [paragraphs 0035 (braid is “part of the [dilatation] device”, 0050, 0079]. Regarding claim 10, moving between diameter-reduced and expanded forms (paragraph 0066) involves a continuum of outer diameter ratios.
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 4, 7, and 11-14 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Dubrul et al., US 2005/0251246 A1. Regarding claim 4, cobalt-chromium alloys were quite common in the art at the effective filing date of the instant invention and would have been an obvious variant over the metals listed [paragraphs 0054 (stainless steel, nitinol, platinum), 0097] in order to accommodate some applications or uses (abstract; paragraphs 0002, 0019, 0040, 0054), with Dubrul et al. clearly being open to a variety of materials for braided stent structure 7 (paragraphs 0096+). Regarding claim 7, triangular cross-sections were likewise well known in the art and would have been obvious to the ordinary practitioner in order to better penetrate and engage lesions and plaque matrixes [paragraphs 0026, 0050, 0052 (“braid can act as a cutter”), 0098 (“preferred surface area configuration”)]. Values within the ranges specified in current claims 11-14 would have been obvious from the ranges of paragraph 0066 in order to provide a selection of dimensions for matching different anatomical features among a diversity humans and animals.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to Applicant’s disclosure:
US 2011/0040319 A1: abstract; Figures 11-21; paragraph 0084.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to David H. Willse, whose telephone number is 571-272-4762. The examiner can normally be reached on Monday through Thursday. If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor Melanie Tyson can be reached at telephone number 571-272-9062. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/DAVID H WILLSE/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3774
