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 .
Terminal Disclaimer
The terminal disclaimer filed on June 8, 2026 disclaiming the terminal portion of any patent granted on this application which would extend beyond the expiration date of 18/864,555 has been reviewed and is accepted. The terminal disclaimer has been recorded.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
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.
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) 1, 3, 5 and 8-9 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Granneman (US Pub No. 2018/0220052) in view of Dimitriadis et al. (US Pub No. 2017/0176336).
With regards to claim 1, Granneman discloses a computer-implemented image processing method for generating a digital output color image of an object, the method comprising:
retrieving a digital white-light color image (i.e. “visible light images”) of the object recorded in a first imaged spectrum (i.e. visible light spectrum) captured by a white-light color camera (20) (paragraphs [0056]-[0057], referring to the digitized signals each representing streams of images or image representations based on the data and visible light images of image signals (27); paragraphs [0046]-[0047], referring to emitting visible light; Figures 4, 6, referring to steps 301, 401, “Receive first image stream including visible light images having first color space”; paragraphs [0048], [0051]-[0056], referring to the image sensor (20) which produces three analog output signals that contain visible light data of the three primary color channels);
retrieving a digital fluorescence-light color image (“images based on detected fluoresce of the object”) recorded in a second imaged spectrum captured by a fluorescence-light color camera (21), the second imaged spectrum overlapping with a fluorescence emission spectrum of at least one fluorophore, both the first imaged spectrum and the second imaged spectrum overlapping with a visible spectrum (paragraphs [0046]-[0047], referring to fluorescence excitation light; paragraphs [0056]-[0057], referring to the fluoresced light data in signal (29); Figures 4, 6, steps 302, 402, “Receive second image stream including images based on detected fluoresced light”; paragraph [0051], referring to “the fluoresced light is in a spectrum detectable by light sensor 20 that is in or near the visible light spectrum typically detected by a RGB sensor arrays”, and thus both the first imaged spectrum (i.e. visible light spectrum) and the second imaged spectrum (i.e. fluoresced light spectrum) overlaps with a visible spectrum; Figures 4, 6, referring to steps 302, 402, “Receive second image stream including images based on detected fluoresced light”; paragraphs [0048], [0051]-[0056], referring to the fluorescent sensor (21) which detects fluoresced light),
wherein the first imaged spectrum comprises at least three second color bands of a first color space (paragraphs [0023], paragraph [0025], referring to the WL image stream (i.e. visible light image) having a first color space; paragraphs [0072]-[0073], [0089], referring to the BT-709 8-bit per channel RGB color space being employed for the first image stream, and therefore the first color space uses at least three first colors bands (i.e. red (R ), green (G) and blue (B); Figures 4-7),
the second imaged spectrum comprises at least three second color bands of a second color space (paragraphs [0013]-[0014], [0017], [0071], referring to fluorescence (FI) image stream may include a red channel, a green channel and a blue channel (i.e. “fluoresced light in one or more of the RGB channels”; Figures 4-7);
and
generating the digital output color image by combining the digital fluorescence-light color image and the digital white-light color image (paragraph [0069], referring to the image processing circuitry (30) which performs digital image processing function for a white-light imaging modality to process and combine visible light images of image signal (27) with the fluoresced light data in signal (29) to produce the desired form of image from the data received; paragraph [0099], referring to image combining occurring at block 313, which combines the converted first image stream and the transformed second image stream into a combined image stream; Figures 2, 4, 6).
However, Granneman does not specifically disclose that the at least three first color bands [of the first imaged spectrum captured by a white-light color camera] and the at least three second color bands [of the second imaged spectrum captured by the fluorescence-light color camera] are complementary to each other.
Dimitriadis et al. disclose multispectral imaging of biological tissues, wherein the imaging system (200) comprises of two (or more) imaging channels/paths, each imaging channel has image sensor arrays (211, 221) to detect and record fluorescence and reflectance images at different phases (Abstract; paragraph [0026]). By alternating the illumination of the object it is possible to alternatively record spectrally complementary reflectance and fluorescence images with the two sensors, wherein in illumination phase 1 the spectral bands of the light reflected from the object are transmitted and detected into detector sensor 221 forming a reflectance image, whereas the fluorescence emission from the object is transmitted and detected into sensor 211 forming a fluorescence image (paragraph [0027]; Figure 3). In illumination phase 2 the spectral bands of the light reflected from the object are transmitted and detected in detector sensor 211 forming a reflectance image, whereas the fluorescence emission from the object is transmitted to and detected in sensor 221 forming a fluorescence image (paragraph [0027]). The sensor is preferably a multi-channel (multi color) sensor that has the capability to record the images in multiple spectral areas, wherein each spectral area has a distinct spectral sensitivity and records the reflected light of a spectral multiplex of various reflecting and fluorescence substances in the object (paragraph [0036]). Examples of multichannel color sensor arrays are the RGB (red-green-blue) or the CMYG (cyan-magenta-yellow-green) pattern sensors (paragraph [0036]). Figure 2B depicts the transmission spectra in front of the two sensors arrays, wherein in phase 2 of illumination the object is illuminated in general with a light that has a different spectral shape, and is preferably exhibiting an approximately complementary structure as shown in Figure 2B (paragraph [0026]; Figure 2, note that in phase 1, the transmission reflectance spectra for sensor 1 has 3 wavelength bands (i.e. 3 color bands which are defined by wavelength; see paragraph [0036], referring to the multi-channel/multi-color sensor recording the images in multiple spectral areas and correspond to RGB or CMYG pattern sensors) that are complementary (i.e. do not overlap) to the 3 wavelength bands (i.e. color bands) depicted for the transmission fluorescence spectra for sensor 1; paragraph [0033], referring to the reflectance and fluorescence images being complementary recorded; paragraphs [0079], [0089]-[0093]; Figures 2, 6). The spectral coverage of both fluorescence and reflectance is increased, offering surplus spectral imaging for comparably small changes (paragraph [0034]).
Before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to have the at least three first color bands and the at least three second color bands of Granneman be complementary to each other, as taught by Dimitriadis et al., in order to increase the spectral coverage of both fluorescence and reflectance, thus offering surplus spectral imaging for comparably small changes (paragraph [0034]).
With regards to claim 3, Granneman discloses that the digital output color image is generated in a third color space comprising at least three third color bands (paragraphs [0093], referring to transforming the second image stream to a portion of the second color space outside compressed color space produced by block 305, or if no compressed color space is used for the white-light images at block 305, block 306 transforms the second image stream to a desired color or color range that has been chosen to be highly visible when overlaid with visible light images; paragraph [0099], referring to combining the converted first image stream and the transformed second image stream into a combined image stream, wherein the combination may be done by overlaying or alpha blending the images, and thus the combination of the converted first image stream and the transformed second image stream would result in a third color space; paragraphs [0102]-[0103], referring to transforming the first color space to a new, second, data format which has a larger color space than the first color space, wherein the second color space can be defined by at least three or four primaries; Figures 4-7); the at least three first color bands and the at least three second color bands are mapped onto the at least three third color bands of the digital output color image using a linear transformation (paragraph [0103], referring to the format conversion at block 405 (i.e. converting first image stream to larger color space) being directly calculated with a matrix multiplication (i.e. linear transformation) of the RGB values in the first color stream; paragraphs [0078]-[0080], referring to scaling luminance values of the F1 images, wherein “scaling” corresponds to a linear transformation; paragraph [0096], referring to transforming the second image stream by using intensity scaling or color transformation, which corresponds to a linear transformation; Figures 4-7); wherein each first color band of the at least three first color bands and each second color band of the at least three second color bands are input as separate color bands into the linear transformation (paragraph [0103], referring to the matrix multiplication of the RGB values of the first image stream, which would encompass inputting the first color band of the first image stream into a linear transformation, separate from the second color bands; paragraphs [0078]-[0080], [0096], referring to the scaling of the F1 images/second image stream, which would encompass inputting the second color band of the F1 image stream into a linear transformation (i.e. scaling), separate from the first color bands; Figures 4-7).
With regards to claim 5, Granneman discloses that the first color space and the second color space are identical (paragraph [0051], referring to “the fluoresced light is in a spectrum detectable by light sensor 20 that is in or near the visible light spectrum typically detected by a RGB sensor arrays”, and thus the first color space and second color space are identical as they overlap; paragraphs [0072], [0074]-[0075]; Figures 5, 7).
With regards to claim 8, Granneman discloses that the second imaged spectrum comprises near infrared (NIR) wavelengths (paragraphs [0006], [0050]-[0051], [0095], referring to the fluoresced light being NIR ICG FI).
With regards to claim 9, Granneman discloses that the digital fluorescence-light color image and the digital white- light color image are processed jointly as a digital multispectral image comprising at least five color bands (paragraph [0088], referring to the color space being defined by “at least three primaries”, which would encompass at five (or more) color bands; paragraphs [0090], [0094]; Figures 4-7, in particular see Figures 4 and 6, wherein the visible light mages and the images based on detected fluoresced light are processed jointly).
Claim(s) 4 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Granneman in view of Dimitriadis et al. as applied to claim 3 above, and further in view of Higgins (US Pub No. 2005/0083352).
With regards to claim 4, as discussed above, the above combined references meet the limitations of claim 3. Further, Granneman discloses that the linear transformation comprises a color conversion matrix having a dimension of a number X times a number Y (paragraphs [0015], [0033], [0073], referring to the conversion being calculated using a matrix multiplication of the RGB values in the first color stream and referring to the color conversion matrix, wherein a matrix is inherently defined by a dimension of a number (i.e. X) times another number (i.e. Y)). Granneman further discloses that the first color space is defined by “at least three primaries” (paragraph [0088]).
However, though Granneman discloses that the first color space is defined by “at least three primaries” (paragraph [0088]), the above combined references do not specifically disclose that the number X is a sum of a quantity of the first color bands and a quantity of the second color bands and the number Y is a quantity of a third color band in the third color space.
Higgins discloses a method for converting from a source color space to a target color space, wherein the source color space results from a combination of N primary color points and the target color space results from a combination of a N+1 or more primary color points in the target color space, thus providing multiple primary conversions (Abstract; paragraph [0038]). Matrices may be combined together to perform conversion directly without going through intermediate color spaces (paragraph [0038]). As depicted in Figure 5, a 3x6 matrix may be used for converting 3-valued colors for a 6-primary display (paragraph [0046]; Figure 5, wherein it is depicted that a X by Y matrix is used, wherein X is the sum (i.e. total number) of a quantity of the first color bands (i.e. source color bands, which is equal to 3 color bands) and Y is the quantity of third color bands (i.e. target color bands, which is equal to 6 target color bands).
Before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to modify the above combined references to have the number X be a sum of a quantity of the first color bands and a quantity of the second color bands and the number Y be a quantity of a third color band in the third color space, as taught by Higgins, in order to effectively provide multiple primary color conversions (paragraph [0038]).
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments with respect to claim(s) 1, 3-5 and 8-9 have been considered but are moot because the new ground of rejection does not rely on any reference applied in the prior rejection of record for any teaching or matter specifically challenged in the argument. Dimitriadis et al. has been introduced to teach that the at least three first color bands [of the first imaged spectrum captured by a white-light color camera] and the at least three second color bands [of the second imaged spectrum captured by a fluorescence-light color image] are complementary to each other.
Conclusion
Applicant's amendment necessitated the new ground(s) of rejection presented in this Office action. Accordingly, THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. See MPEP § 706.07(a). Applicant is reminded of the extension of time policy as set forth in 37 CFR 1.136(a).
A shortened statutory period for reply to this final action is set to expire THREE MONTHS from the mailing date of this action. In the event a first reply is filed within TWO MONTHS of the mailing date of this final action and the advisory action is not mailed until after the end of the THREE-MONTH shortened statutory period, then the shortened statutory period will expire on the date the advisory action is mailed, and any nonprovisional extension fee (37 CFR 1.17(a)) pursuant to 37 CFR 1.136(a) will be calculated from the mailing date of the advisory action. In no event, however, will the statutory period for reply expire later than SIX MONTHS from the mailing date of this final action.
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/KATHERINE L FERNANDEZ/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3798
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