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 .
Continued Examination Under 37 CFR 1.114
A request for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, including the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e), was filed in this application after final rejection. Since this application is eligible for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114. Applicant's submission filed on 9/17/2026 has been entered.
Response to Amendment
This action is in response to the remarks filed on 8/20/2026. The amendments filed on 8/20/2026 are entered.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(d):
(d) REFERENCE IN DEPENDENT FORMS.—Subject to subsection (e), a claim in dependent form shall contain a reference to a claim previously set forth and then specify a further limitation of the subject matter claimed. A claim in dependent form shall be construed to incorporate by reference all the limitations of the claim to which it refers.
The following is a quotation of pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, fourth paragraph:
Subject to the following paragraph [i.e., the fifth paragraph of pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112], a claim in dependent form shall contain a reference to a claim previously set forth and then specify a further limitation of the subject matter claimed. A claim in dependent form shall be construed to incorporate by reference all the limitations of the claim to which it refers.
Claim 5 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(d) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, 4th paragraph, as being of improper dependent form for failing to further limit the subject matter of the claim upon which it depends, or for failing to include all the limitations of the claim upon which it depends.
Regarding claim 5, the claim is rejected upon cancelled claim 2 and therefore is in improper dependent form and is rejected.
Applicant may cancel the claim(s), amend the claim(s) to place the claim(s) in proper dependent form, rewrite the claim(s) in independent form, or present a sufficient showing that the dependent claim(s) complies with the statutory requirements.
Allowable Subject Matter
The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter:
Regarding independent claims 1, 10, 13, and 15, the applicant has provided additional amendments and persuasive arguments in the remarks of 8/20/2026 that overcome the previous rejections and the combined set of features of the claims form a set of limitations that are non-obvious over the prior art. In light of these amendments and persuasive remarks, the claims are allowable.
Claim 5 is currently rejected as indicated above, and therefore the application is not currently in condition for allowance.
The applicant’s remarks include additional persuasive arguments directed to independent claim 1 of:
“At most, Shina describes estimating an initial IVUS-head position from x-ray/3D registration and a current IVUS-head position from pull-back length or motion-sensor information, and optionally verifying or adjusting orientation/position by matching an IVUS image to a 3D data set. That disclosure is not the same as to "track a change of position of a distal end of the interventional imaging device by processing the second image data at the first point in time and at the second point in time," wherein the second image data is from the internal imaging device, and "compute an updated pose estimate of the interventional imaging device at the second point in time based on the estimated pose of the interventional imaging device at the first point in time and the tracked change of position of the distal end of the interventional imaging device." Because Shina does not disclose at least these limitations as arranged in amended claim 1, Shina does not anticipate claim 1.”
Claims 3-4, 6-9, 12, 17-18, and 20-21 are dependent upon independent claims 1 or 10 or 13 or 15 and therefore are also allowable over the prior art.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
Merritt et al. (U.S. Pub. No. 20220395333) teaches to a medical imaging system that includes an x-ray imaging device as well as an interventional device within vessel target regions of interest in a patient. The reference further teaches to sequencing of images of a blood vessel from an intravascular device ([0011]).
Rajguru et al. (U.S. Pub. No. 20200129159) teaches to an intraluminal imaging system that includes orientation determination of acquired IVUS images relative to a patient’s body using landmark detection within images ([0062]).
Kapoor et al. (U.S. Pub. No. 20170273665) teaches to a pose of an ultrasound transducer that is determined using both inertial measurement unit sensors as well as additional data such as x-ray or ultrasound images ([0051]; [0056]). The reference fails to teach to imaging within vessel structures or determining a pose from a second set of images and tracking changes over time.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to SEAN A FRITH whose telephone number is (571)272-1292. The examiner can normally be reached M-Th 8:00-5:30 Second Fri 8:00-4:30.
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, Keith Raymond can be reached at 571-270-1790. 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.
/SEAN A FRITH/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3798
