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, 2, 8 and 9 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Vaughan et al. (US 2008/0024133 A1), hereinafter referred to as Vaughan.
With reference to claim 1, Vaughan teaches A radio frequency (RF) head coil to acquire magnetic resonance signals from a patient's head comprising; an examination volume to receive the patient's head (Fig. 3 24), receiver elements located around the examination volume and configured to provide a lateral access into the examination volume (Fig. 3, 28, ¶0071), an audio reproduction system with one or more audio outputs integrated in the RF head coil (Fig. 3, 30, ¶0073) and one or more flexible inserts that fit between the integrated audio output(s) and the patient's ear position (Fig. 3, 30, ¶0074). With reference to claim 2, Vaughan further teaches a base member (Fig. 3, 26) and a cover member (Fig. 3, 28), the receiver elements being mounted to the base member and/or the cover member (Fig. 3, 24, ¶0071, ¶0072) detachable from or partly displaceable from one another between a closed and an open state, such that in the open state the lateral access is towards the base member and in the closed state the receiver elements are located around the examination volume (Fig. 3, 26, 28).
With reference to claim 8, Vaughan further teaches while the cover member is detached form the cover member, move the patient head first along the lateral axis until the head is in position in the examination zone subsequently insert the flexible inserts in between the position of the patient's ears and the respective audio outputs; and finally place the cover member over the examination zone onto the base member (Fig. 3, ¶0074).
With reference to claim 9, Vaughan further teaches move the patient head first along the lateral axis until the head is in position in the examination zone while the cover member is detached form the cover member and when the flexible inserts are positioned in between the position of the patient's ears and the respective audio outputs finally place the cover member over the examination zone onto the base member (Fig. 3, ¶0074).
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.
The factual inquiries for establishing a background for determining obviousness under 35 U.S.C. 103 are summarized as follows:
1. Determining the scope and contents of the prior art.
2. Ascertaining the differences between the prior art and the claims at issue.
3. Resolving the level of ordinary skill in the pertinent art.
4. Considering objective evidence present in the application indicating obviousness or nonobviousness.
Claim(s) 3 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Vaughan as applied to claim 1 above, and further in view of Clark et al. (US 2022/0321990 A1), hereinafter referred to as Clark. With reference to claim 3, Vaughan teaches all that is required as explained above, however is silent with regards to the inserts are made by a 3D printing process on the basis of prior knowledge of patient's head shape. Clark teaches the inserts are made by a 3D printing process on the basis of prior knowledge of patient's head shape (¶0044). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to use the teaching of Clark with the head coil of Vaughan so as to improve comfort and acoustic profile for the subject (Clark, ¶0044).
Claim(s) 4 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Vaughan as applied to claim 1 above, and further in view of Hoffman (US 2024/0139034 A1).
With reference to claim 4, Vaughan teaches all that is required however is silent with regards to an acoustic resonator body is located near the examination volume.
Hoffman teaches an acoustic resonator body is located near the examination volume (Fig. 4, 401, ¶0058). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to use the teaching of Hoffman with the head coil of Vaughan so as to reduce parasitic sound for a patient (Hoffman, ¶0005).
Claim(s) 5-7 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Vaughan as applied to claim 1 above, and further in view of Hughes et al. (US 2010/0238362 A1), hereinafter referred to as Hughes. Vaughan teaches all that is required as explained above, however is silent with regards to the audio output has a piezo electrical driven actuator to generate sound waves. Hughes teaches the audio output has a piezo electrical driven actuator to generate sound waves (¶0063). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to use the teaching of Hughes with the head coil of Vaughan so as to enable sufficient audible sound waves in a MRI environment (Hughes, ¶0063).
With reference to claim 6, Vaughan teaches all that is required as explained above however is silent with regards to electronic preamplifiers are mounted with the receiver elements for pre-amplification of the magnetic resonance signals and the electronic pre-amplifiers are further configured to amplify input signals to the integrated audio output(s).
Hughes teaches electronic preamplifiers are mounted with the receiver elements for pre-amplification of the magnetic resonance signals and the electronic pre-amplifiers are further configured to amplify input signals to the integrated audio output(s) (¶0073). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to use the teaching of Hughes with the head coil of Vaughan so as to produce acceptable operation voltage (Hughes, ¶0073).
With reference to claim 7, Vaughan as combined above further teaches the receiver elements are arranged in a flexible manner with respect to each other (Vaughan, Fig. 3) and the piezo-electronic actuators and the pre-amplifiers are combined on one or several common pcb-boards (Hughes, ¶0073).
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
Randell et al. (US 7,526,330 B1) teach a magnetic resonance scanning apparatus with earphones.
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/GREGORY H CURRAN/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2852
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