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 .
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
Claims 1-9 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph, as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor (or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the applicant), regards as the invention.
Claim 1 recites the limitation "the cardiac monitor" in line 8. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim. The examiner notes that “a monitor” has sufficient antecedent basis, however it is not presented as a ‘cardiac monitor.’
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.
Claim(s) 1-24 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Beyer et al. (US 2023/0008570) in view of one having ordinary skill in the art, as evidenced by KSR Int’l Co. v. Telefax Inc., 550 U.S. 398 (2007).
Beyer et al. teaches:
an automated external defibrillator (AED) comprising a shock delivery circuit capable of delivering a defibrillation shock
E.G. via the disclosed AED devices 10, i.e. the AED configured for emergency cardiac response and defibrillation, [0029], [0040]-[0042].
A receiver configured to wirelessly receive a first incident notification transmitted by a monitor indicating that the monitor has detected a potential cardiac arrest in a patient
E.G. via the disclosed request for assistance that may originate from devices capable of detecting sudden cardiac arrest incidents, and emergency incident alerts are communicated through the AED response network to connected AEDs; [0038]-[0042].
Note: Under the BRI, the emergency alert transmitted to the AED constitutes the claimed first incident notification.
Wherein the AED is configured, in response to reception of the first incident notification, generate a human perceptible incident alert
E.G. via the disclosed emergency alert notifications that are sent directly to connected AED and that the emergency alert activities an audible and/or visual signal on the AED, [0042], [0048].
To inform individuals nearby both the cardiac monitor and the AED of the potential cardiac arrest.
E.G. via the disclosed notification nearby responders, personnel and bystanders of a nearby emergency incident through AED-generated alerts, [0040]-[0042], [0045] & [0048].
To thereby encourage such individuals to respond to the potential cardiac arrest incident using the AED.
E.G. Beyer expressly teaches that the AED alert may notify trained responders, responsible personnel and bystanders so they may retrieve and transport the AED to the emergency location and provide assistance, [0045], [0048]-[0051].
And send a second incident notification to a remotely located server to thereby inform the remotely located server of the potential cardiac arrest incident.
E.G. via the disclosed bidirectional communication between AEDs and an AED response network server, including AED-generated status messages transmitted back to the server, communication channels established between the AED and the server, and communication transmitted between the AED and said server, [0050], [0094]-[0096].
Note: Under the BRI, the AED-generated message transmitted to the AED response network server following receipt of the emergency incident alert constitutes the claimed second incident notification informing the remotely located server regarding the emergency incident and AED participation therein.
The second incident notification being sent in real time relative to the reception of the first incident notification.
E.G. via the disclosed real-time emergency response communication between the AED response network server and participating AEDs during an active emergency incident, including rapid status reporting and communications exchanged during incident response operations, [0040]-[0042], [0045], [0050], [0094]-[0096]
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was made that such communications occur in real-time or near real time because timely incident-response communications are necessary to coordinate AED deployment and emergency assistance, yielding the predictable result of improved emergency response effectiveness. See KSR.
It would have also been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art to employ the disclosed bidirectional AED-server communication of Beyer as incident-related notifications exchanged during an active cardiac-arrest response because Beyer expressly teaches real-time coordination between AEDs responders and the AED response network server. Such modification merely represents the predictable use of known communication techniques to improve emergency-event monitoring, responder coordination and AED deployment, yielding no more than predictable results. See KSR.
2.
“…wherein the remotely located server is one selectable from the group consisting of a volunteer responder network server and an AED management server…”
E.G. via the disclosed an AED response network server configured to coordinate communications between AEDs and volunteer responders during emergency cardiac arrest incidents, [0038]-[0042], [0050]-[0052], [0094]-[0096].
Note: Under BRI, the AED response network server constitutes the claimed volunteer responder network server.
3.
Beyer et al. does not expressly disclose:
Wherein the receiver that receives the first incident notification is a Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) receiver.
However, Beyer et al. teaches wireless communications between AEDs, responders, emergency notifications devices, and the AED response network utilizing multiple communication channels and protocols [0040], [0050], [0094]-[0096].
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of the invention to implement Beyer’s wireless receiver as a Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) receiver because BLE receivers were a well-known and commonly used short-range wireless communication technology for exchanging notification information between nearby devices while minimizing power consumption. Substituting a known BLE receiver for one of Beyers et al. wireless communication interfaces merely represents the predictable use of a known communication technology to perform the same wireless notification function and would have yielded no more than predictable results. KSR.
4.
Beyers et al. does not expressly disclose:
Wherein the first incident notification is a broadcast selected from the group consisting of a beacon and a BLE advertisement.
However, BLE communication systems conventionally utilize beacon transmissions and BLE advertisements to broadcast information to nearby receiving devices.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art that, upon implementing the wireless receiver of claim 3 as a BLE receiver, the incident notification disclosed by Beyer et al. could be transmitted using a BLE beacon or BLE advertisement represents standard BLE mechanisms for wirelessly communicating notification information to nearby devices. Utilizing a known BLE advertising or beacon transmission in Beyer’s et al. wireless emergency notification would merely constitute the predictable use of a known communication technique for its intended purpose and would have yielded no more than predictable results. KSR.
5.
Wherein the human perceptible incident alert is or includes an auditory alert generated by the speaker.
E.G. via the disclosed AEDs configured to generate audible alerts in response to emergency notifications, [0048].
6.
Further comprising a display screen
E.G. via the disclosed AED configured to present information to nearby responders and users during an emergency response event, [0048]-[0050].
Wherein the human perceptible incident alert is or includes a visual alert displayed on the display screen.
E.G. [0048]-[0050].
7.
Beyers et al. does not expressly disclose:
The AED serving as a repeater that rebroadcast the first incident notification using a BLE transmitter.
However, it would have been obvious to one or ordinary skill in the art to configure the BLE transmitter to rebroadcast the received incident notification in order to extend the notification range and increase dissemination of the emergency alert, which is predictable use of known wireless communication techniques. KSR.
8.
Wherein the monitor is a cardiac monitor
E.G. via the disclosed emergency requests may originate from devices capable of detecting sudden cardiac arrest incidents, [0038]
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art that a cardiac monitor represents a known and predictable device for detecting cardiac arrest conditions and generating emergency notification, yielding no more than predictable results. KSR.
9.
A kit that includes…an the monitor
E.G. via the disclosed cardiac-arrest response system including AEDs and devices capable of detecting sudden cardiac arrest incidents and initiating emergency notifications, [0038]-[0042]
Note: The combination of the AED and cardiac-arrest detecting device constitutes the claimed kit.
10.
Beyers et al. teaches
A cardiac arrest detection and treatment kit comprising a monitor configured to detect a potential cardiac arrest and wirelessly transmit a first incident notification
E.G. via the disclosed devices capable of detecting sudden cardiac arrest incidents and initiating requests for assistance through the AED response network, [0038].
An AED separate from the monitor and configured to receive the first incident notification or a second incident notification triggered thereby.
E.G. via the disclosed AEDs receiving emergency notification generated in response to detected cardiac arrest incidents through the AED response network, [0038]-[0042].
The AED configured to generate a human perceptible incident alert and communicate with a remotely located server regarding the potential cardiac arrest incident
E.G. as discussed above with respect to claim 1, [0042], [0045], [0048], [0050], [0094]-[0096].
It would have been obvious to employ the disclosed AED, cardiac-arrest detection device and server communication of Beyer as components of a cardiac arrest detection and treatment kit because Beyer et al. already teaches coordinated operation of such components in responding to cardiac arrest incidents, yielding predictable results. See KSR.
11.
Monitor is a cardiac monitor
E.G. via the disclosed monitoring device configured to detect cardiac emergencies and communicate with an AED response network, [0035]-[0038].
12.
Cardiac monitor selected from Holter monitor, implantable cardiac monitor (ICM) or ECG/EKG monitor
E.G. via the disclosed cardiac monitoring device, [0035]-[0038]
Note: Under BRI, a Holter monitor, implantable cardiac monitor (ICM) and ECG/EKG monitor are known cardiac monitoring devices suitable for performing Beyer’s monitoring functions.
Selecting one known cardiac monitoring device from another would have been an obvious design choice yielding predictable results. KSR.
13.
Monitor includes a fall detector
E.G. via the disclosed emergency-event detection and notification system, [0035]-[0042].
Incorporating a fall detector into Beyer’s monitoring device would have been an obvious use of a known emergency-detection feature to improve incident recognition. See KSR.
14.
AED management server
E.G. via the disclosed AED response network servers and AED management resources, [0042], [0050], [0094]-[0096].
First incident notification sent from cardiac monitor to monitor management server
E.G. via the disclosed incident notifications transmitted from monitoring devices to network servers, [0042], [0050].
Monitor management server sends third incident notification to AED management server
E.G. via the disclosed routing notifications through intermediary network resources, [0042], [0050], [0094]-[0096].
AED management server sends second incident notification to AED
E.G. via the disclosed AED response network servers transmitting notifications to AEDs, [0050], [0094]-[0096].
15.
AED receives and acts upon first and second incident notifications
E.G. via the disclosed AEDs receiving notifications both directly and indirectly through the AED response network, [0042], [0050], [0094]-[0096].
Therefore, Beyer et al. teaches or at least suggests receiving and acting upon multiple incident notifications.
16.
AED capable of acting upon one notification and not another
E.G. via the disclosed selective notification processing and responder prioritization, [0050]-[0051]
It would have been obvious to selectively process one notification while ignoring another according to system configuration, priority or routing criteria. See KSR.
17.
AED receives first notification
E.G. via the disclosed AEDs receiving emergency notifications
AED sends third incident notification to remotely located server in real time
E.G. via the disclosed AEDs transmitting status and response information back to the AED response network server, [0094]-[0096].
18.
Claim 18 is unpatentable for the same reasons set forth with respect to claim 3, as claim 18 recites substantially the same BLE communication limitation in kit form.
19.
Claim 19 is unpatentable for the same reasons set forth with respect to claim 4, as claim 19 recites substantially the same beacon/BLE advertisement notification limitation in kit form.
20.
Associating a medical emergency-response kit with a reimbursement identifier constitutes a known billing and administrative practice.
Applying such identifiers to Beyer’s cardiac arrest response system would have been obvious to facilitate reimbursement and claims procession. See KSR.
21.
Claim 21 is unpatentable for substantially the same reasons discussed above with respect to claim 1, as claim 21 recites the AED embodiment of receiving a cardiac-arrest notification and generating a human perceptible incident alert.
22.
Claim 22 is unpatentable for the same reasons discussed above with respect to claims 3 and 4, as claim 22 recites substantially the same BLE receiver and beacon communication limitations.
23.
Claim 23 is unpatentable for the same reasons discussed above with respect to claim 7, as claim 23 recites substantially the same rebroadcasting/relay functionality.
24.
Claim 24 is unpatentable for substantially the same reasons discussed above with respect to claim 14, as claim 24 recites the corresponding method embodiment of routing cardiac-arrest notifications through network servers to an AED and generating a human perceptible incident alert.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to NICOLE F JOHNSON whose telephone number is (571)270-5040. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday 8:00am-5:00pm EST.
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/NICOLE F JOHNSON/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3796
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