DETAILED ACTIONS
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 .
Priority
Acknowledgment is made of applicant’s claim this application being in benefit of foreign priority from Japanese Patent Application No. JP2023-153874 filed on September 20, 2023.
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement (“IDS”) filed on 04/21/2025 and 09/17/2024 were reviewed and the listed references were noted.
Drawings
The 16-page drawings have been considered and placed on record in the file.
Status of Claims
Claims 1-20 are pending.
Double Patenting
The nonstatutory double patenting rejection is based on a judicially created doctrine grounded in public policy (a policy reflected in the statute) so as to prevent the unjustified or improper timewise extension of the “right to exclude” granted by a patent and to prevent possible harassment by multiple assignees. A nonstatutory double patenting rejection is appropriate where the conflicting claims are not identical, but at least one examined application claim is not patentably distinct from the reference claim(s) because the examined application claim is either anticipated by, or would have been obvious over, the reference claim(s). See, e.g., In re Berg, 140 F.3d 1428, 46 USPQ2d 1226 (Fed. Cir. 1998); In re Goodman, 11 F.3d 1046, 29 USPQ2d 2010 (Fed. Cir. 1993); In re Longi, 759 F.2d 887, 225 USPQ 645 (Fed. Cir. 1985); In re Van Ornum, 686 F.2d 937, 214 USPQ 761 (CCPA 1982); In re Vogel, 422 F.2d 438, 164 USPQ 619 (CCPA 1970); In re Thorington, 418 F.2d 528, 163 USPQ 644 (CCPA 1969).
A timely filed terminal disclaimer in compliance with 37 CFR 1.321(c) or 1.321(d) may be used to overcome an actual or provisional rejection based on nonstatutory double patenting provided the reference application or patent either is shown to be commonly owned with the examined application, or claims an invention made as a result of activities undertaken within the scope of a joint research agreement. See MPEP § 717.02 for applications subject to examination under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA as explained in MPEP § 2159. See MPEP § 2146 et seq. for applications not subject to examination under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA . A terminal disclaimer must be signed in compliance with 37 CFR 1.321(b).
The filing of a terminal disclaimer by itself is not a complete reply to a nonstatutory double patenting (NSDP) rejection. A complete reply requires that the terminal disclaimer be accompanied by a reply requesting reconsideration of the prior Office action. Even where the NSDP rejection is provisional the reply must be complete. See MPEP § 804, subsection I.B.1. For a reply to a non-final Office action, see 37 CFR 1.111(a). For a reply to final Office action, see 37 CFR 1.113(c). A request for reconsideration while not provided for in 37 CFR 1.113(c) may be filed after final for consideration. See MPEP §§ 706.07(e) and 714.13.
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Claims 1-20 are rejected on the ground of nonstatutory double patenting as being unpatentable over claims 1, 2, and 8 of U.S. Patent No. 12,524,878 B2. Although the claims at issue are not identical, they are not patentably distinct from each other because claims 1, 2, and 8 of U.S. Patent No. 12,524,878 B2 anticipated claims 1, 19, and 20 of the present invention. Claims 2-18 are also rejected for being dependent upon claim 1 .
Instant Application (18/887,040)
U.S. Patent No. 12,524,878 B2
Claim 1: A radiation image processing device comprising:
at least one processor,
wherein the processor
acquires a first radiation image and a second radiation image which are acquired by imaging a subject, which includes a first component consisting of a plurality of compositions and a second component consisting of a single composition, with radiation having different energy distributions,
derives a characteristic of the first component related to attenuation of the radiation based on the first radiation image and the second radiation image in the specified first component region in the first radiation image or the second radiation image,
derives the characteristic of the first component in the specified second component region in the first radiation image or the second radiation image based on the characteristic of the first component derived in the first component region around the second component region, and
derives a first component image in which the first component is emphasized and a second component image in which the second component is emphasized, based on the characteristic of the first component derived in each of the first component region and the second component region in at least a region of the subject in the first radiation image or the second radiation image.
specifies a second component region including the second component in the first radiation image or the second radiation image based on the initial second component image,
specifies a region other than the second component region in the first radiation image or the second radiation image as a first component region including only the first component,
derives an initial second component image in which the second component is emphasized, based on the first radiation image and the second radiation image,
Claim 1: A radiation image processing device comprising:
at least one processor,
wherein the processor
acquires a first radiation image and a second radiation image which are acquired by imaging a subject, which includes a first component consisting of a plurality of compositions and a second component consisting of a single composition, with radiation having different energy distributions,
derives a characteristic of the first component related to attenuation of the radiation based on the first radiation image and the second radiation image in a first component region including only the first component in the first radiation image or the second radiation image,
derives the characteristic of the first component in a second component region including the second component in the first radiation image or the second radiation image based on the characteristic of the first component derived in the first component region around the second component region, and
derives a first component image in which the first component is emphasized and a second component image in which the second component is emphasized, based on the characteristic of the first component in at least a region of the subject in the first radiation image or the second radiation image.
Claim 2: The radiation image processing device according to claim 1, wherein the processor specifies the second component region in the first radiation image or the second radiation image based on a pixel value of the first radiation image or the second radiation image, and
specifies a region other than the second component region in the first radiation image or the second radiation image as the first component region.
Claim 8: The radiation image processing device according to claim 4, wherein the processor derives an initial second component attenuation image in which the second component is emphasized, based on the first attenuation image, the second attenuation image, and the characteristic of the first component, derives a second component attenuation image by matching a contrast of the second component included in the initial second component attenuation image with a contrast of the second component included in the first attenuation image or the second attenuation image, derives a first component attenuation image in which the first component is emphasized, based on the first attenuation image or the second attenuation image, and the second component attenuation image, and derives the first component image and the second component image from the first component attenuation image and the second component attenuation image, respectively.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 1-20 would be allowable if the double patenting rejections are overcome because the prior art does not appear to teach or make obvious of the subject matter of the claims.
The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter: The claimed features such as “derives a characteristic of the first component related to attenuation of the radiation based on the first radiation image and the second radiation image in the specified first component region in the first radiation image or the second radiation image, derives the characteristic of the first component in the specified second component region in the first radiation image or the second radiation image based on the characteristic of the first component derived in the first component region around the second component region, and derives a first component image in which the first component is emphasized and a second component image in which the second component is emphasized, based on the characteristic of the first component derived in each of the first component region and the second component region in at least a region of the subject in the first radiation image or the second radiation image” claimed in independent claims 1, 19, and 20, in combination with the remainder of the limitations of the claims, are neither anticipated nor obvious in view of the prior art of record.
In the closest prior art found, Noda et al., (US 2021/0055233 A1)”, teaches a radiation image processing device (Noda, Fig. 1) comprising: at least one processor (Noda, Fig. 1, control unit 105), wherein the processor acquires a first radiation image and a second radiation image which are acquired by imaging a subject, which includes a first component consisting of a plurality of compositions and a second component consisting of a single composition, with radiation having different energy distributions (Noda, Abstract, “radiation imaging apparatus comprises an image generating unit configured to generate a material characteristic image by using a plurality of radiation images of different radiation energy levels”), derives an initial second component image in which the second component is emphasized, based on the first radiation image and the second radiation image (Noda, [0017], “FIG. 5 shows views 5A, 5B, 5C, and 5D which exemplify a high-energy radiation image, a low-energy radiation image, a material separation image of soft tissue, and a material separation image of bone, respectively;”, the second component is the bone and the material separation image of bone is analogous to initial second component image), specifies a second component region including the second component in the first radiation image or the second radiation image based on the initial second component image (Noda, [0030], “] The control unit 105 uses an energy subtraction method in which new images (for example, a bone image and a soft tissue image) are obtained by processing a plurality of radiation images which are obtained by irradiating an object with different radiation energy levels. In a case in which an imaging operation is to be performed by using the energy subtraction method, at least two radiation images which are captured by different radiation energy levels will be needed to generate one subtraction image. The FPD 102 performs a plurality of sampling operations with respect to one radiation irradiation operation. As a result, the FPD 102 can obtain an image (low-energy radiation image) by low-energy radiation and an image (high-energy radiation image) by high-energy radiation in one radiation irradiation operation. The imaging operation by the FPD 102 may be a still-image capturing operation or a moving-image capturing operation.”) , specifies a region other than the second component region in the first radiation image or the second radiation image as a first component region including only the first component (Noda, [0017], “FIG. 5 shows views 5A, 5B, 5C, and 5D which exemplify a high-energy radiation image, a low-energy radiation image, a material separation image of soft tissue, and a material separation image of bone, respectively;”, the first component is the soft tissue which is shown in Fig. 5C).
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However, Noda fails to teach deriving a characteristic of the first component related to attenuation of the radiation based on the first radiation image and the second radiation image in the specified first component region and deriving a characteristic of the first component in the specified second component region based on the characteristic of the first component derived from the first component region around the second component region. Noda also does not teach deriving a first component image in which the first component is emphasized based on the characteristic of the first component derived in each of the first component region and the second component region. Therefore claims 1, 19, and 20 would be allowable for claiming the limitation “derives a characteristic of the first component related to attenuation of the radiation based on the first radiation image and the second radiation image in the specified first component region in the first radiation image or the second radiation image, derives the characteristic of the first component in the specified second component region in the first radiation image or the second radiation image based on the characteristic of the first component derived in the first component region around the second component region, and derives a first component image in which the first component is emphasized and a second component image in which the second component is emphasized, based on the characteristic of the first component derived in each of the first component region and the second component region in at least a region of the subject in the first radiation image or the second radiation image”, in combination with the remainder of the limitations of the claims.
Regarding dependent claims 2-18, the claims would be allowable because they are dependent upon claim 1.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to DENISE G ALFONSO whose telephone number is (571)272-1360. The examiner can normally be reached Monday - Friday 7:30 - 5:30.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Amandeep Saini can be reached at (571)272-3382. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/DENISE G ALFONSO/Examiner, Art Unit 2662
/AMANDEEP SAINI/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2662
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