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 .
Drawings
The drawings were received on 9/18/2024 and replacement drawings for fig.1 and fig. 7 on 11/14/2024. These drawings are accepted.
Double Patenting
Claims 1-20 of this application are patentably indistinct from claims 1-4, 6-8 and 13-16 of U.S. Patent No. 12125581 (application # 17/182,190 ). Pursuant to 37 CFR 1.78(f), when two or more applications filed by the same applicant or assignee contain patentably indistinct claims, elimination of such claims from all but one application may be required in the absence of good and sufficient reason for their retention during pendency in more than one application. Applicant is required to either cancel the patentably indistinct claims from all but one application or maintain a clear line of demarcation between the applications. See MPEP § 822.
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 and 15 are rejected on the ground of nonstatutory double patenting as being unpatentable over claim 1 of U.S. Patent No. 12125581 (application # 17/182,190 ). Although the claims at issue are not identical, they are not patentably distinct from each other because the subject matter claimed in the instant application is disclosed in the patent and is covered by the patent since the patent and the application are claiming common subject matter, as follows:
18/889,352
17/182,190
Claim 1. (New) A system for compressing a three-dimensional (3D) image data set, the system comprising:
one or more processors;
a memory coupled to the one or more processors, the memory storing computer-program instructions, that, when executed by the one or more processors, perform a computer- implemented method comprising:
receiving a 3D image data set comprising a cone beam computed tomography (CBCT) data of a patient's dentition;
identifying one or more anatomic planes within the 3D image data set and setting coordinate planes using the one or more anatomic planes;
cropping the 3D image data set parallel to the coordinate planes;
adjusting a dynamic range of the cropped 3D image data set based on assigning values to each voxel of the 3D image data set based on a type of anatomical structure and corresponding four intensity values;
and converting a spatial axis of the dynamic range adjusted and cropped 3D image data set into a time axis to form a time sequence of 2D images
and applying a video compression scheme to the time sequence of two-dimensional (2D) images to form a compressed 3D image data set.
Claim 15. The method herein has been executed and performed by the system of claim 1 and is likewise rejected
Claim 1. (Currently Amended) A system for compressing a three-dimensional (3D) volumetric image data set including a plurality of image sections forming a 3D volume, the system comprising:
one or more processors;
a memory coupled to the one or more processors, the memory storing computer-program instructions, that, when executed by the one or more processors, perform a computer- implemented method comprising:
receiving a 3D volumetric image data set comprising a cone beam computed tomography (CBCT) data of a patient's dentition;
identifying one or more anatomic planes within the 3D volumetric image data set and setting coordinate planes using the one or more anatomic planes;
cropping the 3D volume parallel to the coordinate planes;
adjusting a dynamic range of the cropped 3D volumetric image data set based on assigning values to each voxel of the 3D volumetric image data set based on a type of anatomical structure and corresponding four intensity values
converting a spatial axis of the dynamic range adjusted and cropped 3D volume into a time axis to form a time sequence of 2D images
and applying a video compression scheme to the time sequence of 2D images to form a compressed 3D volumetric image data set;…
Claims 2 and 16 are rejected on the ground of nonstatutory double patenting as being unpatentable over claim 1 of U.S. Patent No. 12125581 (application # 17/182,190 ). Although the claims at issue are not identical, they are not patentably distinct from each other because the subject matter claimed in the instant application is disclosed in the patent and is covered by the patent since the patent and the application are claiming common subject matter, as follows:
18/889,352
17/182,190
Claim 2. (New) The system of claim 1, wherein the 3D image data set includes volumetric data.
Claim 16. The method herein has been executed and performed by the system of claim 2 and is likewise rejected
Claim 1. …3D volumetric image data set…
Claims 3 and 18 are rejected on the ground of nonstatutory double patenting as being unpatentable over claim 2 of U.S. Patent No. 12125581 (application # 17/182,190 ). Although the claims at issue are not identical, they are not patentably distinct from each other because the subject matter claimed in the instant application is disclosed in the patent and is covered by the patent since the patent and the application are claiming common subject matter, as follows:
18/889,352
17/182,190
Claim 3. (New) The system of claim 1, wherein the computer-implemented method identifies the one or more anatomic planes within the 3D image data set
and sets the coordinate planes to increase symmetry of the 3D image data set.
Claim 18. The method herein has been executed and performed by the system of claim 3 and is likewise rejected
Claim 2. (Original) The system of claim 1, wherein the computer-implemented method identifies the one or more anatomic planes within the 3D volumetric image data set
and sets the coordinate planes to increase symmetry of the coordinate planes.
Claims 4 and 19 are rejected on the ground of nonstatutory double patenting as being unpatentable over claim 3 of U.S. Patent No. 12125581 (application # 17/182,190 ). Although the claims at issue are not identical, they are not patentably distinct from each other because the subject matter claimed in the instant application is disclosed in the patent and is covered by the patent since the patent and the application are claiming common subject matter, as follows:
18/889,352
17/182,190
Claim 4. (New) The system of claim 1, wherein the computer-implemented method crops the 3D image data set parallel to the coordinate planes to minimize empty regions of the 3D image data set.
Claim 19. The method herein has been executed and performed by the system of claim 4 and is likewise rejected
Claim 3. (Original) The system of claim 1, wherein the computer-implemented method crops the 3D volume parallel to the coordinate planes to minimize empty regions of the 3D volume.
Claims 5 and 20 are rejected on the ground of nonstatutory double patenting as being unpatentable over claim 4 of U.S. Patent No. 12125581 (application # 17/182,190 ). Although the claims at issue are not identical, they are not patentably distinct from each other because the subject matter claimed in the instant application is disclosed in the patent and is covered by the patent since the patent and the application are claiming common subject matter, as follows:
18/889,352
17/182,190
Claim 5. (New) The system of claim 1, wherein the computer-implemented method further comprises padding the 3D image data set with empty regions to maintain symmetry of the 3D image data set after cropping.
Claim 20. The method herein has been executed and performed by the system of claim 5 and is likewise rejected
Claim 4. (Original) The system of claim 1, wherein the computer-implemented method further comprises padding the 3D volume with empty regions to keep the 3D volume symmetrical after cropping.
Claim 6 is rejected on the ground of nonstatutory double patenting as being unpatentable over claim 6 of U.S. Patent No. 12125581 (application # 17/182,190 ). Although the claims at issue are not identical, they are not patentably distinct from each other because the subject matter claimed in the instant application is disclosed in the patent and is covered by the patent since the patent and the application are claiming common subject matter, as follows:
18/889,352
17/182,190
Claim 6. (New) The system of claim 1,
wherein adjusting the dynamic range of the 3D image data set further includes reencoding voxels of the 3D image data based on the type of anatomical structure.
Claim 6. (Previously Presented) The system of claim 1,
wherein adjusting the dynamic range of the 3D volumetric image data set further includes reencoding voxels of the 3D volumetric image data based on the anatomical structure.
Claim 7 is rejected on the ground of nonstatutory double patenting as being unpatentable over claim 7 of U.S. Patent No. 12125581 (application # 17/182,190 ). Although the claims at issue are not identical, they are not patentably distinct from each other because the subject matter claimed in the instant application is disclosed in the patent and is covered by the patent since the patent and the application are claiming common subject matter, as follows:
18/889,352
17/182,190
Claim 7. (New) The system of claim 1,
wherein adjusting the dynamic range of the 3D image data set further includes segmenting the 3D data set based on clinically-relevant regions comprising:
soft tissue, bone, tooth crowns and tooth roots.
Claim 7. (Previously Presented) The system of claim 1,
wherein adjusting the dynamic range of the 3D volumetric image data further includes segmenting the 3D volumetric data set using clinically-relevant regions comprising:
soft tissue, bone, tooth crowns and tooth roots.
Claim 8 is rejected on the ground of nonstatutory double patenting as being unpatentable over claim 1 of U.S. Patent No. 12125581 (application # 17/182,190 ). Although the claims at issue are not identical, they are not patentably distinct from each other because the subject matter claimed in the instant application is disclosed in the patent and is covered by the patent since the patent and the application are claiming common subject matter, as follows:
18/889,352
17/182,190
Claim 8. (New) The system of claim 1, wherein the 3D image data set includes a plurality of two- dimensional (2D) images.
Claim 1… three-dimensional (3D) volumetric image data set including a plurality of image sections…
(Plurality of image sections are known to be the same as the claimed Plurality of 2D images in light of instant specifications [0006])
Claim 9 is rejected on the ground of nonstatutory double patenting as being unpatentable over claims 1 and 8 of U.S. Patent No. 12125581 (application # 17/182,190 ). Although the claims at issue are not identical, they are not patentably distinct from each other because the subject matter claimed in the instant application is disclosed in the patent and is covered by the patent since the patent and the application are claiming common subject matter, as follows:
18/889,352
17/182,190
Claim 9. (New) The system of claim 8, wherein the computer-implemented method further comprises:
dividing the plurality of 2D images into a first half that is symmetric with a second half;
determining differences between the first half and the second half;
and reducing the 2D image (The instant claimed reducing the 2D image is understood to be the same as 17/182,190 “reducing the 3D volume” in light of instant specifications [0006] “3D volumetric image data may include a plurality of 2D images (sections or slices)”)
by replacing the second half with differences between first half and the second half before converting the spatial axis of the cropped 3D data image set into the time axis.
Claim 8. (Original) The system of claim 1, wherein the computer-implemented method further comprises
dividing the image sections forming the 3D volume into a first half that is symmetric with a second half,
determining differences between the first half and the second half
and reducing the 3D volume
by replacing the second half with differences between first half and the second half before converting the spatial axis of the 3D volume into the time axis.
And Claim 1…converting a spatial axis of the dynamic range adjusted and cropped 3D volume into a time axis…
Claim 10 is rejected on the ground of nonstatutory double patenting as being unpatentable over claim 1 of U.S. Patent No. 12125581 (application # 17/182,190 ). Although the claims at issue are not identical, they are not patentably distinct from each other because the subject matter claimed in the instant application is disclosed in the patent and is covered by the patent since the patent and the application are claiming common subject matter, as follows:
18/889,352
17/182,190
Claim 10. (New) The system of claim 1, wherein the computer-implemented method further comprises:
transmitting the compressed 3D image data set to a remote server;
receiving, at the remote server, the compressed 3D image data set;
and generating a restored 3D image data set based at least in part on the video compression scheme applied to the time sequence of 2D images.
Claim 1…
transmitting the compressed 3D volumetric image data set to a remote server;
receiving, at the remote server, the compressed 3D volumetric image data set;
and generating a restored 3D volumetric image data set based at least in part on the video compression scheme applied to the time sequence of 2D images.
Claim 11 is rejected on the ground of nonstatutory double patenting as being unpatentable over claim 13 of U.S. Patent No. 12125581 (application # 17/182,190 ). Although the claims at issue are not identical, they are not patentably distinct from each other because the subject matter claimed in the instant application is disclosed in the patent and is covered by the patent since the patent and the application are claiming common subject matter, as follows:
18/889,352
17/182,190
Claim 11. (New) The system of claim 1, wherein the computer-implemented method applies the video compression scheme to the time sequence of 2D images to form the compressed 3D image data set at a compression rate of 50 times or more.
Claim 13. (Original) The system of claim 1, wherein the computer-implemented method applies the video compression scheme to the time sequence of 2D images to form the compressed 3D volumetric image data set at a compression rate of 50 times or more.
Claim 12 is rejected on the ground of nonstatutory double patenting as being unpatentable over claim 14 of U.S. Patent No. 12125581 (application # 17/182,190 ). Although the claims at issue are not identical, they are not patentably distinct from each other because the subject matter claimed in the instant application is disclosed in the patent and is covered by the patent since the patent and the application are claiming common subject matter, as follows:
18/889,352
17/182,190
Claim 12. (New) The system of claim 1, wherein the computer-implemented method applies the video compression scheme by applying macroblock compression using a discrete cosine transformation (DCT) to the time sequence of 2D images to form a compressed 3D image data set.
Claim 14. (Original) The system of claim 1, wherein the computer-implemented method applies the video compression scheme by applying macroblock compression using a discrete cosine transformation (DCT) to the time sequence of 2D images to form a compressed 3D volumetric image data set.
Claim 13 is rejected on the ground of nonstatutory double patenting as being unpatentable over claim 15 of U.S. Patent No. 12125581 (application # 17/182,190 ). Although the claims at issue are not identical, they are not patentably distinct from each other because the subject matter claimed in the instant application is disclosed in the patent and is covered by the patent since the patent and the application are claiming common subject matter, as follows:
18/889,352
17/182,190
Claim 13. (New) The system of claim 1, wherein the computer-implemented method further comprises encoding the compressed 3D image data set using entropy encoding.
Claim 15. (Original) The system of claim 1, wherein the computer-implemented method further comprises encoding the compressed 3D volumetric image data set using entropy encoding.
Claim 14 is rejected on the ground of nonstatutory double patenting as being unpatentable over claims 1, 2 and 16 of U.S. Patent No. 12125581 (application # 17/182,190 ). Although the claims at issue are not identical, they are not patentably distinct from each other because the subject matter claimed in the instant application is disclosed in the patent and is covered by the patent since the patent and the application are claiming common subject matter, as follows:
18/889,352
17/182,190
Claim 14. (New) A system for compressing a three-dimensional (3D) image data set including a plurality of image sections, the system comprising:
one or more processors;
a memory coupled to the one or more processors, the memory storing computer-program instructions, that, when executed by the one or more processors, perform a computer- implemented method comprising:
receiving a 3D image data set comprising a cone beam computed tomography (CBCT) data of a patient's dentition;
identifying at least two anatomic planes within the 3D image data set and setting at least two coordinate planes using the at least two anatomic planes
to increase symmetry of the coordinate planes;
cropping the 3D image parallel to the coordinate planes;
adjusting a dynamic range of the cropped 3D image data set based on assigning values to each voxel of the 3D volumetric image data set based on a type of anatomical structure and corresponding four intensity values;
dividing the image sections of the dynamic range adjusted and cropped 3D image into a first half that is symmetric with a second half,
determining differences between the first half and the second half, and forming a compressed image data set by replacing the second half with differences between first half and the second half;
and applying a video compression scheme to the compressed image data set to form a compressed 3D image data set by
converting a spatial axis of the compressed image data set into a time axis to form a time sequence of 2D images.
Claim 1. (Currently Amended) A system for compressing a three-dimensional (3D) volumetric image data set including a plurality of image sections forming a 3D volume, the system comprising:
one or more processors;
a memory coupled to the one or more processors, the memory storing computer-program instructions, that, when executed by the one or more processors, perform a computer- implemented method comprising:
receiving a 3D volumetric image data set comprising a cone beam computed tomography (CBCT) data of a patient's dentition;
identifying one or more anatomic planes within the 3D volumetric image data set and setting coordinate planes using the one or more anatomic planes;…
Claim 2… to increase symmetry of the coordinate planes….
Claim 1…cropping the 3D volume parallel to the coordinate planes;
adjusting a dynamic range of the cropped 3D volumetric image data set based on assigning values to each voxel of the 3D volumetric image data set based on a type of anatomical structure and corresponding four intensity values
Claim 16… dividing the image sections forming the dynamic range adjusted and cropped 3D volume into a first half that is symmetric with a second half,
determining differences between the first half and the second half and reducing the 3D volume by replacing the second half with differences between first half and the second half;
Claim 1…and applying a video compression scheme to the time sequence of 2D images to form a compressed 3D volumetric image data set;
Claim 1… converting a spatial axis of the dynamic range adjusted and cropped 3D volume into a time axis to form a time sequence of 2D images
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to
applicant’s disclosure:
Chernov et al. RU2595598, “Method and Device for Compression using
Approach based on Neural Network” teaches compression of a 3D image
Pavloskaia et al. US Patent 6463344 teaches efficient compression of a
3D image of a patients teeth
Zhang et al. US20050031214 teaches padding a volume for compressing
the 3D image.
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/OWAIS I MEMON/Examiner, Art Unit 2663
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