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 .
Status of claims: claims 1-5 are pending below.
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on October 2nd 2024 was filed and considered]. The submission is in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statement is being considered by the examiner.
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.
Claims 1 and 3-5 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by PATRICIU (US 2024/0252188).
Claim 1:
PATRICIU (US 2024/0252188) teaches the following subject matter:
A medical image processing apparatus comprising processing circuitry configured to:
calculate, from a plurality of medical X-ray fluoroscopic images (0022-0024, where figure 1 and 0030 further detail X-ray fluoroscopic images), a size of a thrombus removal device that has been placed in a blood vessel of a subject and appears in the respective medical X-ray fluoroscopic images (0042-0043 detail X-ray images 35 monitors the shape of the self-expanding (size changes) stent 2 via image processing of the images 35 by comparing the shapes (sizes) in consecutive images.);
calculate change information indicating a change in the size from the plurality of medical X-ray fluoroscopic images (0043 detail electronic processing device 18 monitors the shape of the self-expanding stent 2 via image processing of the images 35 by comparing the shapes in consecutive images);
calculate first time information indicating a time period during which the thrombus removal device is left in place in the subject, based on the change information; and perform control to output the first time information (0045-0052 detail shape expanding to collapsing, with velocity of extraction, acquire x-ray images to process extract stent shape for a stable extraction velocity for extraction time (first time information)).
Claim 3:
PATRICIU (US 2024/0252188) further teaches:
The medical image processing apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the first time information is information indicating a time period from a timing when the thrombus removal device is placed in the subject as a starting point to a timing when deployment of the thrombus removal device is regarded to be completely stopped as an ending point (0045-0052 detail shape expanding to collapsing, with velocity of extraction (deployment), acquire x-ray images to process extract stent shape for a stable extraction velocity for extraction time (starting and ending)).
Claim 4:
A medical image processing method (figure 2 teaches flowchart/method) comprising:
calculating, from a plurality of medical X-ray fluoroscopic images (0022-0024, where figure 1 and 0030 further detail X-ray fluoroscopic images), a size of a thrombus removal device that has been placed in a blood vessel of a subject and appears in the respective medical X-ray fluoroscopic images (0042-0043 detail X-ray images 35 monitors the shape of the self-expanding (size changes) stent 2 via image processing of the images 35 by comparing the shapes (sizes) in consecutive images);
calculating change information indicating a change in the size from the plurality of medical X-ray fluoroscopic images (0043 detail electronic processing device 18 monitors the shape of the self-expanding stent 2 via image processing of the images 35 by comparing the shapes in consecutive images);
calculating first time information indicating a time when the thrombus removal device is to be retrieved from the subject, based on the change information; and performing control to output the first time information (0045-0052 detail shape expanding to collapsing, with velocity of extraction, acquire x-ray images to process extract stent shape for a stable extraction velocity for extraction time (first time information)).
Claim 5:
A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium (paragraph 0028) storing a program for causing a computer to:
calculate, from a plurality of medical X-ray fluoroscopic images (0022-0024, where figure 1 and 0030 further detail X-ray fluoroscopic images), a size of a thrombus removal device that has been placed in a blood vessel of a subject and appears in the respective medical X-ray fluoroscopic images (0042-0043 detail X-ray images 35 monitors the shape of the self-expanding (size changes) stent 2 via image processing of the images 35 by comparing the shapes (sizes) in consecutive images);
calculate change information indicating a change in the size from the plurality of medical X-ray fluoroscopic images (0043 detail electronic processing device 18 monitors the shape of the self-expanding stent 2 via image processing of the images 35 by comparing the shapes in consecutive images);
calculate first time information indicating a time when the thrombus removal device is to be retrieved from the subject, based on the change information; and perform control to output the first time information (0045-0052 detail shape expanding to collapsing, with velocity of extraction, acquire x-ray images to process extract stent shape for a stable extraction velocity for extraction time (first time information)).
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 2 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over PATRICIU (US 2024/0252188) in view of SAADAT et al (US 2022/0409857).
Claim 2:
PATRICIU teaches all the subject matter above, but not the following:
The medical image processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the change in the size is a change in a lumen volume of the thrombus removal device.
SAADAT et al (US 2022/0409857) teaches the following subject matter: The medical image processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the change in the size is a change in a lumen volume of the thrombus removal device (0152-0154 detail tracking data of outputting the rate of removal of the clot material and/or outputting the size (e.g., length, volume, etc.) of clot material removed through the suction lumen, and/or outputting the presence and/or location of a clot within the suction lumen; 0314 detail the use of x-ray fluoroscopy for guidance technique).
PATRICIU and SAADAT et al are both in the field of image analysis, especially using x-ray imaging to assess thrombus removal such that the combine outcome is predictable.
Therefore it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill before the effective filing date to modify PATRICIU by SAADAT et al is particularly useful for determining if clot material is still in the lumen of the catheter. In general, it may be very helpful to know if clot material is within the lumen, as if clot material is stuck in the lumen, the suction/pressure alone may not be sufficient to detect the material as disclosed by SAADAT et al in 0154-0155.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
PATRICIU et al (US 2024/0277343) teaches SYSTEMS FOR CLOT LENGTH AND PROPERTY CHARACTERIZATION - X-ray image 35 feedback can be enhanced with torque feedback to discriminate the “in-the-clot”/“out-of-the-clot” states (0055).
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/TSUNG YIN TSAI/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2656
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