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 .
Election/Restrictions
Applicant’s election without traverse of claims 1-6 in the reply filed on 30 June 2026 is acknowledged.
Claim Objections
Claim 3 is objected to because of the following informalities:
Claim 3, line 6, “the local maximum” should read “the local maximums”.
Appropriate correction is required.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(b):
(b) CONCLUSION.—The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor regards as the invention.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph:
The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the applicant regards as his invention.
Claims 1-5 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 3 recites the limitation "the local maximum in the first-type blood flow information" in lines 17-18. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim. Claim 1 does not previously recite detecting a local maximum of the first-type blood flow information.
Claim 3 recites the limitation "the local maximums of the power values" in lines 5-6. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim. The claims from which claim 3 depends do not recite detecting local maximums of the power values.
Claim 3 recites the limitation “integrates the local maximum or integrates images in which the local maximums are emphasized” which is considered indefinite. It is not clear to the examiner whether the local maximum or images of the local maximums being integrated are the local maximums of the power values previously recited in claim 3 or the local maximums of the second-type blood flow information recited in claim 1. For the purpose of examination and this office action it is being interpreted that the local maximums being integrated are the local maximums of the power values recited in claim 3.
Claim 5 recites the limitation "the local maximum in the first-type blood flow information" in lines 18-19. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim. Claim 5 does not previously recite detecting a local maximum of the first-type blood flow information.
Claims dependent upon the rejected claims above, but not directly addressed, are also rejected because they inherit the indefiniteness of the claim(s) they respectively depend upon.
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.
(a)(2) the claimed invention was described in a patent issued under section 151, or in an application for patent published or deemed published under section 122(b), in which the patent or application, as the case may be, names another inventor and was effectively filed before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claim(s) 1-3 and 5-6 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being unpatentable by Moehring (US 20050075568).
Regarding claim 1, Moehring teaches an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus ([0041] ultrasound system 150 in fig. 9) comprising processing circuitry (the electronic circuitry of ultrasound system 150 in fig. 9) that
obtains a data row of reflected-wave data that is taken at one or more positions in a plurality of frames in time direction by performing ultrasonic transmission and reception ([0002], [0041] and claims 57-58 disclose obtaining transmitting and receiving reflected data at multiple locations over time),
reduces clutter component ([0024] discloses clutter filtering in order to filter the signals), which results from tissue, from the data row of the plurality of frames and estimates first-type blood flow information ([0024] the resulting data after the clutter filtering is performed is considered the first-type blood flow information),
generates, from the first-type blood flow information, second-type blood flow information representing images of scalar values of blood flow signals ([0024] discloses generating mapping (images) representative of the magnitude (scalar value) of the blood flow velocities), detects local maximums of the second-type blood flow information ([0024]-[0025] and [0035] disclose detecting the maximum blood flow velocity), integrates the local maximums or integrates images in which the local maximums are emphasized and generates a scalar value integration image ([0024]-[0025] and [0033], fig. 8 represents a scalar value integration image that emphasizes the maximum velocity magnitudes), calculates an autocorrelation function in frame direction at positions of the local maximum in the first-type blood flow information ([0066] discloses computing autocorrelation of the data at each point over time), integrates the autocorrelation functions and generates an autocorrelation function integration image ([0081]-[0083] discloses generating a spectrogram image using the data received from the autocorrelation process), generates third-type blood flow information, in which blood flow is color-coded, from the scalar value integration image and the autocorrelation function integration image ([0024]-[0025] and [0086] disclose generating color information from the velocity magnitudes represented in fig. 8 and the spectrogram generated from the autocorrelation data), and displays the third-type blood flow information on a display ([0025] discloses displaying the color figure as shown in fig. 4 on display 152 shown in fig. 9).
Regarding claim 2, Moehring teaches the apparatus of claim 1, as set forth above. Moehring further teaches the processing circuitry calculates information about direction of blood flow from the autocorrelation function integration image and generates the third-type blood flow information, which is color-coded according to the direction of the blood flow, from the scalar value integration image and information about the direction of the flow ([0086] discloses determining the color information from the autocorrelation information. The abstract and [0025] further disclose the determined color corresponds to the direction of the blood flow. Therefore, by determining the color from the autocorrelation information, the direction of blood flow is being determined from the autocorrelation information. [0025] further discloses color coding the blood flow information based on the blood flow velocity (scalar value)).
Regarding claim 3, Moehring teaches the apparatus of claim 1, as set forth above. Moehring further teaches the scalar values represent power values of the blood flow signals ([0022] discloses the velocity component represents the velocity (power values) of the blood flow), and
the processing circuitry detects the local maximums of the power values of the second-type blood flow information ([0024]-[0025] and [0035] disclose detecting the maximum blood flow velocity), integrates the local maximum or integrates images in which the local maximums are emphasized and generates a power value integration image as a scalar value integration image ([0024]-[0025] and [0033], fig. 8 represents a scalar value integration image that that emphasizes the maximum velocity magnitudes), calculates velocity and dispersion of blood flow from the power value integration image and the autocorrelation function integration image ([0006] discloses indicating the velocity using the determined spectrogram), and performs color display of two or three sets of information from among the velocity, the dispersion, and the power value as the third-type blood flow information on the display [0025] discloses displaying the color figure as shown in fig. 4 on display 152 shown in fig. 9 which includes the velocity and dispersion).
Regarding claim 5, Moehring teaches an information processing method (the method shown in figs. 12-16) comprising:
obtaining a data row of reflected-wave data that is taken at one or more positions in a plurality of frames in time direction by performing ultrasonic transmission and reception ([0002], [0041] and claims 57-58 disclose obtaining transmitting and receiving reflected data at multiple locations over time);
estimating that includes reducing clutter component ([0024] discloses clutter filtering in order to filter the signals), which results from tissue, from the data row of the plurality of frames and estimates first-type blood flow information ([0024] the resulting data after the clutter filtering is performed is considered the first-type blood flow information);
generating, from the first-type blood flow information, second-type blood flow information representing images of scalar values of blood flow signals ([0024] discloses generating mapping (images) representative of the magnitude (scalar value) of the blood flow velocities);
generating that includes detecting local maximums of the second-type blood flow information ([0024]-[0025] and [0035] disclose detecting the maximum blood flow velocity), integrating the local maximums or integrating images in which the local maximums are emphasized and generates a scalar value integration image ([0024]-[0025] and [0033], fig. 8 represents a scalar value integration image that emphasizes the maximum velocity magnitudes);
generating that includes calculating an autocorrelation function in frame direction at positions of the local maximum in the first-type blood flow information, ([0066] discloses computing autocorrelation of the data at each point over time), integrating the autocorrelation functions and generates an autocorrelation function integration image ([0081]-[0083] discloses generating a spectrogram image using the data received from the autocorrelation process);
generating third-type blood flow information, in which blood flow is color-coded, from the scalar value integration image and the autocorrelation function integration image ([0024]-[0025] and [0086] disclose generating color information from the velocity magnitudes represented in fig. 8 and the spectrogram generated from the autocorrelation data), and
displaying the third-type blood flow information on a display ([0025] discloses displaying the color figure as shown in fig. 4 on display 152 shown in fig. 9).
Regarding claim 6, Moehring teaches an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus ([0041] ultrasound system 150 in fig. 9) comprising processing circuitry (the electronic circuitry of ultrasound system 150 in fig. 9) that
obtains a data row of reflected-wave data that is taken at one or more positions in a plurality of frames in time direction by performing ultrasonic transmission and reception[0002], [0041] and claims 57-58 disclose obtaining transmitting and receiving reflected data at multiple locations over time),
reduces clutter component ([0024] discloses clutter filtering in order to filter the signals), which results from tissue, from the data row of the plurality of frames and estimates first-type blood flow information ([0024] the resulting data after the clutter filtering is performed is considered the first-type blood flow information), and
generates, from the first-type blood flow information, second-type blood flow information representing images of scalar values of blood flow signals([0024] discloses generating mapping (images) representative of the magnitude (scalar value) of the blood flow velocities), detects local maximums of the second-type blood flow information ([0024]-[0025] and [0035] disclose detecting the maximum blood flow velocity), integrates the local maximums or integrates images in which the local maximums are emphasized and generates a scalar value integration image ([0024]-[0025] and [0033], fig. 8 represents a scalar value integration image that emphasizes the maximum velocity magnitudes), generates third-type blood flow information, in which blood flow is color-coded, from the scalar value integration image and information related to direction of blood flow at positions corresponding to the local maximums ([0024]-[0025] and [0086] disclose generating color information from the velocity magnitudes represented in fig. 8. The abstract and [0025] further disclose the determined color corresponds to the direction of the blood flow. Therefore, the color is being determined from information related to direction of blood flow), and displays the third-type blood flow information on a display ([0025] discloses displaying the color figure as shown in fig. 4 on display 152 shown in fig. 9).
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) 4 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Moehring in view of Linuma (US 5551434).
Regarding claim 4, Moehring teaches the apparatus of claim 1, as set forth above. Moehring does not specifically teach the processing circuitry interpolates the first-type blood flow information, from which clutter component resulting from the tissue is reduced, in ultrasonic scanning line direction, and increases number of scanning lines.
However,
Linuma in a similar field of endeavor teaches processing circuitry that interpolates the first-type blood flow information (col. 15, line 40-col. 16, line 38 discloses interpolating the data in order to obtain velocity values and flow rate), from which clutter component resulting from the tissue is reduced (col. 5, lines 26-60 disclose removing clutter using a filter based on slow moving (low velocity) signals), in ultrasonic scanning line direction, and increases number of scanning lines (col. 16, lines 18-38 disclose increasing the number of scanning lines based on the interpolated values).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the apparatus disclosed by Moehring to have the processing circuitry interpolate the first-type blood flow information, from which clutter component resulting from the tissue is reduced, in ultrasonic scanning line direction, and increases number of scanning lines in order to enlarge the field of view, as recognized by Linuma (col. 16, lines 18-38).
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to ANDREW BEGEMAN whose telephone number is (571)272-4744. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Thursday 8:30-5:00.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Keith Raymond can be reached at 5712701790. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/ANDREW W BEGEMAN/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3798
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