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 .
A request for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, including the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e), was filed in this application after final rejection. Since this application is eligible for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114. Applicant's submission filed on 10/20/2025 has been entered.
Claims 17 and 18 are pending for examination. Claims 1-16 and 19-63 are cancelled.
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)(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.
Claims 17 and 18 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by Grubb et al. (USPGPUB 2020/0281513). In regard to claim 17, Grubb an apparatus (Figs. 1-12 and associated descriptions) for assessing perfusion of blood in tissue below a patient's skin (intended uses; It is noted that the preamble merely states the purpose or intended use of the invention, rather than any distinct definition of any of the claimed invention's limitations, then the preamble is not considered a limitation and is of no significance to claim construction. See MPEP 2111.02), comprising: an emitter configured to selectably emit light at a first wavelength or emit light at a second wavelength (elements 14/15, Figs. 1-4 and associated descriptions; red and green, [0095]; red and green LEDs… and the light sources may be sequentially pulsed (i.e. activated and deactivated alternately), [0114]), a camera (elements 16/17, Figs. 1-4 and associated descriptions; [0074-0076]) configured to form a first image of reflected light at the first wavelength (red component associated with the amount of red light received at each sensing element of the two-dimensional array of discrete sensing elements, [0074-0076]; the red value IR is associated with the amount of red light received by the sensing element…Each image comprises an array of pixels in which the location of each pixel corresponds to the location of a corresponding sensing element of the imaging sensor, [0083]) and a second image of reflected light at the second wavelength (green component associated with the amount of green light received at each sensing element of the two-dimensional array of discrete sensing elements, [0074-0076]; the green value IG is associated with the amount of green light received by the sensing element…Each image comprises an array of pixels in which the location of each pixel corresponds to the location of a corresponding sensing element of the imaging sensor, [0083]), a substrate coupled to the emitter and the camera (element 12, Fig. 1 and associated descriptions; [0070]), and configured to be placed such that the light emitted by the emitter illuminates a portion of the skin of the patient that is within a field of view of the camera ([0070-0071]), a display (element 18, Fig. 1 and associated descriptions display, [0071]), and a processor coupled to the camera and the display (element 24, Fig. 2 and associated descriptions) and configured to: receive the first and second images (image data with red and green information, [0082-0083]), form a third image (visual digital image, Fig. 6A; [0084]) that is a summation of the intensities of the first and second images (using all three components to produce an image corresponding to that which is seen by the naked eye, [0084]; it is implicit that the visual digital image is generated by using/ summing all R, G, B components to form the image), and provide the third image on the display (…The image is displayed on the screen 20 of the display unit 18, [0084]; Fig. 6A and associated descriptions). It is noted that the claim recites transitional phrase “comprising” which is inclusive or open-ended and does not exclude additional, unrecited elements or method steps (see MPEP 2111.03). Therefore, the claim does not exclude an additional image data (e.g. blue) to be used in forming the third image.
In regard to claim 18, Grubb discloses the processor is coupled to the emitter (Figs. 1-2 and associated descriptions), the processor is further configured to cause the emitter to emit only light at the first wavelength at a first time and emit only light at the second wavelength at a second time (red and green LEDs could be used as respective light sources. An imaging sensor could be used which does not discriminate between the two spectral ranges and the light sources may be sequentially pulsed (i.e. activated and deactivated alternately) in order to obtain images at each of the respective spectral ranges, [0114]), and the camera forms the first image at the first time and forms the second image at the second time (red and green LEDs could be used as respective light sources. An imaging sensor could be used which does not discriminate between the two spectral ranges and the light sources may be sequentially pulsed (i.e. activated and deactivated alternately) in order to obtain images at each of the respective spectral ranges, [0114]).
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s amendment and argument with respect to claim 17 filed on 10/20/2025 have been fully considered but they are deemed to be moot in views of the new grounds of rejection.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to CHU CHUAN LIU whose telephone number is (571)270-5507. The examiner can normally be reached M-Th (6am-6pm).
Examiner interviews are available via telephone, in-person, and video conferencing using a USPTO supplied web-based collaboration tool. To schedule an interview, applicant is encouraged to use the USPTO Automated Interview Request (AIR) at http://www.uspto.gov/interviewpractice.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Jennifer Robertson can be reached at (571) 272-5001. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
Information regarding the status of published or unpublished applications may be obtained from Patent Center. Unpublished application information in Patent Center is available to registered users. To file and manage patent submissions in Patent Center, visit: https://patentcenter.uspto.gov. Visit https://www.uspto.gov/patents/apply/patent-center for more information about Patent Center and https://www.uspto.gov/patents/docx for information about filing in DOCX format. For additional questions, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000.
/CHU CHUAN LIU/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3791