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 Species A in the reply filed on June 9, 2026, is acknowledged.
Claims 3, 12, 16, and 18 are withdrawn from further consideration pursuant to 37 CFR 1.142(b) as being drawn to a nonelected species, there being no allowable generic or linking claim.
Claim 12 is directed to a y-piece nozzle shown in Fig. 16, which is related to Species G.
Claim 16 includes a membrane shown in Figs. 11-12, which is related to Species C.
Drawings
The drawings are objected to as failing to comply with 37 CFR 1.84(p)(4) because reference characters "34" and "36" have both been used to designate waterjet channel. The problem is that claim 21 requires the waterjet channel to have a smaller cross-sectional area (diameter) than the fluid supply channel. As shown in Figs. 4 and 5, 34 and 36 have the same diameter. 36 should be pointed to the more proximal portion of the figure. See below.
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As currently shown, the claims are not fully supported by the Drawings. Appropriate correction is required.
Corrected drawing sheets in compliance with 37 CFR 1.121(d) are required in reply to the Office action to avoid abandonment of the application. Any amended replacement drawing sheet should include all of the figures appearing on the immediate prior version of the sheet, even if only one figure is being amended. Each drawing sheet submitted after the filing date of an application must be labeled in the top margin as either “Replacement Sheet” or “New Sheet” pursuant to 37 CFR 1.121(d). If the changes are not accepted by the examiner, the applicant will be notified and informed of any required corrective action in the next Office action. The objection to the drawings will not be held in abeyance.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
The following is a quotation of the first paragraph of 35 U.S.C. 112(a):
(a) IN GENERAL.—The specification shall contain a written description of the invention, and of the manner and process of making and using it, in such full, clear, concise, and exact terms as to enable any person skilled in the art to which it pertains, or with which it is most nearly connected, to make and use the same, and shall set forth the best mode contemplated by the inventor or joint inventor of carrying out the invention.
The following is a quotation of the first paragraph of pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112:
The specification shall contain a written description of the invention, and of the manner and process of making and using it, in such full, clear, concise, and exact terms as to enable any person skilled in the art to which it pertains, or with which it is most nearly connected, to make and use the same, and shall set forth the best mode contemplated by the inventor of carrying out his invention.
Claims 1-2, 4-10, 13-15, 17, and 19-21 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(a) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), first paragraph, as failing to comply with the written description requirement. The claim(s) contains subject matter which was not described in the specification in such a way as to reasonably convey to one skilled in the relevant art that the inventor or a joint inventor, or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the inventor(s), at the time the application was filed, had possession of the claimed invention.
Claim 1 was amended on June 9, 2026, to include “a clot dissecting channel connected, directly or indirectly, to the fluid supply channel” where the indirect connection was not part of the original filing. The Examiner sees no mention of an indirect connection in the Specification. Furthermore, the Drawings do not appear to show an indirect connection. The Drawings may be corrected as discussed above to clarify the waterjet channel and the fluid supply channel, but then the only shown connection will be indirect. Because the feature was not part of the Original Disclosure, the Examiner asserts Applicant was not in possession of the claimed invention at the time of filing. The Examiner recommends deleting “directly or indirectly” to remove this issue.
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.
Claims 1, 4-5, 8-10, 17, and 21 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102a1/a2 as being anticipated by Ghani et al. (US 2022/0053998).
Regarding Claim 1, Ghani discloses:
An endoscope comprising:
a handle or interface (2);
an insertion cord (11) extending distally from the handle or interface (shown in Fig. 1a) and being configured to be inserted into a patient's body cavity, the insertion cord comprising a distal tip (13) including a tip housing (not numbered but discussed in Paragraph 0071), the tip housing having a front wall (forward wall of the tip; see Fig. 31a);
a working channel (41 top in Fig. 31a) extending from the handle to the tip housing, the working channel comprising a front opening at the front wall (see Fig. 31a showing 41 opening at the front wall of the distal tip);
a fluid supply channel (41 bottom in Fig. 31a) extending from the handle to the distal tip and configured to pass a fluid including a first fluid stream (see Paragraph 0170 indicating that irrigation is provided via 41); and
a clot dissecting channel (441) connected, directly or indirectly, to the fluid supply channel inside the distal tip and configured to receive the first fluid stream (see Fig. 31a showing 441 connected to the bottom 41), the clot dissecting channel having a distal opening configured to discharge the first fluid stream (see Fig. 31a showing the distal opening of 441), the clot dissecting channel extending at an oblique angle to a longitudinal extent of the fluid supply channel and oriented to discharge the first fluid stream into the working channel and/or across a region distal of and coinciding with, in longitudinal projection, the working channel (441 extends at an oblique angle into the working channel).
Regarding Claim 4, Ghani further discloses wherein the fluid supply channel extends substantially parallel to the working channel (see Fig. 31a showing the top and bottom channels 41 running parallel to one another).
Regarding Claim 5, Ghani further discloses wherein the clot dissecting channel is directed towards the front opening of the working channel, a longitudinal axis of the clot dissecting channel intersecting the front opening of the working channel (see Fig. 31a showing 441’s longitudinal axis intersecting the front opening of the working channel).
Regarding Claim 8, Ghani further discloses wherein the clot dissecting channel extends both distally and towards the working channel or the region distal of the working channel (see Fig. 31a showing the angle of the channel 441 extending distally toward the end of the device and toward the top working channel 41).
Regarding Claim 9, Ghani further discloses a waterjet channel (distal portion of 41 shown in Fig. 31a as a smaller diameter portion) connected to the fluid supply channel and extending substantially in parallel to the working channel (this distal portion is parallel to the other channel 41), the waterjet channel comprising a distal waterjet channel opening (distal opening of 41), the waterjet channel being configured to discharge at least a portion of the fluid through the distal waterjet channel opening (the waterjet channel and fluid supply channel are continuous such that fluid going through the fluid supply channel will continue through the distal waterjet channel opening).
Regarding Claim 10, Ghani further discloses wherein the waterjet channel and the clot dissecting channel are connected to the fluid supply channel in the distal tip (the connection is shown in Fig. 31a).
Regarding Claim 17, Ghani discloses:
A visualization system comprising the endoscope of claim 1 (see rejection of claim 1 above); and a video processing apparatus (Paragraph 0009).
Regarding Claim 21, Ghani further discloses wherein the endoscope further comprises a waterjet channel (distal portion of 41 shown in Fig. 31a as a smaller diameter portion) extending distally from the fluid supply channel along a longitudinal direction and being defined by an inner surface terminating in a distal waterjet channel opening at a distal end of the waterjet channel (distal opening of 41), the waterjet channel including: a transverse cross-section area smaller than a transverse cross-section area of the fluid supply channel such that fluid velocity increases within the waterjet channel relative to the fluid supply channel (see Fig. 31a showing the distal portion of 41, which is the waterjet channel, being smaller in diameter than the proximal portion of 41, which is the fluid supply channel), an opening formed in the inner surface at a location spaced proximally from the distal waterjet channel opening (opening where 441 meets the distal portion of 41), the opening establishing fluid communication from the fluid supply channel, via the waterjet channel, to the clot dissecting channel (see Fig. 31a showing the connection of the channels), wherein the opening is configured to define a secondary flow path diverting at least some of the fluid flowing through the waterjet channel into the clot dissecting channel (fluid can flow from 41 through the channel 441).
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.
Claims 6-7 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Ghani et al. (US 2022/0053998).
Ghani discloses the invention substantially as claimed as stated above, but does not explicitly disclose wherein the oblique angle is greater than 100° and smaller than 170°; and wherein the oblique angle is greater than 90° and smaller than 180°. However, it would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Ghani’s device to have the oblique angle within the claimed range since it has been held that “where the only difference between the prior art and the claims was recitation of relative dimensions of the claimed device and a device having the claimed relative dimensions would not perform differently than the prior art device, the claimed device was not patentably distinct from the prior art device” Gardner v. TEC Syst., Inc., 725 F.2d 1338. In the instant case, Ghani’s device would not operate differently with the claimed angles since Ghani’s device is angled and is shown as angled between 90 degrees and 180 degrees. Further, Applicant has placed no criticality on the range claimed.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 2, 13-15, and 19-20 would be allowable if rewritten to overcome the rejection(s) under 35 U.S.C. 112(a) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), 1st paragraph, set forth in this Office action and to include all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims.
Regarding claims 2 and 19-20, the claims require significant details related to a latch guide, latch, and control wire. These features were not found in combination with the features of the independent claim. Ghani includes no such feature, and without a teaching from the prior art to modify Ghani to include these features, the Examiner does not consider it obvious.
Claims 13-15 require an “activation means”, which, in the case of claim 13, invokes 112f. The structure disclosed and the scope of the claim is similar to that of claim 2, although not identical. Claim 13 requires some activation means similar to the latch of claim 2. As stated above, this was not found in the prior art.
For at least these reasons, the claims overcome the prior art of record and would be allowable assuming the 112a issues are resolved.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. Mitsui (US 3,924,608) and Obara et al. (US 2019/0110662).
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to TIMOTHY JAY NEAL whose telephone number is (313)446-4878. The examiner can normally be reached Mon-Fri 7:30-5:30.
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, Anhtuan Nguyen can be reached at (571)272-4963. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/TIMOTHY J NEAL/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3795
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