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 .
In the event the determination of the status of the application as subject to AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103 (or as subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103) is incorrect, any correction of the statutory basis (i.e., changing from AIA to pre-AIA ) for the rejection will not be considered a new ground of rejection if the prior art relied upon, and the rationale supporting the rejection, would be the same under either status.
Claims 1 – 20 are pending.
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 and 13 – 15 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1)/102(a)(2) as being anticipated by Golay et al. (US 2021/0018584 A1; hereinafter Golay).
Regarding Claim 1, Golay discloses an imaging phantom assembly (Fig. 3, configuration), comprising:
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a phantom body (Fig. 3, phantom housing 14); and
one or more coils (Fig. 3, items 12), at least one part of at least one of the one or more coils (Fig. 3, items 12) being arranged in the phantom body (Fig. 3, phantom housing 14).
Regarding Claim 13, Golay discloses the imaging phantom assembly according to claim 1, wherein a receiving groove (Fig. 3, item 16) is formed in the phantom (Fig. 3, phantom housing 14), and the one or more coils (Fig. 3, items 12) are detachably inserted into the receiving groove (Fig. 3, item 16).
Regarding Claim 14, Golay discloses the imaging phantom assembly according to claim 1, wherein the one or more coils (Fig. 3, items 12) are formed in the phantom body (Fig. 3, phantom housing 14).
Regarding Claim 15, Golay discloses an image generation method (para [0066]; to produce a calibrated image), comprising:
acquiring a magnetic resonance signal (para [0011]; phantoms for use in an MRI scanner are known) of an imaging phantom assembly (Fig. 3, configuration) under a radio frequency signal (para [0070]; by a radio frequency coil), the imaging phantom assembly (Fig. 3, configuration) comprising a phantom body (Fig. 3, phantom housing 14); and one or more coils (Fig. 3, items 12), at least one part of at least one of the one or more coils (Fig. 3, items 12) being arranged in the phantom body (Fig. 3, phantom housing 14); and
generating an image based on the magnetic resonance signal (para[0001]; obtaining calibrated measurements from non-calibrated images using a phantom, a system for obtaining calibrated measurements from non-calibrated images using a phantom, and a coil assembly for use in an MRI scanner).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 2 – 12 and 16 – 20 are objected to as being dependent upon a rejected base claim, but would be allowable if rewritten in independent form including all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims.
The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter:
Regarding Claim 2, the prior art of record does not teach claimed limitation: “wherein the phantom body comprises a plurality of phantom layers, and the one or more coils comprise one or more coil layers, at least one of the one or more coil layers being arranged between two adjacent phantom layers” in combination with all other claimed limitations of claim 2.
Regarding Claims 3 – 11, the claims would be allowable as they further limit claim 2.
Regarding Claim 12, the prior art of record does not teach claimed limitation: “wherein the phantom body comprises a plurality of first phantom layers and one or more second phantom layers, and at least one of the one or more second phantom layers being arranged between two adjacent first phantom layers; and wherein the coil is wound around the second phantom layer” in combination with all other claimed limitations of claim 12.
Regarding Claim 16, the prior art of record does not teach claimed limitation: “wherein the one or more coils comprise a plurality of coils, and acquiring the magnetic resonance signal of the imaging phantom assembly under the radio frequency signal comprises: controlling a radio frequency signal transmitting assembly to feed the radio frequency signal into the plurality of coils at the same time” in combination with all other claimed limitations of claim 12.
Regarding Claim 17, the prior art of record does not teach claimed limitation: “wherein the one or more coils comprise a plurality of coils, and acquiring the magnetic resonance signal of the imaging phantom assembly under the radio frequency signal comprises: controlling the radio frequency signal transmitting assembly to sequentially feed the radio frequency signal to each of the coils” in combination with all other claimed limitations of claim 12.
Regarding Claim 18, the prior art of record does not teach claimed limitation: “wherein the phantom body comprises a plurality of phantom layers, and the one or more coils comprise one or more coil layers, at least one of the one or more coil layers being arranged between two adjacent phantom layers” in combination with all other claimed limitations of claim 18.
Regarding Claims 19 – 20, the claims would be allowable as they further limit claim 18.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure:
Inoue et al. (US 2025/0352081 A1) teach a coil unit that is fixed to a subject by a string-like member, the coil unit comprising: a plurality of receive coils that receive a nuclear magnetic resonance signal of the subject; and a coil cover that has flexibility and on which the plurality of receive coils are two-dimensionally arranged, wherein the coil cover has a plurality of through-holes penetrating from one surface to the other surface, the through-holes being disposed at positions corresponding to a size of the subject, into which the string-like members are inserted (see claim 1).
Kamada et al. (US 2024/0410967 A1) disclose a magnetic resonance imaging apparatus comprising: an imaging unit that performs main imaging of collecting a nuclear magnetic resonance signal, which is generated from a subject placed in a static magnetic field space, to acquire an image of the subject, and calibration imaging of collecting calibration data required for the main imaging; and a controller that controls an operation of the imaging unit, wherein the controller includes a calibration range setting unit that sets a range of the calibration imaging, and the calibration range setting unit sets a calibration range by using a main imaging range set in advance and spatial information other than the main imaging range (see claim 1).
Lin et al. (US 2024/0219504 A1) suggest a magnetic resonance imaging phantom kit, comprising: a plurality of modular components, wherein the plurality of modular components comprises: a first modular component; and a second modular component, wherein the second modular component is different than the first modular component; a shell structured to receive at least one modular component; and a lid attachable to the shell to enclose the at least one modular component received within the shell (see claim 1).
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/GIOVANNI ASTACIO-OQUENDO/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2858 7/11/2026
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