CTNF 18/927,763 CTNF 85999 Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status 07-03-aia AIA 15-10-aia The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA. Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 101 07-04-01 AIA 07-04 35 U.S.C. 101 reads as follows: Whoever invents or discovers any new and useful process, machine, manufacture, or composition of matter, or any new and useful improvement thereof, may obtain a patent therefor, subject to the conditions and requirements of this title. Claim 12-15 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 101 because the claimed invention is directed to non-statutory subject matter. The claim(s) does/do not fall within at least one of the four categories of patent eligible subject matter because the broadest reasonable interpretation of “A computer program product, embodied on a computer-readable medium” includes carrier waves per se, which is non-statutory subject matter. Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103 07-20-aia AIA 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. 07-23-aia AIA 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. 07-21-aia AIA Claim (s) 1-7 and 9-20 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Wu et al. (“Intravascular effect in velocity-selective arterial spin labeling: The choice of inflow time and cutoff velocity”), hereinafter referred to as Wu, in view of Qin et al. (US 10,359,491 B2), hereinafter referred to as Qin . With reference to claim 1, Wu teaches A method for magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), comprising: applying at a first time, to a subject located in a magnetic field, a first adiabatic magnetic pulse train comprising excitation pulses and adiabatic refocusing pairs (Fig. 1, Tag, “Velocity-selective ASL” section); obtaining a first MRI image comprising first MRI data acquired after the applying of the first adiabatic magnetic pulse train to the subject at the first time (Introduction “Tag Image”); applying a second adiabatic magnetic pulse train comprising excitation pulses and adiabatic refocusing pairs to the subject at a second time while the subject is located in the magnetic field (Fig. 1, Control, “Velocity-selective ASL” section); obtaining a second MRI image comprising second MRI data acquired after the applying of the second adiabatic magnetic pulse train to the subject at the second time (Introduction, “Control image”); acquiring third MRI data corresponding to blood flow in the subject based on differences between the first MRI image and the second MRI image (Introduction, “ASL difference image”); and obtaining an MRI perfusion image based on the third MRI data wherein at least one of the first adiabatic magnetic pulse train or the second adiabatic magnetic pulse train further comprises gradient pulses (Fig. 1, “Velocity-selective ASL”), wherein at least one of the first MRI image or the second MRI image is obtained in-part based on selective interaction of the first adiabatic magnetic pulse train or the second adiabatic magnetic pulse train with spins in arterial blood water of the subject based on a velocity of the arterial blood water being at or above a predetermined threshold velocity (“Velocity-selective ASL” section). However, Wu is silent with regards to obtaining an MRI perfusion image based on the third MRI data that excludes some or all MRI artifacts arising from regions of inhomogeneity in the magnetic field. Qin teaches obtaining an MRI perfusion image based on the third MRI data that excludes some or all MRI artifacts arising from regions of inhomogeneity in the magnetic field (Column 3 lines 38-56). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to use the teaching of Qin with the method of Wu so as to better combat B0/B1 inhomogeneity (Qin, Column 3 lines 38-40). With reference to claim 2, Wu as combined above further teaches he adiabatic refocusing pairs are hyperbolic secant adiabatic refocusing pairs, wherein the excitation pulses are interleaved with the adiabatic refocusing pairs (Qin, Column 3 lines 50-56). With reference to claim 3, Wu as combined above further teaches the excitation pulses are modulated by a waveform (Wu, Velocity-selective ASL section) With reference to claim 4, Wu as combined above further teaches the adiabatic refocusing pairs are modulated by phase cycling (Qin, Column 4 lines 13-39). With reference to claim 5, Wu as combined above further teaches the first adiabatic magnetic pulse train and the second adiabatic magnetic pulse train each comprises a predetermined number of the adiabatic refocusing pairs, wherein the predetermined number is selected such that a length of the first adiabatic magnetic pulse train and the second adiabatic magnetic pulse train, respectively, is minimized (Wu, page 127, first full paragraph). With reference to claim 6, Wu as combined above further teaches the MRI perfusion image describes blood flow through a brain of the subject (Wu, Fig. 6). With reference to claim 7, Wu as combined above further teaches the MRI artifacts include artifacts arising from static (B 0 ) and transmit (B 1 + ) magnetic field inhomogeneities (Qin, Column 3 lines 38-40). With reference to claim 9, Wu as combined above further teaches the subject is a human or animal (Wu, Fig. 6) With reference to claim 10, Wu as combined above further teaches the subject is located in an MRI scanner configured to apply the first adiabatic magnetic pulse train to the subject at the first time and apply the second adiabatic magnetic pulse train to the subject at the second time (Wu, Fig. 1, description thereof). With reference to claim 11, Wu as combined above further teaches first MRI data and the second MRI data comprise time-series data, wherein obtaining the MRI perfusion image comprises averaging the time-series data (Wu, “Velocity-selective ASL” section). With reference to claim 12, Wu teaches a computer program product, embodied on a computer-readable medium, operable to cause a data processing apparatus to perform operations for magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) comprising: applying at a first time, to a subject located in a magnetic field, a first adiabatic magnetic pulse train comprising excitation pulses and adiabatic refocusing pairs (Fig. 1, Tag, “Velocity-selective ASL” section); obtaining a first MRI image comprising first MRI data acquired after the applying of the first adiabatic magnetic pulse train to the subject at the first time (Introduction “Tag Image”); applying a second adiabatic magnetic pulse train comprising excitation pulses and adiabatic refocusing pairs to the subject at a second time while the subject is located in the magnetic field (Fig. 1, Control, “Velocity-selective ASL” section); obtaining a second MRI image comprising second MRI data acquired after the applying of the second adiabatic magnetic pulse train to the subject at the second time (Introduction, “Control image”); acquiring third MRI data corresponding to blood flow in the subject based on differences between the first MRI image and the second MRI image (“ASL difference image”); and obtaining an MRI perfusion image based on the third MRI data wherein at least one of the first adiabatic magnetic pulse train or the second adiabatic magnetic pulse train further comprises gradient pulses (Fig. 1, “Velocity-selective ASL”), wherein at least one of the first MRI image or the second MRI image is obtained in-part based on selective interaction of the first adiabatic magnetic pulse train or the second adiabatic magnetic pulse train with spins in arterial blood water of the subject based on a velocity of the arterial blood water being at or above a predetermined threshold velocity (“Velocity-selective ASL” section). However, Wu is silent with regards to obtaining an MRI perfusion image based on the third MRI data that excludes some or all MRI artifacts arising from regions of inhomogeneity in the magnetic field. Qin teaches obtaining an MRI perfusion image based on the third MRI data that excludes some or all MRI artifacts arising from regions of inhomogeneity in the magnetic field (Column 3 lines 38-56). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to use the teaching of Qin with the method of Wu so as to better combat B0/B1 inhomogeneity (Qin, Column 3 lines 38-40). With reference to claim 13, Wu as combined above further teaches the excitation pulses are interleaved with hyperbolic secant refocusing pairs (Qin, Column 3 lines 50-56). With reference to claim 14, Wu as combined above further teaches the adiabatic refocusing pairs are modulated by phase cycling (Qin, Column 4 lines 13-39). With reference to claim 15, Wu as combined above further teaches the MRI artifacts include artifacts arising from static (B 0 ) and transmit (B 1 + ) magnetic field inhomogeneities (Qin, Column 3 lines 38-40). With reference to claim 16, Wu teaches A magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) system, comprising: a radio frequency (RF) subsystem configured to: apply at a first time, to a subject located in a magnetic field, a first adiabatic magnetic pulse train comprising excitation pulses and adiabatic refocusing pairs (Fig. 1, Tag, “Velocity-selective ASL” section), and apply at a second time, to the subject while located in the magnetic field, a second adiabatic magnetic pulse train comprising excitation pulses and adiabatic refocusing pairs (Fig. 1, Control, “Velocity-selective ASL” section); and a processor and a computer-readable medium with instructions stored thereon, wherein the instructions upon execution by the processor cause the processor to: obtain a first MRI image comprising first MRI data acquired after the applying of the first adiabatic magnetic pulse train to the subject at the first time (Introduction, “tag image”; obtain a second MRI image comprising second MRI data acquired after the applying of the second adiabatic magnetic pulse train to the subject at the second time (Introduction, “control image”); acquire third MRI data corresponding to blood flow in the subject based on differences between the first MRI image and the second MRI image (Introduction, “ASL difference image”); and obtain an MRI perfusion image based on the third MRI data wherein at least one of the first adiabatic magnetic pulse train or the second adiabatic magnetic pulse train further comprises gradient pulses (Fig. 1, Velocity-selective ASL section), wherein at least one of the first MRI image or the second MRI image is obtained in-part based on selective interaction of the first adiabatic magnetic pulse train or the second adiabatic magnetic pulse train with spins in arterial blood water of the subject based on a velocity of the arterial blood water being at or above a predetermined threshold velocity (Velocity-selective ASL section). However, Wu is silent with regards to obtain an MRI perfusion image based on the third MRI data that excludes some or all MRI artifacts arising from regions of inhomogeneity in the magnetic field. Qin teaches obtain an MRI perfusion image based on the third MRI data that excludes some or all MRI artifacts arising from regions of inhomogeneity in the magnetic field (Column 3 lines 38-56). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to use the teaching of Qin with the system of Wu so as to better combat B0/B1 inhomogeneity (Qin, Column 3 lines 38-40). With reference to claim 17, Wu as combined above further teaches wherein the adiabatic refocusing pairs are hyperbolic secant adiabatic refocusing pairs, wherein the excitation pulses are interleaved with the adiabatic refocusing pairs (Wu, Fig. 1, description thereof). With reference to claim 18, Wu as combined above further teaches wherein the excitation pulses are modulated by a waveform (Wu, Velocity-selective ASL section). With reference to claim 19, Wu as combined above further teaches wherein the first adiabatic magnetic pulse train and the second adiabatic magnetic pulse train each comprises a predetermined number of the adiabatic refocusing pairs, wherein the predetermined number is selected such that a length of the first adiabatic magnetic pulse train and the second adiabatic magnetic pulse train, respectively, is minimized (Wu, page 127, first full paragraph). With reference to claim 20, Wu as combined above further teaches wherein the MRI artifacts include artifacts arising from static (B 0 ) and transmit (B 1 + ) magnetic field inhomogeneities (Qin, Column 3 lines 38-40) . Allowable Subject Matter 12-151-08 AIA 07-43 12-51-08 Claim 8 is 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. 13-03-01 AIA The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter: The prior art does not disclose or suggest the claimed "obtaining one or more maps indicating the static (B 0 ) and transmit (B 1 + ) magnetic field inhomogeneities; and determining an accuracy of the MRI perfusion image by correlating locations in the MRI perfusion image to the static (B 0 ) and transmit (B 1 + ) magnetic field inhomogeneities indicated on the one or more maps" in combination with the remaining claim elements as set forth in claim 8 . Conclusion 07-96 AIA The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. Qin (US 2021/0228096 A1) teaches measurement of blood volume using Fourier-Transform based velocity-selective pulse trains on MRI. Li et al. (US 9,911,206 B2) teach time efficient ASL imaging with segmented multiband acquisition. Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to GREGORY H CURRAN whose telephone number is (571)270-7505. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday, 8am-5pm, EST. 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, Walter Lindsay can be reached at (571) 272-1674. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300. 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If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000. /GREGORY H CURRAN/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2852 Application/Control Number: 18/927,763 Page 2 Art Unit: 2852 Application/Control Number: 18/927,763 Page 3 Art Unit: 2852 Application/Control Number: 18/927,763 Page 4 Art Unit: 2852 Application/Control Number: 18/927,763 Page 5 Art Unit: 2852 Application/Control Number: 18/927,763 Page 6 Art Unit: 2852 Application/Control Number: 18/927,763 Page 7 Art Unit: 2852 Application/Control Number: 18/927,763 Page 8 Art Unit: 2852 Application/Control Number: 18/927,763 Page 9 Art Unit: 2852 Application/Control Number: 18/927,763 Page 10 Art Unit: 2852
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