DETAILED ACTION
Election/Restrictions
Applicant’s election without traverse of Group 1, claims 2-9,18-29 in the reply filed on 4/23/2026 is acknowledged. Further, claims 10-17 are now cancelled by the applicant.
Claim Interpretation
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(f):
(f) Element in Claim for a Combination. – An element in a claim for a combination may be expressed as a means or step for performing a specified function without the recital of structure, material, or acts in support thereof, and such claim shall be construed to cover the corresponding structure, material, or acts described in the specification and equivalents thereof.
The following is a quotation of pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph:
An element in a claim for a combination may be expressed as a means or step for performing a specified function without the recital of structure, material, or acts in support thereof, and such claim shall be construed to cover the corresponding structure, material, or acts described in the specification and equivalents thereof.
The claims in this application are given their broadest reasonable interpretation using the plain meaning of the claim language in light of the specification as it would be understood by one of ordinary skill in the art. The broadest reasonable interpretation of a claim element (also commonly referred to as a claim limitation) is limited by the description in the specification when 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, is invoked.
As explained in MPEP § 2181, subsection I, claim limitations that meet the following three-prong test will be interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph:
(A) the claim limitation uses the term “means” or “step” or a term used as a substitute for “means” that is a generic placeholder (also called a nonce term or a non-structural term having no specific structural meaning) for performing the claimed function;
(B) the term “means” or “step” or the generic placeholder is modified by functional language, typically, but not always linked by the transition word “for” (e.g., “means for”) or another linking word or phrase, such as “configured to” or “so that”; and
(C) the term “means” or “step” or the generic placeholder is not modified by sufficient structure, material, or acts for performing the claimed function.
Use of the word “means” (or “step”) in a claim with functional language creates a rebuttable presumption that the claim limitation is to be treated in accordance with 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph. The presumption that the claim limitation is interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, is rebutted when the claim limitation recites sufficient structure, material, or acts to entirely perform the recited function.
Absence of the word “means” (or “step”) in a claim creates a rebuttable presumption that the claim limitation is not to be treated in accordance with 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph. The presumption that the claim limitation is not interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, is rebutted when the claim limitation recites function without reciting sufficient structure, material or acts to entirely perform the recited function.
Claim limitations in this application that use the word “means” (or “step”) are being interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, except as otherwise indicated in an Office action. Conversely, claim limitations in this application that do not use the word “means” (or “step”) are not being interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, except as otherwise indicated in an Office action.
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.
Claim(s) 2-6, 8-9, 18-20,23-29 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Liang et al WO 2012/071546.
Claims 27, 18, 2: Liang et al disclose a processor as best seen in paragraphs 2, 9 configured to render, to a first portion of a display, a pre-operative three-dimensional (3D) image that includes anatomy of a patient (see paragraphs 14,15); render, to a second portion of the display, a multi-planar reconstruction (MPR) view of the anatomy (see paragraphs 38,51) ; and synchronize the pre-operative 3D image (see paragraph 47) and the MPR view (see paragraphs 38,51), to show a common focal point of the anatomy.
Claims 28, 19, 3: Liang et al disclose wherein the processor is configured to synchronize by arranging the anatomy or highlight the focal point as shown in the first portion, and the second portion based on a selection of the focal point (see paragraph 47).
Claims 29,20,6: Liang et al disclose configured to render, to a third portion of the display, an intra-operative image of the anatomy (see paragraph 47).
Claims 4, 23: Liang et al disclose wherein the focal point is at least one of: an
organ, tissue, a tumor, or an annotated structure of the anatomy (see paragraph 3).
Claims 5, 26: Liang et al disclose wherein the 3D image is generated by classifying voxels of a pre-operative image based on one or more of: tissue, organ, lesion, annotation, and fusing the classified voxels with the pre-operative image (see paragraph 38).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 7, 21, 22 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.
Conclusion
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/VI X NGUYEN/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3771
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