Prosecution Insights
Last updated: October 02, 2026
Application No. 18/930,330

USER PHYSIOLOGICAL RESPONSE PREDICTION AND MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS

Non-Final OA §102§103§112
Filed
Oct 29, 2024
Priority
Oct 30, 2023 — provisional 63/594,332
Examiner
PRICE, NATHAN R
Art Unit
Tech Center
Assignee
Abbott Laboratories
OA Round
1 (Non-Final)
53%
Grant Probability
Moderate
1-2
OA Rounds
2y 1m
Est. Remaining
92%
With Interview

Examiner Intelligence

Grants 53% of resolved cases
53%
Career Allowance Rate
276 granted / 517 resolved
-6.6% vs TC avg
Strong +39% interview lift
Without
With
+38.9%
Interview Lift
resolved cases with interview
Typical timeline
4y 0m
Avg Prosecution
42 currently pending
Career history
561
Total Applications
across all art units

Statute-Specific Performance

§101
1.6%
-38.4% vs TC avg
§103
42.4%
+2.4% vs TC avg
§102
27.0%
-13.0% vs TC avg
§112
21.9%
-18.1% vs TC avg
Black line = Tech Center average estimate • Based on career data from 517 resolved cases

Office Action

§102 §103 §112
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 . Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112 The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(b): (b) CONCLUSION.—The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor regards as the invention. The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph: The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the applicant regards as his invention. Claim 11 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph, as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor (or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the applicant), regards as the invention. Regarding claim 11, the claim appears to recite that the predicted physiological response is somehow determined from the image without analyzing the image, and it is unclear how such a determination would be possible, or alternatively what types of analyses are being excluded, and what types would thus remain, by excluding “determining one or more consumable characteristics….” 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) 1-19 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Chiu et al. (US 20190340434). Regarding claim 1, Chiu et al. discloses A system 700 (fig. 7), comprising: one or more processors (processor of at least 706/800, being in one embodiment a smart phone; see par. 0079-0080 and 0090-0091); and one or more computer-readable recording media that store instructions that are executable by the one or more processors (par. 0079-0080 and 0090-0091) to configure the system to: access one or more images depicting one or more consumables, the consumption of which is able to influence a physiological condition of a user (fig. 18; par. 0119-0122); access user state information associated with the user (1806, par. 0124); determine a predicted physiological response to consumption of the one or more consumables by the user based on at least the one or more images and the user state information (1808; par. 0124); and present an output based on the predicted physiological response to the user via a user interface (output 1810; par. 0124-0125). Regarding claim 2, Chiu et al. discloses the output is based on a comparison of the predicted physiological response and an alternative predicted physiological response associated with an alternative course of action of the user (par. 0149). Regarding claim 3, Chiu et al. discloses the one or more images are associated with one or more timepoints, and wherein the user state information indicates one or more therapeutics administered to the user within one or more threshold temporal proximities to the one or more timepoints (par. 0124). Regarding claim 4, Chiu et al. discloses the user state information is determined based on image data that captures one or more physical components associated with the one or more therapeutics administered to the user (par. 0124 and fig. 9, par. 0097-0103). Regarding claim 5, Chiu et al. discloses the one or more therapeutics do not comprise insulin (par. 0040). Regarding claim 6, Chiu et al. discloses the one or more threshold temporal proximities are determined based on one or more therapeutic classifications of the one or more therapeutics (par. 0124). Regarding claim 7, Chiu et al. discloses the predicted physiological response comprises at least one of a predicted blood glucose level and blood glucose curve (par. 0124-0125). Regarding claim 8, Chiu et al. discloses the predicted physiological response comprises a predicted metabolic state (par. 0037 and 0132). Regarding claim 9, Chiu et al. discloses the instructions are executable by the one or more processors to further configure the system to automatically update a therapeutic delivery configuration of a therapeutic delivery device based upon the predicted physiological response (fig. 21; par. 132-0133). Regarding claim 10, Chiu et al. discloses the therapeutic delivery device comprises an insulin pump operably connected to the system (2108; par. 0135). Regarding claim 11, as best understood, Chiu et al. discloses the predicted physiological response is determined directly from the one or more images and user state information without determining one or more consumable characteristics associated with the one or more consumables (for example, in one of the embodiments described in par. 0122, where instead of determining consumable characteristics, historical meal data is retrieved). Regarding claim 12, Chiu et al. discloses the instructions are executable by the one or more processors to further configure the system to: access one or more subsequent images depicting at least part of the one or more consumables at one or more subsequent timepoints; determine an updated predicted physiological response based on at least the one or more subsequent images; and present an updated output based on the updated predicted physiological response (par. 0119, guidance is provided in “real-time”). Regarding claim 13, Chiu et al. discloses the updated predicted physiological response is further based on updated user state information associated with the user (par. 0119, guidance is provided in “real-time”). Regarding claim 14, Chiu et al. discloses the instructions are executable by the one or more processors to further configure the system to: access one or more subsequent images depicting at least part of the one or more consumables at one or more subsequent timepoints; determine a consumption metric based on at least the one or more subsequent images; and update user state information based on the consumption metric (par. 0119, guidance is provided in “real-time”). Regarding claim 15, Chiu et al. discloses a system (700, fig. 7), comprising: one or more processors (processor of at least 706/800, being in one embodiment a smart phone; see par. 0079-0080 and 0090-0091); and one or more computer-readable recording media that store instructions that are executable by the one or more processors (par. 0079-0080 and 0090-0091) to configure the system to: receive an indication of one or more consumables from one or more remote systems, consumption of the one or more consumables being able to influence a physiological condition of a user (fig. 18; par. 0119-0122); access user state information associated with the user (1806; par. 0124); determine a predicted physiological response to consumption of the one or more consumables by the user based on at least the indication of the one or more consumables and the user state information (1808; par. 0124); and at least one of (i) present an output based on the predicted physiological response to the user via a user interface (output 1810; par. 0124-0125), or (ii) automatically update a therapeutic delivery configuration of a therapeutic delivery device based upon the predicted physiological response (fig. 21; par. 132-0133). Regarding claim 16, Chiu et al. discloses the output is based on a comparison of the predicted physiological response and an alternative predicted physiological response associated with an alternative course of action of the user (par. 0149). Regarding claim 17, Chiu et al. discloses the user state information indicates one or more therapeutics administered to the user, and wherein the user state information is determined based on image data that captures one or more physical components associated with the one or more therapeutics administered to the user (par. 0124 and fig. 9, par. 0097-0103). Regarding claim 18, Chiu et al. discloses the user state information indicates one or more therapeutics administered to the user, and wherein the one or more therapeutics are administered to the user within one or more threshold temporal proximities (par. 0124 and fig. 9, par. 0097-0103). Regarding claim 19, Chiu et al. discloses the predicted physiological response comprises at least one of a predicted blood glucose level and blood glucose curve (par. 0124-0125). 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. This application currently names joint inventors. In considering patentability of the claims the examiner presumes that the subject matter of the various claims was commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the claimed invention(s) absent any evidence to the contrary. Applicant is advised of the obligation under 37 CFR 1.56 to point out the inventor and effective filing dates of each claim that was not commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the later invention in order for the examiner to consider the applicability of 35 U.S.C. 102(b)(2)(C) for any potential 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) prior art against the later invention. Claim(s) 20 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Chiu et al. in view of Constantin et al. (US 20190246973). Regarding claim 20, Chiu et al. discloses a system (700, fig. 7) comprising: one or more processors (processor of at least 706/800, being in one embodiment a smart phone; see par. 0079-0080 and 0090-0091); and one or more computer-readable recording media that store instructions that are executable by the one or more processors (par. 0079-0080 and 0090-0091) to configure the system to: access one or more images depicting one or more consumables consumption of which is able to influence a physiological condition of a user (fig. 18; par. 0119-0122); access user state information associated with the user (1806; par. 0124); determine a predicted physiological response to consumption of the one or more consumables by the user based on at least the one or more images, the user state information, and the user input (1808; par. 0124); and output the predicted physiological response (output 1810; par. 0124-0125), except for specifically disclosing output a prompt for the user to provide user input indicating the one or more consumables to be consumed by the user. However, Constantin et al. teaches, in a similar set of executable instructions, outputting a user prompt for input indicating the consumable (par. 0515; for example, prompting the user to provide input on the meal size on the plate). It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the system of Chiu et al. to output the claimed user prompt for input, as taught by Constantin et al., for the purpose of providing sufficient functionality for the user to correct/improve the factors influencing the result of the algorithm. Conclusion Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to NATHAN R PRICE whose telephone number is (571)270-5421. The examiner can normally be reached Mon-Fri 8:00am-4:00pm Eastern time. 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, Michael Tsai can be reached at 571-270-5246. 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. /NATHAN R PRICE/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3783
Read full office action

Prosecution Timeline

Oct 29, 2024
Application Filed
Sep 11, 2026
Non-Final Rejection mailed — §102, §103, §112 (current)

Precedent Cases

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Study what changed to get past this examiner. Based on 5 most recent grants.

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Prosecution Projections

1-2
Expected OA Rounds
53%
Grant Probability
92%
With Interview (+38.9%)
4y 0m (~2y 1m remaining)
Median Time to Grant
Low
PTA Risk
Based on 517 resolved cases by this examiner. Grant probability derived from career allowance rate.

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