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 § 102
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.
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) 1-5 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Shaw et al. (US 2021/0386505 A1; published 16 December 2021).
Shaw et al. discloses a method for removing non-viable tissue at a treatment situs, comprising: administering a selective biofilm stain dye to the treatment situs (i.e., applying a staining agent to an area) at a dilution that selectively stains non-viable tissue compared to viable tissue at a selectivity ratio that provides a visually identifiable separation between the non-viable tissue and the viable tissue, wherein the selective biofilm stain dye is diluted in water to a concentration of from about 0.001 mg/mL to about 0.5 mg/mL (i.e., the staining agent is contained within a liquid which is applied to the area); visually identifying the non-viable tissue (i.e., waiting to allow the staining agent to create a stained region on the area); and removing the non-viable tissue based on the visual identification (claim 1) wherein the selective biofilm stain dye is methylene blue (i.e., methylthioninium chloride) (claim 3) wherein the treatment situs is a skin infection (i.e., a wound bed) (claim 10) wherein the method further comprises removing the non-viable tissue (i.e., devitalized tissue stained by the staining agent) using debridement (i.e., removing as a result of debriding at least a portion of a material forming the stained region) (claim 11) wherein debridement may be surgical mechanical debridement using scalpels (i.e., debriding the stained region by placing a debridement device in contact with the stained region and moving the debridement device with respect to the stained region) and directed wound irrigation (i.e., revealing the stained region by rinsing off the area after the waiting) in combination (paragraph [0061]).
Conclusion
No claims are allowed.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to MICHAEL B. PALLAY whose telephone number is (571)270-3473. The examiner can normally be reached Monday through Friday from 8:30 AM to 5:00 PM Eastern Time.
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/MICHAEL B. PALLAY/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1617
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