Prosecution Insights
Last updated: July 17, 2026
Application No. 18/932,929

PARAMETER ESTIMATION METHOD FOR COMPARTMENT MODEL BASED ON PHYSICS-INFORMED NEURAL NETWORKS

Non-Final OA §102
Filed
Oct 31, 2024
Priority
Apr 10, 2024 — CN 2024104271877
Examiner
CZEKAJ, DAVID J
Art Unit
Tech Center
Assignee
Zhejiang University
OA Round
1 (Non-Final)
49%
Grant Probability
Moderate
1-2
OA Rounds
3y 3m
Est. Remaining
40%
With Interview

Examiner Intelligence

Grants 49% of resolved cases
49%
Career Allowance Rate
115 granted / 235 resolved
-11.1% vs TC avg
Minimal -9% lift
Without
With
+-9.0%
Interview Lift
resolved cases with interview
Typical timeline
5y 0m
Avg Prosecution
9 currently pending
Career history
244
Total Applications
across all art units

Statute-Specific Performance

§101
1.1%
-38.9% vs TC avg
§103
92.6%
+52.6% vs TC avg
§102
4.3%
-35.7% vs TC avg
§112
0.2%
-39.8% vs TC avg
Black line = Tech Center average estimate • Based on career data from 235 resolved cases

Office Action

§102
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 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)(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 1 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by Moulton et al. (2024/0193767), (hereinafter referred to as “Moulton”). Regarding claim 1, Moulton discloses utilizing the compartment model to obtain measurement data of a tracer in each ROI according to kinetic parameters and an arterial blood input function of the tracer in each ROI of a biological tissue (Moulton: figures 2-3 and 20; paragraph 0081), repeating this step to change values of each kinetic parameter and a parameter of the arterial blood input function, so as to obtain a large number of samples, wherein each group of samples contains the measurement data of the ROI and the corresponding arterial blood input function (Moulton: figures 2-3; paragraph 0184, 0190, wherein the plurality of data sets are obtained), constructing a physics-informed neural network to solve kinetic parameters of a quantified physiological process in the compartment model (Moulton: paragraph 0043; 0190-0191), and utilizing the measurement data of the samples as labels to train the neural network, and extracting corresponding kinetic parameters from the network parameters after the training and reconstructing kinetic parameter images (Moulton: paragraph 0043; 0190-1091). Allowable Subject Matter Claims 2-8 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 The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure: 20250336063 10/2025 Kundu 20250169782 05/2025 Mirota 20240412070 12/2024 Karpowicz Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to DAVE CZEKAJ whose telephone number is (571)272-7327. The examiner can normally be reached 8-6:00 Monday-Thursday and every other Friday. 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, please contact Jamie Atala at 571-272-7384. 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. /Dave Czekaj/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2487
Read full office action

Prosecution Timeline

Oct 31, 2024
Application Filed
Jul 07, 2026
Non-Final Rejection mailed — §102 (current)

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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
49%
Grant Probability
40%
With Interview (-9.0%)
5y 0m (~3y 3m remaining)
Median Time to Grant
Low
PTA Risk
Based on 235 resolved cases by this examiner. Grant probability derived from career allowance rate.

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