Prosecution Insights
Last updated: October 25, 2026
Application No. 18/941,939

SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR MONITORING HYGIENE PRACTICES ASSOCIATED WITH POWERED CONTRAST INJECTIONS

Non-Final OA §102
Filed
Nov 08, 2024
Priority
Apr 10, 2018 — provisional 62/655,374 +2 more
Examiner
ULSH, DUNG T
Art Unit
3783
Tech Center
3700 — Mechanical Engineering & Manufacturing
Assignee
Bayer HealthCare LLC
OA Round
1 (Non-Final)
79%
Grant Probability
Favorable
1-2
OA Rounds
1y 0m
Est. Remaining
96%
With Interview

Examiner Intelligence

Grants 79% — above average
79%
Career Allowance Rate
307 granted / 390 resolved
+8.7% vs TC avg
Strong +17% interview lift
Without
With
+17.3%
Interview Lift
resolved cases with interview
Typical timeline
2y 11m
Avg Prosecution
25 currently pending
Career history
413
Total Applications
across all art units

Statute-Specific Performance

§101
1.0%
-39.0% vs TC avg
§103
39.4%
-0.6% vs TC avg
§102
30.3%
-9.7% vs TC avg
§112
23.5%
-16.5% vs TC avg
Black line = Tech Center average estimate • Based on career data from 390 resolved cases

Office Action

§102
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. (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(s) 1-3, 7 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Uram et al. (US 2014/0276379). Regarding claim 1, Uram discloses A computer program product (130) for providing visual feedback for a plurality of injection protocols performed by a fluid injector system (Examiner notes: the limitation “for providing visual feedback…a fluid injector system” is interpreted as functional limitation. And, the limitation “a fluid injector system” is not positively recited in claim 1. See pars. 0019-0072 for the function of 130), the fluid injector system for use in pressurizing at least one fluid through at least one disposable component into a patient in connection with a diagnostic imaging procedure (see par. 0038 for the fluid injector system communicating with different systems such as imaging systems), the computer program product (130) comprising non-transitory computer readable media (see par. 0038) comprising one or more instructions that, when executed by at least one processor (processor of 130, see pars. 0038-0042), cause the at least one processor to: determine, for each of the injection protocols, a component status for the at least one disposable component, wherein the component status indicates whether use of the at least one disposable component was compliant with instructions for use applicable to the at least one disposable component (Examiner notes: see par. 0014 for the control unit presenting a user with information regarding setting up an injection protocol, ongoing status during the injection and additional information regarding the injection procedure; for example, the information being a graphical interface specific to the type of injection protocol being used; additionally, the control unit receives information from the user via an input device regarding parameters necessary for setting up the injection protocol. See par. 0039 for 130 determining a mechanical compatibility status between 110 and 120, determining a communication integrity status between 110, 120, 130. See also par. 0039 for 130 for a specific display is based at least in part on the fluid delivery unit data, the disposable data, and/or the fluid actuator data; or, a specific display is based at least in part on a procedure entered); and cause at least one display to display a compliance report, the compliance report comprising one or more visual indicators providing visual feedback about compliance with the instructions for use based on the component status determined for each of the injection protocols performed using the fluid injection system (see fig. 5 and pars. 0049-0052). Regarding claim 2, Uram discloses The computer program product of claim 1, wherein the component status indicates whether use of at least one disposable component of the fluid injector system was compliant with the instructions of use applicable thereto or was not compliant with the instructions for use applicable thereto (see par. 0043 for the safety checking functions). Regarding claim 3, Uram discloses The computer program product of claim 1, wherein the instructions further cause the at least one processor to at least one of: determine (i) an occurrence time for each of the injection protocols and (ii) for each of the plurality of injection protocols, an installation time for the at least one disposable component used for the injection protocol (see par. 0022 for a time of fluid injection); and associate the component status determined for the at least one disposable component with a time interval of a plurality of time intervals (Examiner notes: since claim 3 comprises the “at least one of” language, all parts of the “at least one of” statement are not positively recited in claim 3. Therefore, Examiner does not examine the latter part “associate the component status” of the “at least one of” statement in claim 3). Regarding claim 7, Uram discloses A computer-implemented method (pars. 0019-0072) for providing visual feedback about a plurality of injection protocols performed by a fluid injector system for use in pressurizing at least one fluid through at least one disposable component into a patient in connection with a diagnostic imaging procedure (see par. 0038 for the fluid injector system communicating with different systems such as imaging systems), the method comprising: determining, for each of the injection protocols performed by the fluid injector system, a component status for the at least one disposable component wherein the component status indicates whether use of the at least one disposable component was compliant with instructions for use applicable to the at least one disposable component (Examiner notes: see par. 0014 for the control unit presenting a user with information regarding setting up an injection protocol, ongoing status during the injection and additional information regarding the injection procedure; for example, the information being a graphical interface specific to the type of injection protocol being used; additionally, the control unit receives information from the user via an input device regarding parameters necessary for setting up the injection protocol. See par. 0039 for 130 determining a mechanical compatibility status between 110 and 120, determining a communication integrity status between 110, 120, 130. See also par. 0039 for 130 for a specific display is based at least in part on the fluid delivery unit data, the disposable data, and/or the fluid actuator data; or, a specific display is based at least in part on a procedure entered); and causing at least one display to display a compliance report, the compliance report comprising one or more visual indicators providing visual feedback about compliance with the instructions for use based on the component status determined for each of the injection protocols performed using the fluid injection system (see fig. 5 and pars. 0049-0052). Allowable Subject Matter Claim(s) 4-6 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. See PTO 892 form. Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to DUNG T ULSH whose telephone number is (571)272-9894. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday 9am-5pm. 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, Bhisma Mehta can be reached at 571-272-3383. 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. /DUNG T ULSH/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3783
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Prosecution Timeline

Nov 08, 2024
Application Filed
Oct 01, 2026
Non-Final Rejection mailed — §102 (current)

Precedent Cases

Applications granted by this same examiner with similar technology

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A Medicament Delivery Device
2y 6m to grant Granted Oct 20, 2026
Patent 12758715
Autoinjector for Automatic Injection of a Product Into an Injection Site
2y 6m to grant Granted Oct 13, 2026
Patent 12751914
Polymeric Microstructures and Systems and Methods for Making Same
2y 6m to grant Granted Oct 06, 2026
Patent 12746340
FORMULATIONS, METHODS, AND PRE-FILLED MULTI-DOSE INJECTION DEVICES WITHOUT CLOUD POINT
3y 4m to grant Granted Sep 29, 2026
Patent 12746324
VACUUM THERAPY DEVICES AND METHODS
3y 2m to grant Granted Sep 29, 2026
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
79%
Grant Probability
96%
With Interview (+17.3%)
2y 11m (~1y 0m remaining)
Median Time to Grant
Low
PTA Risk
Based on 390 resolved cases by this examiner. Grant probability derived from career allowance rate.

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