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 .
Status of the Claims
This Office Action is responsive to the amendment filed June 30, 2026. As directed by the amendment: Claims 11, 13, and 16 have been amended. Claims 12 and 15 have been cancelled. Claim 19 is newly added. Claims 1-10 were withdrawn. Claims 1-11, 13, 14, and 16-19 are presently pending in this application.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 101
35 U.S.C. 101 reads as follows:
Whoever invents or discovers any new and useful process, machine, manufacture, or composition of matter, or any new and useful improvement thereof, may obtain a patent therefor, subject to the conditions and requirements of this title.
Claims 11, 13, 14, and 16-19 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 101 because the claimed invention is directed to an abstract idea without significantly more. The claim(s) recite(s) “A method of designing a guidance specific to a patient, performed by an electronic apparatus including a processor, the method comprising: receiving, by the processor, image information about a body part of a target patient; performing, by the processor, 3D modeling based on the received image information; providing, by the processor, a 3D modeling manufacturing function of a patient-customized medical device based on information about the 3D modeling; designing, by the processor, a reamer guidance configured to guide reaming of a humerus; designing, by the processor, a first humeral guidance interference-fitted with the reamer guidance and having a surface tailored to a humerus head; designing, by the processor, a second humeral guidance having a surface tailored to an intertubercular groove of the humerus head; designing, by the processor, a cutting guidance mutually coupled to the reamer guidance, the first humeral guidance, and the second humeral guidance; designing, by the processor, a positioning pin guidance configured to guide a position of an implant on a cut surface of a humerus that is subjected to cutting; designing, by the processor, a rail guidance configured to be seated on the positioning pin guidance, and having a hole provided for fixing and coupling the rail guidance to a periphery of a head of the humerus that is subjected to cutting; and controlling 3D printing manufacturing processes of the reamer guidance, the first humeral guidance, the second humeral guidance, the cutting guidance, the positioning pin guidance, and the rail guidance” stated in claim 11, “wherein the designing of the reamer guidance configured to guide reaming of the humerus and the designing of the cutting guidance mutually coupled to the reamer guidance, the first humeral guidance, and the second humeral guidance include displaying, to an operator, predetermined specification information of the reamer guidance and predetermined specification information of the cutting guidance for selection” stated in claim 13, “when the operator inputs the specification information of the reamer guidance and the cutting guidance, and feedback information of the designed first humeral guidance and the designed second humeral guidance, modifying the design of the guidance based on the specification information of the reamer guidance and the cutting guidance, and the feedback information of the first humeral guidance and the second humeral guidance that are input by the operator” stated in claim 14, “comprising, before the designing of the positioning pin guidance and the rail guidance, receiving image information about a body part of a target patient; performing 3D modeling based on the received image information; and providing a 3D modeling manufacturing function of a patient-customized medical device based on information about the 3D modeling” stated in claim 16, “wherein the designing of the positioning pin guidance configured to guide the position of the implant on the cut surf ace of the humerus, and the designing of the rail guidance configured to be seated on the positioning pin guidance and having the hole provided for fixing and coupling the rail guidance to the periphery of the head of the humerus that is subjected to cutting includes displaying, to an operator, predetermined specification information of the positioning pin guidance and predetermined specification information of the rail guidance for selection” stated in claim 17, “wherein the designing of the rail guidance configured to be seated on the positioning pin guidance and having the hole provided for fixing and coupling the rail guidance to the periphery of the head of the humerus that is subjected to cutting includes: inputting, by an operator, positions of a plurality of holes provided for fixing and coupling the rail guidance to the periphery of the head of the cut humerus, pin insertion angles of the holes, and hole depths of the holes; modifying the design of the guidance based on information about the positions of the plurality of the holes, the pin insertion angles of the holes, and the hole depths of the holes that are input by the operator” stated in claim 18. This judicial exception is not integrated into a practical application because the claim(s) do not result in an implant/prosthesis as there is no transformation. The claim(s) does/do not include additional elements that are sufficient to amount to significantly more than the judicial exception because mere instructions to apply an exception using a generic computer (e.g. a processor) cannot provide an inventive concept. The claim(s) is not patent eligible.
Claim 19 is rejected on being dependent to a rejected base claim.
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments filed June 30, 2026 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive.
Applicant’s arguments on pages 7-8 of the Remarks are directed to 35 U.S.C. 101. However, the Examiner has maintained this rejection because mere instructions to apply an exception using a generic computer component cannot provide an inventive concept, see Office Action above.
Applicant’s arguments with respect to the references Kehres, Khatibi, and Khan have been considered but are moot.
Conclusion
Applicant's amendment necessitated the new ground(s) of rejection presented in this Office action. Accordingly, THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. See MPEP § 706.07(a). Applicant is reminded of the extension of time policy as set forth in 37 CFR 1.136(a).
A shortened statutory period for reply to this final action is set to expire THREE MONTHS from the mailing date of this action. In the event a first reply is filed within TWO MONTHS of the mailing date of this final action and the advisory action is not mailed until after the end of the THREE-MONTH shortened statutory period, then the shortened statutory period will expire on the date the advisory action is mailed, and any nonprovisional extension fee (37 CFR 1.17(a)) pursuant to 37 CFR 1.136(a) will be calculated from the mailing date of the advisory action. In no event, however, will the statutory period for reply expire later than SIX MONTHS from the mailing date of this final action.
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/SI MING KU/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3775
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