Prosecution Insights
Last updated: October 02, 2026
Application No. 18/947,594

ASSISTANCE DEVICE, ASSISTANCE METHOD, AND RECORDING MEDIUM

Non-Final OA §102
Filed
Nov 14, 2024
Priority
Nov 28, 2023 — provisional 63/603,568
Examiner
FLANAGAN, BEVERLY MEINDL
Art Unit
Tech Center
Assignee
Olympus Corporation
OA Round
1 (Non-Final)
73%
Grant Probability
Favorable
1-2
OA Rounds
5m
Est. Remaining
93%
With Interview

Examiner Intelligence

Grants 73% — above average
73%
Career Allowance Rate
168 granted / 230 resolved
+13.0% vs TC avg
Strong +20% interview lift
Without
With
+20.4%
Interview Lift
resolved cases with interview
Typical timeline
2y 3m
Avg Prosecution
46 currently pending
Career history
274
Total Applications
across all art units

Statute-Specific Performance

§101
2.3%
-37.7% vs TC avg
§103
36.6%
-3.4% vs TC avg
§102
16.6%
-23.4% vs TC avg
§112
20.8%
-19.2% vs TC avg
Black line = Tech Center average estimate • Based on career data from 230 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 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. (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) 1-20 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by Arai et al. (PCT Publication No. WO 2023/286334). In regard to claims 1, 19 and 20, Arai et al. disclose an assistance device (Fig. 2; 100) comprising: a processor (Fig. 2; 110; para. 0027), the processor being configured to acquire electrical information related to an energy signal for driving an energy device configured to apply energy to a site to perform treatment on the site, the site being a target for treatment in living tissue (Fig. 30; S21; paras. 0108, 0114, 0115); Input the electrical information to a trained model to cause the trained model to estimate intraoperative information that is related to the site indicated during an operation (abstract; 121; implicit from para. 0117), the trained model having been obtained by training a plurality of pieces of training data in each of which at least one driving information obtained when the energy device is driven, device information indicating a state of the energy device, and site information related to a size, type and a state of the site is used as an input parameter and is associated with the intraoperative information that is used as an output parameter (paras. 0055, 0056); Determine whether or not accuracy of the intraoperative information is equal to or greater than a fixed value (Fig. 30; paras. 0110-0113); and Perform control according to the intraoperative information when it is determined that the accuracy is equal to or greater than the fixed value (paras. 0110, 0111). In regard to claims 2, 3 and 5, see Fig. 30 and paras. 0109-0113. In regard to claim 4, see Fig. 30, S26. In regard to claim 6, see para. 0114. In regard to claim 7, see paras. 0027-0028. In regard to claim 8, see Fig. 30 and paras. 0050-0052 and 0110-0113. In regard to claim 9, see para. 00184. In regard to claim 10, see paras. 00125-00128. In regard to claims 11-13, see Figs. 9-10 and 30 and paras. 0054-0058 and 0110-0113. In regard to claim 14, see Figs. 9-10 and paras. 0054-0058. In regard to claim 15, see Fig. 30 and paras. 0110-0113. In regard to claim 16, see paras. 0113-0114. In regard to claims 17-18, see claim 1. Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to BEVERLY MEINDL FLANAGAN whose telephone number is (571)272-4766. The examiner can normally be reached Mon-Fri 7:30AM to 5:00PM. 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, Joanne Rodden can be reached at (303) 297-4276. 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. /BEVERLY M FLANAGAN/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3794
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Prosecution Timeline

Nov 14, 2024
Application Filed
Sep 18, 2026
Non-Final Rejection mailed — §102 (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
73%
Grant Probability
93%
With Interview (+20.4%)
2y 3m (~5m remaining)
Median Time to Grant
Low
PTA Risk
Based on 230 resolved cases by this examiner. Grant probability derived from career allowance rate.

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