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 Objections
Claim 4 is objected to because of the following informalities: in line 1, it appears that after “rotation of”, the word “the” should be inserted. Appropriate correction is required.
Claim 9 is objected to because of the following informalities: in line 1, it appears that “two opacified areas” should perhaps be “two opacifying areas” to keep the terms consistent. Appropriate correction is required.
Claim 14 is objected to because of the following informalities: in line 10, it appears that “an acquisition area” should be “the acquisition area”. Appropriate correction is required.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(b):
(b) CONCLUSION.—The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor regards as the invention.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph:
The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the applicant regards as his invention.
Claims 6, 9, 12, and 14 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph, as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor (or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the applicant), regards as the invention.
Claim 6 recites the limitation "the corresponding permeable strips" in line 2. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim.
Claim 9 recites the limitation "the scattered radiation correction" in line 4. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim. It appears that claim 9 depends on claim 8 and has been treated as such.
Claim 12 recites the limitation "the pivotally mounted opacification device" in line 1. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim.
Regarding claim 14, the phrase "and is or may be" renders the claim indefinite because it is unclear whether the limitations following the phrase are part of the claimed invention. See MPEP § 2173.05(d).
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.
Claims 1, 3-5, 8-9, and 11-14 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Fahimian et al. (US 2012/0207370 A1).
With respect to claim 1, Fahimian et al. disclose a system for operating an X-ray device for acquiring projection images of an acquisition area from which a three-dimensional image dataset of the acquisition area is reconstructed, the system comprising: an acquisition arrangement comprising an X-ray generator and an X-ray detector configured to receive X-ray radiation of an X-ray field that includes a central beam and which is transmitted by the X-ray generator, the X-ray detector configured for acquiring projection images of different projection directions, wherein the X-ray generator and X-ray detector are moved rotationally to cover a projection angular range encompassing at least 360° about the acquisition area (paragraphs 0015+); and an opacification device comprising an opacification pattern that includes a opacifying section for opacifying the X-ray radiation with at least two opacifying areas and a section permeable to the X-ray radiation with at least two permeable areas separated by an opacifying area, wherein the opacification pattern is arranged in the X-ray field between the X-ray generator and the acquisition area such that each voxel to be reconstructed in the acquisition area that is opacified in a partial area of the rotation, is scanned by non-opacified X-ray radiation in a second partial area of the rotation (paragraphs 0073+), wherein the second partial area comprises at least substantially a same number of acquisition geometries and/or encompasses a 180° angular section with respect to the projection of the projection direction into a plane of rotation (paragraphs 0073+).
With respect to claim 13, Fahimian et al. disclose a method comprising: controlling an actuator by a control unit to bring an opacification device into a beam path of an x-ray field; moving an acquisition arrangement rotationally about an acquisition area in order to acquire, by the acquisition arrangement, projection images and scatter radiation data in different projection directions, wherein the acquisition arrangement comprises an X-ray generator and an X-ray detector for receiving X-ray radiation of an X-ray field which has a central beam and which is transmitted by the X-ray generator; determining a scatter radiation image for each projection image from the scattered radiation data; ascertaining positions of the opacification device for the projection images; and reconstructing an image data set from the projection images (paragraphs 0015+ & 0073+).
With respect to claim 14, Fahimian et al. disclose an X-ray device comprising: an acquisition arrangement with an X-ray generator and an X-ray detector for receiving X-ray radiation of an X-ray field which has a central beam and which is transmitted by the X-ray generator (paragraphs 0015+); an opacification device comprising an opacification pattern that includes a section opacifying the X-ray radiation with at least two opacifying areas and a section permeable to the X-ray radiation with at least two permeable areas separated by an opacifying area, and is or may be arranged in the X-ray field between the X-ray generator and an acquisition area such that during an acquisition, in which the acquisition arrangement is moved rotationally about an acquisition area to cover a projection angular range encompassing at least 360° of projection images of the acquisition area, from which a three-dimensional image dataset of the acquisition area is reconstructed, each voxel to be reconstructed in the acquisition area that is opacified in a partial area of the rotation, is scanned by non-opacified X-ray radiation in another partial area of the rotation; and a control device comprising an acquisition unit for controlling the acquisition of the projection images and a reconstruction unit for reconstructing the image dataset, taking into account the use of the opacification device (paragraphs 0073+).
With respect to claim 3, Fahimian et al. disclose wherein the opacifying section is smaller than the permeable section (paragraphs 0042 & 0073+).
With respect to claim 4, Fahimian et al. disclose wherein a circular path, by rotation of the acquisition arrangement about a fixed axis of rotation, is used as an acquisition trajectory of the X-ray generator, wherein the opacification pattern is divided into two sides by a central line running perpendicular to the plane of rotation and including a point of passage of the central beam, and is selected and arranged such that for each opacifying point on one side of the central beam there is a permeable point at the same distance on the other side of the central beam (paragraphs 0015+ & 0073+ & Fig. 3(e)).
With respect to claim 5, Fahimian et al. disclose wherein the at least two opacifying areas are configured as opacifying strips running perpendicular to the plane of rotation (Fig. 3(e)).
With respect to claim 8, Fahimian et al. disclose wherein the opacification device additionally also works as a primary modulator, whose modulating property is used for scattered radiation correction of the projection images (paragraph 0065).
With respect to claim 9, Fahimian et al. disclose wherein for the at least two opacifying areas of the X-ray detector covered by the opacifying section, radiation data describing scattered radiation is acquired and is used to determine a distribution of scattered radiation, which is used for the scattered radiation correction (paragraphs 0015+& 0065+ & 0073+).
With respect to claim 11, Fahimian et al. disclose wherein to determine a position of the opacification pattern to be used for the reconstruction, the opacification pattern is detected in an image-based manner in the projection images (paragraphs 0073+).
With respect to claim 12, Fahimian et al. disclose wherein the pivotally mounted opacification device is pivoted into a beam path via an actuator before a start of the acquisition of the projection images (paragraphs 0015+ & 0067).
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 103 which forms the basis for all obviousness rejections set forth in this Office action:
A patent for a claimed invention may not be obtained, notwithstanding that the claimed invention is not identically disclosed as set forth in section 102, if the differences between the claimed invention and the prior art are such that the claimed invention as a whole would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art to which the claimed invention pertains. Patentability shall not be negated by the manner in which the invention was made.
Claims 2, 6-7, and 10 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Fahimian et al. (US 2012/0207370 A1) as applied to claims 1 and 4-5 above.
With respect to claim 2, Fahimian et al. do not specifically disclose wherein an attenuation of the X-ray radiation by at least 80% occurs in the opacifying section of the opacification pattern and/or the permeable section has an at least 5-fold transmission compared to the opacifying section. Fahimian et al. disclose the attenuating material and thickness will be different for different sources and will be determined through preference of the user (paragraph 0070). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was made to modify Fahimian et al. to have an attenuation of the X-ray radiation by at least 80% occur in the opacifying section of the opacification pattern and/or the permeable section has an at least 5-fold transmission compared to the opacifying section, as a matter of design choice.
With respect to claim 6, Fahimian et al. do not specifically disclose wherein a width of the opacifying strips is less in the direction of the plane of rotation than a width of the corresponding permeable strips of the permeable section and/or the width of the opacifying strips increases outward in a cone beam geometry in accordance with the law of inverse distance. However, Fahimian et al. disclose various embodiments are possible (paragraph 0067) and it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was made to modify Fahimian et al. to have a width of the opacifying strips be less in the direction of the plane of rotation than a width of the corresponding permeable strips of the permeable section and/or the width of the opacifying strips increases outward in a cone beam geometry in accordance with the law of inverse distance, as a matter of design choice.
With respect to claim 7, Fahimian et al. disclose wherein the opacification pattern on each side of the central beam includes at least two opacifying areas and at least two permeable areas (Fig. 3(e)).
With respect to claim 10, Fahimian et al. do not specifically disclose wherein between the acquisition area and the X-ray detector, a scattered radiation grid is used that at an edge of the opacified areas covered by the opacifying section has at least one lamella which is enlarged compared to other lamellae of the scattered radiation grid. However, use of a scattered radiation grid is well known to those of ordinary skill in the art. It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was made to modify Fahimian et al. to have, between the acquisition area and the X-ray detector, a scattered radiation grid that at an edge of the opacified areas covered by the opacifying section has at least one lamella which is enlarged compared to other lamellae of the scattered radiation grid, to ensure removal of scattered radiation from reaching the X-ray detector.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to JURIE YUN whose telephone number is (571)272-2497. The examiner can normally be reached 10:30 am - 7:30 pm.
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/JURIE YUN/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2884
July 17, 2026
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