DETAILED ACTION
Continued Examination Under 37 CFR 1.114
A request for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, including the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e), was filed in this application after final rejection. Since this application is eligible for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114. Applicant's submission filed on 9/21/2026 has been entered.
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 .
Notice to Applicant
Claims 1, 4-7, 11, 12, 16, and 21-22 have been amended. Claims 14, 19, and 20 have been canceled. Now, claims 1-13, 15-18, and 21-22 are pending and examined herein.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
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 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 1-11, 13, 15-18, and 21-22 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over United States Patent Number 11,510,657, Omero, et al., hereinafter Omero in view of United States Patent Application Publication Number 2003/0073894, Chiang, et al., hereinafter Chiang.
Regarding claim 1, Omero discloses a method of remotely accessing an ultrasound imaging apparatus, the method comprising:
starting an ultrasonic examination on a target object by the ultrasound imaging apparatus, (col. 3, lines 1-13, the hand of the operator and the area of use of an object under examination or the entire ultrasound system, the object to be examined and the operator);
in response to the starting of the ultrasonic examination, generating an ultrasonic examination ID for the target object, (col. 14, line 64-col. 15, line 6, ultrasound images, ultrasound data, patient data and other information and content to the network devices for presentation to the user).
receiving a user input for inviting a remote accessor pre-stored in association with the target object, (col. 8, lines 1-11, According to a further feature access to the multimedia streaming is regulated by an access control 130 which receives access rights certificates or credentials, such as user ID and password. The access controller 130 compares the certificates sent by the client upon request of the web server 128, with the certificates stored in an access certificate database 131 and if the certificates sent to the access controller 130 corresponds to certificates registered in the said database 131 access to the multimedia streaming module 125 for downloading the multimedia content is allowed);
based on receiving the user input for inviting the remote accessor, obtaining a hash key based on the generated ultrasonic examination ID and transmitting an access link including the hash key to a device of the remote accessor pre-stored in association with the target object, (col. 7, lines 61-64, The multimedia files generated by the media editor are fed to a media streaming module 125 which can be accessed through a web server 128 by a client connecting to a communication unit or port 129 of the ultrasound system and col. 8,lines 12-25, the access certificates may also contain parameters indicating which parts of the information coded as acquired images, GUI images, textual and alphanumeric data and audio files may be set free for access by the corresponding client and which parts of the said information is not available for the said client);
based on the hash key, received from the device of the remote accessor via the access link, being matched with the ultrasonic examination ID, connecting the device of the remote accessor to a streaming session for the ultrasonic examination, (col. 8, lines 1-11, According to a further feature access to the multimedia streaming is regulated by an access control 130 which receives access rights certificates or credentials, such as user ID and password. The access controller 130 compares the certificates sent by the client upon request of the web server 128, with the certificates stored in an access certificate database 131 and if the certificates sent to the access controller 130 corresponds to certificates registered in the said database 131 access to the multimedia streaming module 125 for downloading the multimedia content is allowed);
obtaining an ultrasound image of the target object by transmitting an ultrasound signal to the target object and receiving an ultrasound echo signal reflected from the target object, (col. 5, lines 42-48, The ultrasound probe 101 is coupled over a wired or wireless link to a beamformer 103. The beamformer 103 includes a transmit (TX) beamformer and a receive (RX) beamformer that are jointly represented by TX/RX beamformer 103. The beamformer 103 supplies transmit signals to the probe 101 and performs beamforming of “echo” signals that are received by the probe);
displaying the ultrasound image on a display of the ultrasound imaging apparatus, (col.7, lines 18-21, The acquired images as well as the GUI images and the textual data are combined in the Image combination unit and the combined images are displayed on the image display of the ultrasound system.);
streaming the ultrasound image of the target object to the device of the remote accessor via the streaming session in real time, (col. 7, lines 61-64, The multimedia files generated by the media editor are fed to a media streaming module 125 which can be accessed through a web server 128 by a client connecting to a communication unit or port 129 of the ultrasound system).
Omero does not explicitly disclose terminating the ultrasonic examination by the ultrasound imaging apparatus; and
in response to the terminating of the ultrasonic examination, terminating remote access by the device of the remote accessor to the streaming session.
However, Chiang teaches terminating the ultrasonic examination by the ultrasound imaging apparatus, (para. 260, a selection button that is used to provide a list of patients and corresponding images that are selectable); and
in response to the terminating of the ultrasonic examination, terminating remote access by the device of the remote accessor to the streaming session, (Table 15, Exit Application Disconnect external application from the Ultrasonic Application Server and para. 260, a selection button that is used to provide a list of patients and corresponding images that are selectable).
It would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to modify the system of Omero to include the system as taught by Chiang to provide controlling, monitoring or displaying ultrasonic imaging data in communication with a remotely located computing device, (see Chiang para. 20)
Regarding claim 2, Omero discloses the method of claim 1 as described above. Omero further discloses wherein the transmitting of the access link including the hash key to the device of the remote accessor corresponding to the target object comprises transmitting, to the device of the remote accessor, the access link that enables remote access to the ultrasound imaging apparatus, (col. 8, lines 1-11, According to a further feature access to the multimedia streaming is regulated by an access control 130 which receives access rights certificates or credentials, such as user ID and password. The access controller 130 compares the certificates sent by the client upon request of the web server 128, with the certificates stored in an access certificate database 131 and if the certificates sent to the access controller 130 corresponds to certificates registered in the said database 131 access to the multimedia streaming module 125 for downloading the multimedia content is allowed).
Regarding claim 3, Omero discloses the method of claims 1 and 2 as described above. Omero further discloses wherein the transmitting of the access link to the device of the remote accessor comprises transmitting an invitation request in an email or QR code form to the device of the remote accessor, (col. 8, lines 1-11, According to a further feature access to the multimedia streaming is regulated by an access control 130 which receives access rights certificates or credentials, such as user ID and password. The access controller 130 compares the certificates sent by the client upon request of the web server 128, with the certificates stored in an access certificate database 131 and if the certificates sent to the access controller 130 corresponds to certificates registered in the said database 131 access to the multimedia streaming module 125 for downloading the multimedia content is allowed).
Regarding claim 4, Omero discloses the method of claims 1 and 2 as described above. Omero further discloses wherein the obtaining of the hash key based on the generated ultrasonic examination ID comprises:
generating the hash key and examination information related to the ultrasonic examination, (col. 3, lines 1-13, the hand of the operator and the area of use of an object under examination or the entire ultrasound system, the object to be examined and the operator and col. 7, lines 61-64, The multimedia files generated by the media editor are fed to a media streaming module 125 which can be accessed through a web server 128 by a client connecting to a communication unit or port 129 of the ultrasound system and col. 8,lines 12-25, the access certificates may also contain parameters indicating which parts of the information coded as acquired images, GUI images, textual and alphanumeric data and audio files may be set free for access by the corresponding client and which parts of the said information is not available for the said client).
Regarding claim 5, Omero discloses the method of claim 1 as described above. Omero further discloses wherein the streaming of the ultrasound image of the target object to the device of the remote accessor comprises:
granting limited remote access authority to a remote accessor, (col. 8, lines 22-25, Selection controller 132 may cooperate with the multimedia editor 124 in order to block the transfer of the identified not available data and to allow the access to the available information); and
streaming, in real time, the ultrasound image obtained by the ultrasound imaging apparatus to the device of the remote accessor so that the remote accessor is able to view the ultrasound image on the device of the remote accessor, based on the limited remote access authority, (col. 9, lines 7-16, During the generation of the visual and/or acoustic and/or textual information the same information or only selected part thereof may be downloaded as a multimedia file, in real time in a non limited number of clients and reproduced by the visual and audio reproduction units of the clients, such as a display and loudspeaker).
Regarding claim 6, Omero discloses the method of claim 1 as described above. Omero further discloses wherein the streaming of the ultrasound image of the target object to the device of the remote accessor comprises granting real-time image storage authority to the remote accessor so that the remote accessor is able to download or store a real-time image displayed in real time, (col. 8, lines 1-11, The access controller 130 compares the certificates sent by the client upon request of the web server 128, with the certificates stored in an access certificate database 131 and if the certificates sent to the access controller 130 corresponds to certificates registered in the said database 131 access to the multimedia streaming module 125 for downloading the multimedia content is allowed).
Regarding claim 7, Omero discloses the method of claim 1 as described above. Omero further discloses wherein streaming of the ultrasound image of the target object to the device of the remote accessor comprises granting past image storage authority to the remote accessor so that the remote accessor is able to download or store a past image displayed after the ultrasonic examination starts, (col. 7, lines 51-60, various schemes generating a common multimedia file or the acquired images and/or the GUI images and/or the images reproducing textual or alphanumeric data, the one or more audio files are made available as separate media files which can be downloaded and displayed in parallel in different areas of the display of a client and in a synchronized manner at least for some of the said images and or audio files).
Regarding claim 8, Omero discloses the method of claim 1 as described above. Omero further discloses further comprising forcibly ejecting an abnormal accessor in response to detection of an abnormal access attempt by the abnormal accessor, (col. 8, lines 12-25, the access certificates may also contain parameters indicating which parts of the information coded as acquired images, GUI images, textual and alphanumeric data and audio files may be set free for access by the corresponding client and which parts of the said information is not available for the said client).
Regarding claim 9, Omero discloses the method of claim 1 as described above. Omero further discloses further comprises:
transmitting invitation information including schedule information to the device of the remote accessor, (col. 7, lines 61-64, The multimedia files generated by the media editor are fed to a media streaming module 125 which can be accessed through a web server 128 by a client connecting to a communication unit or port 129 of the ultrasound system and col. 8,lines 12-25, the access certificates may also contain parameters indicating which parts of the information coded as acquired images, GUI images, textual and alphanumeric data and audio files may be set free for access by the corresponding client and which parts of the said information is not available for the said client); and
providing limited remote access authority to the remote accessor, based on the invitation information, (col. 8, lines 1-11, The access controller 130 compares the certificates sent by the client upon request of the web server 128, with the certificates stored in an access certificate database 131 and if the certificates sent to the access controller 130 corresponds to certificates registered in the said database 131 access to the multimedia streaming module 125 for downloading the multimedia content is allowed).
Regarding claim 10, Omero discloses the method of claims 1 and 9 as described above. Omero further discloses wherein the transmitting of the invitation information to the device of the remote accessor comprises registering, through a server, the invitation information in a schedule application of the remote accessor, (col. 7, lines 61-64, The multimedia files generated by the media editor are fed to a media streaming module 125 which can be accessed through a web server 128 by a client connecting to a communication unit or port 129 of the ultrasound system and col. 8,lines 12-25, the access certificates may also contain parameters indicating which parts of the information coded as acquired images, GUI images, textual and alphanumeric data and audio files may be set free for access by the corresponding client and which parts of the said information is not available for the said client).
Regarding claim 11, Omero discloses the method of claim 1 as described above. Omero further discloses wherein further comprising:
in response to the starting of the ultrasonic examination, providing at least one service function related to the remote access to the remote accessor, (Fig. 3, col. 5,lines 5-8, rendering accessible only part of the information as a function of the access rights of the client unit.), and
wherein the at least one service function includes at least one of a multi-accessor support function, a multi-image storage support function, an image quality setting function, or a voice transmission/reception function, (col. 7, lines 51-60, mage information and the audio information according to various schemes generating a common multimedia file or the acquired images and/or the GUI images and/or the images reproducing textual or alphanumeric data, the one or more audio files are made available as separate media files which can be downloaded and displayed in parallel in different areas of the display of a client and in a synchronized manner at least for some of the said images and or audio files).
Regarding claim 13, Omero discloses the method of claim 1 as described above. Omero further discloses wherein the transmitting of the access link including the hash key to the device of the remote accessor corresponding to the target object comprises:
obtaining patient information corresponding to the target object from a patient information server, (col. 14, line 64-col. 15, line 6, ultrasound images, ultrasound data, patient data and other information and content to the network devices for presentation to the user);
identifying a registered guardian as the remote accessor, based on the obtained patient information, (col. 14, line 64-col. 15, line 6, ultrasound images, ultrasound data, patient data and other information and content to the network devices for presentation to the user); and
transmitting the access link including the hash key to the device of the remote accessor, (col. 8, lines 1-11, According to a further feature access to the multimedia streaming is regulated by an access control 130 which receives access rights certificates or credentials, such as user ID and password. The access controller 130 compares the certificates sent by the client upon request of the web server 128, with the certificates stored in an access certificate database 131 and if the certificates sent to the access controller 130 corresponds to certificates registered in the said database 131 access to the multimedia streaming module 125 for downloading the multimedia content is allowed).
Regarding claim 15, Omero discloses the method of claims 1 and 9 as described above. Omero further discloses wherein the transmitting of the invitation information to the device of the remote accessor comprises:
transmitting the invitation information through an application of an external device linked to the ultrasound imaging apparatus, (col. 7, lines 61-64, The multimedia files generated by the media editor are fed to a media streaming module 125 which can be accessed through a web server 128 by a client connecting to a communication unit or port 129 of the ultrasound system and col. 8,lines 12-25, the access certificates may also contain parameters indicating which parts of the information coded as acquired images, GUI images, textual and alphanumeric data and audio files may be set free for access by the corresponding client and which parts of the said information is not available for the said client);
granting limited remote access authority to the external device, based on the invitation information, (col. 8, lines 22-25, Selection controller 132 may cooperate with the multimedia editor 124 in order to block the transfer of the identified not available data and to allow the access to the available information); and
transmitting examination result information related to the ultrasonic examination to the external device so that the external device checks the examination result information, (col. 11, lines 59-64, , if the result of the comparison is that the frames are identical the following image frame is discarded from the image frame stream used to generate the video file).
Regarding claim 16, Omero discloses the method of claim 1 as described above. Omero further discloses further comprising based on the hash key, received from the device of the remote accessor via the access link, being matched with the ultrasonic examination ID, providing medical information display image to the device of the remote accessor so that the device of the remote accessor displays the medical information related to the ultrasound image obtained by the ultrasound imaging apparatus together with the ultrasound image, (col. 8, lines 1-11, According to a further feature access to the multimedia streaming is regulated by an access control 130 which receives access rights certificates or credentials, such as user ID and password. The access controller 130 compares the certificates sent by the client upon request of the web server 128, with the certificates stored in an access certificate database 131 and if the certificates sent to the access controller 130 corresponds to certificates registered in the said database 131 access to the multimedia streaming module 125 for downloading the multimedia content is allowed).
Regarding claim 17, Omero discloses the method of claims 1 and 9 as described above. Omero further discloses wherein the transmitting of the invitation information to the device of the remote accessor comprises:
Transmitting the invitation information including an authentication request to the device of the remote accessor, (col. 8, lines 1-11, According to a further feature access to the multimedia streaming is regulated by an access control 130 which receives access rights certificates or credentials, such as user ID and password. The access controller 130 compares the certificates sent by the client upon request of the web server 128, with the certificates stored in an access certificate database 131 and if the certificates sent to the access controller 130 corresponds to certificates registered in the said database 131 access to the multimedia streaming module 125 for downloading the multimedia content is allowed); and
providing limited remote access authority based on the invitation information to an authenticated accessor who has completed an authentication procedure for the authentication request, (col. 8, lines 22-25, Selection controller 132 may cooperate with the multimedia editor 124 in order to block the transfer of the identified not available data and to allow the access to the available information, and col. 9, lines 7-16, During the generation of the visual and/or acoustic and/or textual information the same information or only selected part thereof may be downloaded as a multimedia file, in real time in a non limited number of clients and reproduced by the visual and audio reproduction units of the clients, such as a display and loudspeaker).
Regarding claim 18, Omero discloses the method of claim 1 as described above. Omero further discloses wherein the transmitting of the access link to the device of the remote accessor corresponding to the target object comprises:
obtaining, from a patient information server, consent information indicating that the target object patient has approved providing information related to the ultrasound examination, (col. 14, line 64-col. 15, line 6, ultrasound images, ultrasound data, patient data and other information and content to the network devices for presentation to the user);
transmitting the access link to the device of the remote accessor approved by the target object, based on the consent information, (col. 8, lines 1-11, According to a further feature access to the multimedia streaming is regulated by an access control 130 which receives access rights certificates or credentials, such as user ID and password. The access controller 130 compares the certificates sent by the client upon request of the web server 128, with the certificates stored in an access certificate database 131 and if the certificates sent to the access controller 130 corresponds to certificates registered in the said database 131 access to the multimedia streaming module 125 for downloading the multimedia content is allowed); and
providing limited remote access authority to the remote accessor, based on the access link, (col. 8, lines 22-25, Selection controller 132 may cooperate with the multimedia editor 124 in order to block the transfer of the identified not available data and to allow the access to the available information).
Regarding claims 21 and 22, these claims are rejected for the same reasons as set forth above with regard to claims 1 and 2. Omero further discloses an ultrasound transceiver module; an communication module; and at least one processor, (col. 5, lines 42-48, col. 6, lines 19-41, and col. 14, lines 34-63).
Claim 12 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over United States Patent Number 11,510,657, Omero, et al., hereinafter Omero in view of United States Patent Application Publication Number 2003/0073894, Chiang, et al., hereinafter Chiang and further in view of "Sonostream," webpage < Sonostream LIVE! - What is Sonostream>, 1 page, April 13, 2024, retrieved from Internet Archive Wayback Machine <https://web.archive.org/web/20240413093433/https://sonostreamlive.net/sonostream.html> on September 27, 2026, hereinafter Sonostream.
Regarding claim 12, Omero discloses the method of claims 1 and 11 as described above. Omero does not explicitly disclose wherein the providing of the at least one service function comprises charging a fee, based on a medical fee payment service related to the ultrasonic examination.
However, Sonostream teaches wherein the providing of the at least one service function comprises charging a fee, based on a medical fee payment service related to the ultrasonic examination, (see Sonostream, page. 1, “Those who view this magical experience will only pay $12.95 to view the video feed at any time! Not only will they be able to see your unborn baby in the womb, but they'll also be able to hear you speak during the session!” and “Billing Inquiries”.
It would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to modify the system of Omero in view of Chiang to include the system as taught by Sonostream to enables you to share your 3D/4D ultrasound session with friends and family, (see Sonostream page 1)
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments with respect to claims 1-20 have been considered but are moot because the new ground of rejection does not rely on any reference applied in the prior rejection of record for any teaching or matter specifically challenged in the argument.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
Tablet ultrasound system (US 12588893 B2) teaches portable medical ultrasound imaging.
METHODS AND SYSTEMS FOR REMOTE HEALTH MONITORING (US 20220054008 A1) teaches at the transmitting device, responsive to a request for analysis and/or storage from the remote receiving device, transmitting the real-time biological sensor data stream or a recording of the real-time biological sensor data to a computing sever for analysis and/or storage.
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/AMBER A MISIASZEK/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3682
