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 .
Priority
Receipt is acknowledged of certified copies of papers required by 37 CFR 1.55.
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.
Claim(s) 1-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Dahan et al. (U.S. Patent Application Publication US20140128724) in view of Hushek (U.S. Patent Application Publication US20140000025).
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As per claims 1, 17 and 20, Dahan et al. disclose a medical system comprising: an imaging device (10) including a movable imaging component, wherein the movable imaging component is movable between rooms (40, 41) through a door (42) and is shared among a plurality of rooms. Dahan et al. disclose room (40) accommodating imaging device (10), corresponding to the claimed equipment room. (Figs. 1-2 shown above; ¶¶ [0084], [0086], [0092], [0094]).
Dahan et al. do not explicitly disclose a plurality of shielding doors, each shielding door being provided between one of the plurality of medical rooms and the equipment room.
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Hushek discloses shielded doors (128) and walls separating rooms, wherein the doors include shield components (150) and maintain shielding integrity between the rooms (Fig. 1; ¶¶ [0048]-[0050]).
It would have been obvious to modify Dahan et al. to include the shielded door arrangement taught by Hushek in order to maintain shielding integrity between rooms while permitting movement between the rooms (Hushek, ¶¶ [0048]-[0050]).
[Examiner note: Claims 17 and 20 are rejected together with claim 1 because the additional limitations merely recite movement and control of the movable imaging component between rooms and imaging operations using the shared imaging device, as taught or suggested by the combined teachings of Dahan et al. and Hushek].
Claims 2-5 recite arranging the plurality of medical rooms around the equipment room, opening a target shielding door while maintaining remaining shielding doors closed, forming a sealed space between the target medical room and the equipment room, and isolating the remaining medical rooms.
These features control which room receives the imaging device and separate the active imaging area from the remaining rooms. It would have been obvious to arrange room access and operate shielding doors in this manner to permit imaging in a selected room while maintaining isolation of the remaining rooms.
Claim 6 recites that the imaging device is a floor-mounted digital subtraction angiography (DSA) device.
It would have been obvious to employ a DSA imaging device as the imaging device because DSA devices were known in medical imaging systems and represent a known imaging modality selection depending on intended clinical use.
Claims 7-9 recite locating a base in the equipment room, connecting the movable imaging component to the base, utilizing a robotic arm having a plurality of degrees of freedom, and fixing the base within the equipment room.
These features support, position, and move the movable imaging component. It would have been obvious to employ a fixed base and robotic arm to position and move the imaging component within the medical system.
Claims 10-12 recite controller operation of shielding doors and imaging functions, distributed control units, and password authentication.
These features control operation of the medical system and restrict access to authorized users. It would have been obvious to employ controllers, distributed control functions, and authentication functions to operate and manage the medical system.
Claims 13-14 and 18-19 recite movement trajectory planning, medical-bed positioning, display communication, scheduling information, and movement control based on work information.
These features coordinate movement of equipment and patients and assist in scheduling use of the imaging device. It would have been obvious to employ positioning, scheduling, and display functions to coordinate operation of a shared imaging system.
Claims 15-16 recite a hybrid operating room and a lifting platform configured to carry the imaging device to different floors.
These features adapt the imaging system for use in different treatment rooms and on different floors within a medical facility. It would have been obvious to employ the imaging system in a hybrid operating room and to provide vertical transport of the imaging device to extend use of the system within a medical facility.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to COURTNEY D THOMAS whose telephone number is (571)272-2496. The examiner can normally be reached M-F: 9 AM - 5 PM.
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/COURTNEY D THOMAS/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2884
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