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 Claims
Claims 1-8 are currently pending and have been examined.
Claims 1-8 have been rejected.
Priority
The instant application claims the benefit of priority under 35 U.S.C 119(e) or under 35 U.S.C. § 120, 121, or 365(c). Accordingly, the effective filing date for the instant application is 16 January 2020 claiming benefit to Provisional Application 62/962,078.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
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 1-8 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Marcia A. Bockbrader et al., Brain Computer Interfaces in Rehabilitation Medicine, 10(9 Supp 2) Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation S233-S243 (Sept. 2018)[hereinafter Bockbrader].
Claim 1 is rejected because Bockbrader teaches on all elements of the claim:
a system, comprising is taught in the § Introduction on p. S233, Figure 1 on p. S234, § BCI Applications in Rehabilitation on p. S236, and § Sensory Restoration on p. S238-239 (teaching on delivery of modulated tactile sensations via a brain computer interface to direct a transcranial implant to deliver sensory feedback for patient therapy)
a neural input/output device (NIOD) implanted in a user; a real-time engine communicatively coupled with the NIOD; and is taught in the § Introduction on p. S233 and Figure 1 on p. S234 (teaching on a brain computer interface (treated as synonymous to a real-time engine) including a direct transcranial implant for receiving neural stimulation and neural activity recording)
a three-dimensional (3D) object communicatively coupled with the NIOD is taught in the § Virtual Reality on p. S236 and Orthoses, Exoskeletons, and § Robots on p. S236 (teaching on a virtual reality simulation OR a prosthetic limb (both treated as synonymous to a three-dimensional object) controlled (treated as synonymous to communicatively coupled) by the brain computer interface)
As per claim 2, Bockbrader discloses all of the limitations of claim 1. Bockbrader also discloses the following:
the system of claim 1, wherein the 3D object is a physical object is taught in the § Virtual Reality on p. S236 and Orthoses, Exoskeletons, and § Robots on p. S236 (teaching on a prosthetic limb (treated as synonymous to a physical three-dimensional object) controlled (treated as synonymous to communicatively coupled) by the brain computer interface)
As per claim 3, Bockbrader discloses all of the limitations of claim 1. Bockbrader also discloses the following:
the system of claim 1, wherein the 3D object is a virtual object is taught in the § Orthoses, Exoskeletons, and § Robots on p. S236 (teaching on a virtual reality simulation (treated as synonymous to a virtual three-dimensional object) controlled (treated as synonymous to communicatively coupled) by the brain computer interface)
As per claim 4, Bockbrader discloses all of the limitations of claim 1. Bockbrader also discloses the following:
the system of claim 1, wherein the 3D object has a plurality of attributes is taught in the § Virtual Reality on p. S236 (teaching on a virtual reality simulation (treated as synonymous to a virtual three-dimensional object) with both visual and haptic feedbacks (treated as synonymous to attributes) controlled (treated as synonymous to communicatively coupled) by the brain computer interface)
As per claim 5, Bockbrader discloses all of the limitations of claim 4. Bockbrader also discloses the following:
the system of claim 4, wherein each of the plurality of attributes is selected from the group consisting of: texture, temperature, and mass is taught in the § BCI Applications in Rehabilitation on p. S236 and § Sensory Restoration on p. S238-239 (teaching on delivery of modulated tactile sensations (treated as synonymous to texture - this is further evidenced by Tan et al, A neural interface provides long-term stable natural touch perception, 6(257) Science Translation Medicine (Oct. 2014) as cited in the prior art reference relied upon) via the brain computer interface to direct the transcranial implant to deliver sensory feedback)
As per claim 6, Bockbrader discloses all of the limitations of claim 4. Bockbrader also discloses the following:
the system of claim 4, wherein the 3D object is configured to deliver attribute data to the real-time engine is taught in the Figure 1 on p. S234, § BCI Applications in Rehabilitation on p. S236, and § Sensory Restoration on p. S238-239 (teaching on delivery of modulated tactile sensations via the brain computer interface to direct the transcranial implant to deliver sensory feedback)
As per claim 7, Bockbrader discloses all of the limitations of claim 4. Bockbrader also discloses the following:
the system of claim 4, wherein the real-time engine is configured to deliver sensory data to the NIOD is taught in the Figure 1 on p. S234, § BCI Applications in Rehabilitation on p. S236, and § Sensory Restoration on p. S238-239 (teaching on delivery of modulated tactile sensations via the brain computer interface to direct the transcranial implant to deliver sensory feedback)
As per claim 8, Bockbrader discloses all of the limitations of claim 7. Bockbrader also discloses the following:
the system of claim 7, wherein the user experiences the sensory data is taught in the Figure 1 on p. S234, § BCI Applications in Rehabilitation on p. S236, and § Sensory Restoration on p. S238-239 (teaching on delivery of modulated tactile sensations via the brain computer interface to direct the transcranial implant to deliver sensory feedback to a user)
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure:
Vourvopoulos et al., NeuRow: An Immersive VR Environment for Motor-Imagery Training with the Use of Brain-Computer Interfaces and Vibrotactile Feedback, Proceedings of the 3rd International Conference on Physiological Computing Systems 43-53 (2016) teaching on a brain-computer interface for communicating 3D virtual reality experiences directly to a patient for neurorehabilitation in the § Introduction on p. 43-44
Giuseppe Riva et al., Neuroscience of Virtual Reality: From Virtual Exposure to Embodied Medicine, 22(1) Cyberpsychology, Behavior, and Social Networking 82-96 (2019) teaching on the state of the art in virtual reality based cognitive therapy including sensory issues relating to amputation or distal nerve damage in the § VR as Embodied Technology on p. 89
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/JORDAN L JACKSON/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3682