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 .
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.
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.
Claim(s) 1-16 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Rodriguez et al., (US 20200022649; hereinafter Rodriguez).
Regarding claim 1, Rodriguez (Figure 1A) discloses a method for performing ablation of tissue of a patient with an ablation catheter (1116), the method comprising: obtaining a blood conductivity value for blood of a blood pool associated with the ablation catheter (1116) and the tissue to be ablated ([0167]); calculating ablation energy needed to ablate the tissue based on ablation parameters including the blood conductivity value ([0131], [0133], [0143], [0145], [0525]: developing an ablation plan to calculate ablation energy needed to ablate the tissue); and based on the calculated ablation energy, assessing a size of a lesion to be created by the ablation energy ([0146], [0161], [0211], [0229]-[0230]).
Regarding claim 2, Rodriguez (Figure 1A) discloses wherein calculating the ablation energy further comprises applying a hot spot temperature of an ablated lesion to the calculation ([0445]).
Regarding claim 3, Rodriguez (Figure 1A) discloses wherein assessing the lesion size further comprises estimating an initial penetration depth of a tip of the catheter into the tissue ([0161]), and, using the estimated initial penetration depth and the blood conductivity value, as well as a present actual temperature and impedance measurements made at the tip, to create a finite element (FE) model of a three-dimensional (3D) temperature distribution in the tissue and estimating the size of the lesion from the temperature distribution ([0132]-[0133], [0520]-[0526]).
Regarding claim 4, Rodriguez (Figure 1A) discloses adjusting the ablation energy based on the size of the lesion ([0148]-[0150], [0545]-[0546]).
Regarding claim 5, Rodriguez (Figure 1A) discloses selecting a catheter type based on the obtained blood conductivity value ([0171]).
Regarding claim 6, Rodriguez (Figure 1A) discloses wherein obtaining the blood conductivity value comprises determining the blood conductivity value from a blood sample of the patient prior to the ablation ([0167], [0230], [0237]).
Regarding claim 7, Rodriguez (Figure 1A) discloses wherein assessing the size of the lesion comprises using premade look-up tables (1118) of entries for lesion depth, lesion width, measured temperature, and temperature at a hottest tissue spot ([0118], [0168]-[0169]).
Regarding claim 8, Rodriguez (Figure 1A) discloses wherein assessing the size of the lesion comprises assessing a depth and a lateral size of the lesion ([0171], [0211]).
Regarding claim 9, Rodriguez (Figure 1A) discloses a system (1100) for performing ablation of tissue of a patient with an ablation catheter (1116), ([0165]), the system (1100) comprising: an interface (1126) configured to obtain a blood conductivity value for blood of a blood pool associated with the ablation catheter (1116) and the tissue to be ablated ([0167]); and a processor (1104), which is configured to: calculate ablation energy needed to ablate the tissue based on ablation parameters including the blood conductivity value ([0131], [0133], [0143], [0145], [0162], [0525]: developing an ablation plan to calculate ablation energy needed to ablate the tissue); and based on the calculated ablation energy, assess a size of a lesion to be created by the ablation energy ([0146], [0161], [0211], [0229]-[0230]).
Regarding claim 10, Rodriguez (Figure 1A) discloses wherein the processor (1104) is configured to calculate the ablation energy by applying a hot spot temperature of an ablated lesion to the calculation ([0445]).
Regarding claim 11, Rodriguez (Figure 1A) discloses wherein the processor (1104) is configured to assess the lesion size by estimating an initial penetration depth of a tip of the catheter (1116) into the tissue, and, using the estimated initial penetration depth and the blood conductivity value, as well as a present actual temperature and impedance measurements made at the tip, to create a finite element (FE) model of a three- dimensional (3D) temperature distribution in the tissue and estimating the size of the lesion from the temperature distribution ([0132]-[0133], [0520]-[0526]).
Regarding claim 12, Rodriguez (Figure 1A) discloses wherein the processor (1104) is configured to adjust the ablation energy based on the size of the lesion ([0148]-[0150], [0545]-[0546]).
Regarding claim 13, Rodriguez (Figure 1A) discloses wherein the processor (1104) is configured to select a catheter type based on the obtained blood conductivity value ([0171]).
Regarding claim 14, Rodriguez (Figure 1A) discloses wherein the interface (1126) is configured to obtain the blood conductivity value by determining the blood conductivity value from a blood sample of the patient prior to the ablation ([0167], [0230], [0237]).
Regarding claim 15, Rodriguez (Figure 1A) discloses wherein the processor (1104) is configured to assess the size of the lesion by using premade look-up tables (1118) of entries for lesion depth, lesion width, measured temperature, and temperature at a hottest tissue spot ([0118], [0168]-[0169]).
Regarding claim 16, Rodriguez (Figure 1A) discloses wherein the processor (1104) is configured to assess the size of the lesion by assessing a depth and a lateral size of the lesion ([0171], [0211]).
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to CATHERINE PREMRAJ whose telephone number is (571)272-8013. The examiner can normally be reached Monday - Friday: 8:00 AM - 5:00 PM.
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/C.C.P./Examiner, Art Unit 3794
/EUN HWA KIM/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3794
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