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
This action is in response to application 19/021572 filled on 01/15/2025.
Claims 1-20 have been canceled.
Claims 21-40 have been added new and are currently pending.
Detailed Action
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.
The text of those sections of Title 35, U.S. Code not included in this action can be found in a prior Office action.
The factual inquiries for establishing a background for determining obviousness under 35 U.S.C. 103 are summarized as follows:
1. Determining the scope and contents of the prior art.
2. Ascertaining the differences between the prior art and the claims at issue.
3. Resolving the level of ordinary skill in the pertinent art.
4. Considering objective evidence present in the application indicating obviousness or nonobviousness.
Claim(s) 21-40 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Freeman et al. (US 2019/0282324 A1) in view of Tran (US 2016/0287166 A1).
In claim 1, a caregiver communication badge for use with a real time locating system (RTLS) and an electronic medical records (EMR) system in a healthcare facility having a network, the caregiver communication badge comprising
Freeman teaches:
a housing (Fig. 2a),
a microphone carried by the housing and configured to receive voice inputs from a caregiver (Para. 201),
at least one processor carried by the housing, the at least one processor communicatively coupled to the microphone, the at least one processor configured to provide the voice inputs received by the microphone to a voice-to-text algorithm (Para. 203),
wireless communication circuitry carried by the housing and configured to communicate with the RTLS and with the network (Para. 209), and
Freeman does not explicitly teach however Tran teaches:
a plurality of buttons carried by the housing and communicatively coupled to the at least one processor, a first button of the plurality of buttons when selected enables the voice inputs from the microphone to be provided to the voice-to-text algorithm so that words spoken by the caregiver into the microphone are converted to text in accordance with the voice-to-text algorithm, the voice-to-text algorithm being disabled from receiving the voice inputs from the microphone prior to selection of the first button, the processor and the voice-to-text algorithm cooperating so that, in response to a charting keyword being spoken by the caregiver after selection of the first button, the text corresponding to at least some of the voice inputs is charted into an electronic medical record of the EMR system for a patient associated with a patient room in which the caregiver is located at the time the charting keyword is spoken by the caregiver after the first button is selected (Fig. 6a and Para. 14, 149, 211, and 324 wherein a plurality of buttons are located on a watch. The buttons include microphone and speaker activation and wherein the device can translate speech to text).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of filling to combine the augmented reality device for providing feedback to an acute care provider as taught in Freeman with the plurality of push buttons/switches on a device as taught in Tran for selectively enabling and disabling communication. The well-known elements described are merely a combination of old elements, and in combination, each element merely would have performed the same function as it did separately, and one of ordinary skill in the art would have recognized that the results of the combination were predictable.
As per claim 22, Freeman teaches the caregiver communication badge of claim 21, wherein the plurality of buttons includes a second button that is selected to indicate completion of a caregiver activity (Tran Para. 149 and 211).
As per claim 23, Freeman teaches the caregiver communication badge of claim 22, wherein the caregiver activity associated with the second button of the plurality of buttons includes at least one of the following: completion of caregiver rounds, medication administration, completion of physical therapy, or taking of the at least one vital sign (Para. 296 and 421 wherein a caregiver can record information using a button).
As per claim 24, Freeman teaches the caregiver communication badge of claim 22, wherein the processor signals the wireless communication circuitry to transmit to the network information corresponding to the completion of the caregiver activity indicated by the selection of the second button (Para. 296,421, and 436).
As per claim 25, Freeman teaches the caregiver communication badge of claim 21, wherein the processor signals the wireless communication circuitry to transmit the text to the network for delivery to the EMR system for charting in the electronic medical record of the patient (Para. 104).
As per claim 26, Freeman teaches the caregiver communication badge of claim 21, wherein the wireless communication circuitry includes a first antenna to transmit the text to the network according to a first communication technology and a second antenna to transmit a tag identification (ID) according to a second communication technology (Para. 243).
As per claim 27, Freeman teaches the caregiver communication badge of claim 26, wherein the first communication technology comprises WiFi technology and the second communication technology comprises ultra-wideband (UWB) technology (Para. 11 and 212).
As per claim 28, Freeman teaches the caregiver communication badge of claim 26, wherein the first antenna is also used to transmit the tag ID along with the text according to the first communication technology (Para. 243).
As per claim 28, Freeman teaches the caregiver communication badge of claim 26, wherein the at least one processor comprises a first processor that directs the voice inputs to the voice-to-text algorithm in response to selection of the first button and a second processor that controls transmission of a tag identification (ID) via the wireless communication circuitry (Para. 203).
As per claim 30, Freeman in view of Tran teaches the caregiver communication badge of claim 21. Freeman does not explicitly teach however Tran teaches, wherein the first button is configured to operate as a start/stop button that is used to enable and disable the voice- to-text algorithm (Para. 40 and 149). The motivation to combine references is the same as seen in claim 21.
As per claim 31, Freeman in view of Tran teach the caregiver communication badge of claim 21. Freeman does not explicitly teach however Tran teaches caregiver communication badge of claim 30, wherein the voice- to-text algorithm is enabled in response to the start/stop button being pressed a first time and the voice-to-text algorithm is disabled in response to the start/stop button being pressed a second time such that successive presses of the start/stop button enables and disables the voice-to-text algorithm in succession (Para. 197). The motivation to combine references is the same as seen in claim 21.
As per claim 32, Freeman in view of Tran teach the caregiver communication badge of claim 21. Freeman does not explicitly teach however Tran teaches caregiver communication badge of claim 30, wherein the voice- to-text algorithm is enabled in response to the start/stop button being pressed and held and wherein the voice-to-text algorithm is disabled in response to the start/stop button being released. The motivation to combine references is the same as seen in claim 21.
As per claim 33, Freeman teaches the caregiver communication badge of claim 21, further comprising at least one vitals charting button carried by the housing and communicatively coupled to the processor, selection of the at least one vitals charting button causing the wireless communication circuitry to send a charting message which results in patient vital signs data from at least one piece of vital sign monitoring equipment being charted into the electronic medical record of the patient associated with the patient room in which the caregiver is located at the time of selection of the at least one vitals charting button (Para. 180).
As per claim 34, Freeman teaches the caregiver communication badge of claim 33, wherein the at least one vitals charting button comprises a multiple charting button that, when selected, results in patient vital signs data from multiple pieces of vital sign monitoring equipment being charted into the electronic medical record of the patient (Para. 180 and 275).
As per claim 35, Freeman teaches the caregiver communication badge of claim 34, wherein the multiple pieces of vital monitoring equipment comprises at least two of the following: a heart rate monitor, a respiration rate monitor, a blood pressure monitor, a temperature monitor, or a pulse oximeter (Para. 229).
As per claim 36, Freeman teaches the caregiver communication badge of claim 33, wherein the at least one vitals charting button comprises a first charting button and a second charting button, the at least one piece of vital sign monitoring equipment comprises a first vital sign monitor and a second vital sign monitor, selection of the first charting button results in a first vital sign acquired from the patient by the first vital sign monitor being charted into the electronic medical record of the patient, and selection of the second charting button results in a second vital sign acquired from the patient by the second vital sign monitor being charted into the electronic medical record of the patient (Para. 229, 296, and 421).
As per claim 37, Freeman teaches the caregiver communication badge of claim 36, wherein the first vital sign monitor comprises a first one of the following: a heart rate monitor, a respiration rate monitor, a blood pressure monitor, a temperature monitor, or a pulse oximeter; and wherein the second vital sign monitor comprises a second one of the following: a heart rate monitor, a respiration rate monitor, a blood pressure monitor, a temperature monitor, or a pulse oximeter (Para. 233).
As per claim 38, Freeman teaches the caregiver communication badge of claim 37, wherein the at least one vitals charting button comprises a third charting button, the at least one piece of vital sign monitoring equipment comprises a third vital sign monitor, and wherein the third vital sign monitor comprises a third one of the following: a heart rate monitor, a respiration rate monitor, a blood pressure monitor, a temperature monitor, or a pulse oximeter (Para. 233 and 421).
As per claim 39, Freeman teaches the caregiver communication badge of claim 38, wherein the at least one vitals charting button comprises a fourth charting button, the at least one piece of vital sign monitoring equipment comprises a fourth vital sign monitor, and wherein the fourth vital sign monitor comprises a fourth one of the following: a heart rate monitor, a respiration rate monitor, a blood pressure monitor, a temperature monitor, or a pulse oximeter (Para. 233 and 421).
As per claim 40, Freeman teaches the caregiver communication badge of claim 39, wherein the at least one vitals charting button comprises a fifth charting button, the at least one piece of vital sign monitoring equipment comprises a fifth vital sign monitor, and wherein the fifth vital sign monitor comprises a remaining one of the following: a heart rate monitor, a respiration rate monitor, a blood pressure monitor, a temperature monitor, or a pulse oximeter (Para. 233 and 421).
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to MAROUN P KANAAN whose telephone number is (571)270-1497. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday 8:00-5:00.
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MAROUN P. KANAAN
Primary Examiner
Art Unit 3687
/MAROUN P KANAAN/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3687
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