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 .
Information Disclosure Statement
It is noted the International Search Report and Written Opinion for International Application No. PCT/US2016/040140 cited in the IDS filed 1/16/2025 was not found, and as such, was not considered by the Examiner.
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) 21- 40 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Teague et al. (US Pub. No. 2004/0199200 A1).
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Regarding claim 21, Teague discloses a retrieval device, comprising:
at least two support members (70) (Figs. 2A- 4A, 5B- 6E);
at least two movable members (A, B) (See Annotated Fig. 2A) each having a first leg (AL1, BL1) and a second leg (AL2, BL2), wherein the first leg (AL1, BL1) and the second leg (AL2, BL2) of each movable member (74) are movable relative to the at least two support members (70), wherein the first leg of each movable member (AL1, BL1) extends through a lumen (73) of one support member of the at least two support members (70), and wherein the second leg of each movable member (AL2, BL2) extends through a lumen (73) of a different support member of the at least two support members (70) (Ps. [0041], [0042] - - the basket is defined by a plurality of legs 77 formed by the loops 65. For N legs 77, there are N/2 loops 65. For example, … a basket 30 having four legs 77 contains two loops 65; Each loop 65 includes a plurality of beads 70 each bead having a lumen 73. The beads 70 are strung together along a wire 74 extending through the lumen 73 disposed in each of the beads 70; Annotated Fig. 2A shows two loops 65 of wires 74 labeled as Loop A and Loop B, four legs labeled as A1, A2, B1, B2 and multiple support members 70 each having the same reference number, through which the loops/legs of wire extend); and
a coupler (62a) (Figs. 2A- 2C), wherein proximal ends (75-A2, 75-B2) (See Annotated Fig. 2C) of the second legs of the at least two movable members (AL2, BL2) are attached to each other and to the coupler (62a), and wherein the first leg of each movable member (AL1, BL1) extends along a side surface (62b) (Figs. 2A- 2C) of the coupler (62a) (See Fig. 2A) (Ps. [0042], [0043] - - A first end 75 of the wire 74 is disposed through a lumen 62a of the basket base 43 and attached at a wire attachment point 80; A second end 76 of the wire 74 is slideably disposed through a lumen 62b of the basket base 43 and is attached to the distal end 78 of the basket connecting line 50).
Regarding claim 22, Teague further discloses wherein the coupler (62a) is proximal to each support member of the at least two support members (70) (See Fig. 2A).
Regarding claim 23, Teague further discloses wherein the coupler (62a) is configured to space the first leg (AL1, BL1) of each movable member (AL1, BL1) from a longitudinal axis of the retrieval device (“A”) (See Annotated Fig. 2A) (Ps. [0042], [0043] - - the basket base 43 has a plurality of lumens 62a, 62b … A first end 75 of the wire 74 is disposed through a lumen 62a of the basket base 43; A second end 76 of the wire 74 is slideably disposed through a lumen 62b of the basket base 43).
Regarding claim 24, Teague further discloses wherein, in a contracted configuration (Fig. 2B) of the retrieval device, the coupler (62a) is spaced apart from the at least two support members (70) by a distance (See Fig. 2B).
Regarding claim 25, Teague further discloses further comprising a sleeve (44) (Figs. 2A- 2C) at least partially surrounding a proximal end (76-A1, 76-B1) (See Annotated Fig. 2A) of the first leg of each movable member (AL1, BL1) (P. [0043] - -the basket base 43 includes a cuff 44 through which the wire 74 passes).
Regarding claim 26, Teague further discloses wherein the sleeve (44) is configured to gather the proximal end (76-A1, 76-B1) of the first leg of each movable member (AL1, BL1) to inhibit radially outward movement of the first leg (AL1, BL1) and the second leg of each movable member (AL2, BL2) (See Figs. 2A-2C - - showing legs AL1, AL2, BL1, BL2 radially inhibited within sleeve 44).
Regarding claim 27, Teague further discloses further comprising a drive member (50) (Figs. 1- 2C, 7B- 8B), wherein a proximal end (76-A1, 76-B1) (See Annotated Fig. 2A) of the first leg of each movable member (AL1, BL1) of the at least two movable members (A, B) is coupled to a distal end (78) (Figs. 2A- 2C) of the drive member (50) (Ps. [0038], [0043] - - the proximal handle 45 includes a first actuator 47 and a second actuator 49. At least one of the actuators 47, 49 is disposed within the proximal handle 45 and connected to one or more basket connecting lines 50; A second end 76 of the wire 74 is slideably disposed through a lumen 62b of the basket base 43 and is attached to the distal end 78 of the basket connecting line 50).
Regarding claim 31, Teague discloses a retrieval device, comprising:
at least two support members (70) (Figs. 2A- 4A, 5B- 6E), wherein each support member (70) is movable between a contracted configuration (Fig. 2B) and an expanded configuration (Fig. 2A), and wherein each support member (70) bows radially outward in the expanded configuration (Fig. 2A); and
at least two movable members (A, B) (See Annotated Fig. 2A), wherein the at least two movable members (A, B) are movable relative to the at least two support members (70), wherein each movable member (A, B) includes a first end (75-A2, 75-B2) and a second end (76-A1, 76-B1) (See Annotated Fig. 2A), wherein the first end (75-A2, 75-B2) of each movable member (A, B) extends through one support member of (70) the at least two support members (70), and wherein the second end (76-A1, 76-B1) of each movable member (A, B) extends through a different support member (70 - - it is noted each support member has the same reference number) of the at least two support members (70).
Regarding claim 32, Teague further discloses further comprising a coupler (62b) (Figs. 2A- 2C) attached to the second end of each movable member (76-A1, 76-B1) and configured to space the first end of each movable member (75-A2, 75-B2) apart from a longitudinal axis of the retrieval device (“A”) (See Annotated Fig. 2A) (Ps. [0042], [0043] - - A first end 75 of the wire 74 is disposed through a lumen 62a of the basket base 43 and attached at a wire attachment point 80; A second end 76 of the wire 74 is slideably disposed through a lumen 62b of the basket base 43 and is attached to the distal end 78 of the basket connecting line 50).
Regarding claim 33, Teague further discloses wherein the coupler (62b) is proximal to each support member (70) of the at least two support members (70) (See Fig. 2A).
Regarding claim 34, Teague further discloses wherein the first end of each movable member (75-A2, 75-B2) of the at least two movable members (A, B) is fixed to the second end (76-A1, 76-B1) of another movable member of the at least two movable members (A, B) via a sleeve (37) (Figs. 1- 2C, 7B- 7D) surrounding at least a portion of the first end (75-A2, 75-B2) of each movable member (A, B).
Regarding claim 35, Teague further discloses further comprising a drive member (50) (Figs. 1- 2C, 7B- 8B), wherein the second end (76-A1, 76-B1) of each movable member (A, B) is fixed to the drive member (50) within the sleeve (37) (See Fig. 2A) (P. [0043] - - A second end 76 of the wire 74 is slideably disposed through a lumen 62b of the basket base 43 and is attached to the distal end 78 of the basket connecting line 50).
Regarding claim 36, Teague discloses a retrieval device, comprising:
at least two support members (70) (Figs. 2A- 4A, 5B- 6E) each having a first portion (P1 and a second portion (P2) (See Annotated Fig. 3) wherein a lumen (73) (Fig. 3) extends through the first portion (P1) and the second portion (P2) of each support member (70) (P. [0044] - - the distal end of the basket 30 includes one or more wires 74 that are threaded through the basket tip 55 and the lumen 73 of each of the plurality of beads 70 to form the loops 65 that make the basket 30); and
at least two movable members (A, B) (See Annotated Figs. 2A, 3), wherein each movable member of the at least two movable members (A, B) is movable relative to the at least two support members (70), and wherein each movable member of the at least two movable members (A, B) extends through the lumens (73) of the at least two support members (70) (P. [0042] - - Each loop 65 includes a plurality of beads 70 each bead having a lumen 73. The beads 70 are strung together along a wire 74 extending through the lumen 73 disposed in each of the beads 70).
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Regarding claim 37, Teague further discloses wherein each movable member of the at least two movable members (A, B) includes a first end (76-A1, 76-B1) and a second end (75-A2, 75-B2) (See Annotated Fig. 2A), wherein the first end of each movable member (76-A1, 76-B1) extends through the lumen (73) of one support member of the at least two support members (70), and wherein the second end (75-A2, 75-B2) of each movable member (A, B) extends through the lumen (73) of a different support member of the at least two support members (70) (See Annotated Fig. 2A).
Regarding claim 38, Teague further discloses further comprising a coupler (62a) (Figs. 2A- 2C) attached to the second end (75-A2, 75-B2) of each movable member (A, B) and configured to space the first end (76-A1, 76-B1) of each movable member (A, B) apart from a longitudinal axis of the retrieval device (“A”) (See Annotated Fig. 2A).
Regarding claim 39, Teague further discloses wherein the coupler (62a) is proximal to the at least two support members (70) (See Fig. 2A) (P. [0042] - - the basket base 43 has a plurality of lumens 62a, 62b; it is noted basket base 43 is proximal of the at least two support members (70)).
Regarding claim 40, Teague further discloses further comprising a drive member (50) (Figs. 1- 2C, 7B- 8B), wherein the first end (76-A1, 76-B1) of each movable member (A, B) is fixed to the drive member (50) (See Annotated Fig. 2A) (Ps. [0038], [0043] - - At least one of the actuators 47, 49 is disposed within the proximal handle 45 and connected to one or more basket connecting lines 50; A second end 76 of the wire 74 is slideably disposed through a lumen 62b of the basket base 43 and is attached to the distal end 78 of the basket connecting line 50).
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to KANKINDI RWEGO whose telephone number is (303)297-4759. The examiner can normally be reached Tuesday, Wednesday 9:00a- 5:00p PST.
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/KANKINDI RWEGO/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3771
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