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
The information disclosure statement(s) (IDS) submitted on 07/14/2025 and 01/29/2025 have been considered by the Examiner.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
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 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 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.
(a)(2) the claimed invention was described in a patent issued under section 151, or in an application for patent published or deemed published under section 122(b), in which the patent or application, as the case may be, names another inventor and was effectively filed before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claim(s) 1-3, 5-7, 9-16 and 19-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) and 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by SUEHLING et al. (US 20220378391; hereinafter SUEHLING).
Regarding claim 1, SUEHLING discloses in figure(s) 1-4 a magnetic resonance imaging apparatus comprising:
an imaging unit that measures a magnetic resonance signal generated by a subject and that acquires an image of the subject (MRI apparatus 10; fig. 1); and
a processor (computer 200; figs. 1,3) that processes movement information of the subject disposed on an imaging apparatus (processing determination unit 230 with body motion analysis unit 240 and body motion data specifying unit 241),
wherein the processor is configured to
receive a signal from a measurement device (sensing unit 300; figs. 1-2) that measures the movement information of the subject (para. 28 - The sensing unit 300 includes an imaging unit such as a non-contact optical sensor, an infrared sensor, or a stereo camera) and
calculates body movement information from the signal (para. 30 - The body motion analysis unit 240 analyzes a type, a motion time, a motion vector (a magnitude, a direction), and the like of the body motion based on a video of the subject imaged by the imaging unit of the sensing unit 300. The analysis can be executed by using an analysis algorithm known in the field of computer vision such as an optical flow, Remote Photoplethysmography (RPPG), Stereo Matching, and Pose Estimation; step S403 in fig. 4), and
classify the body movement information (para. 40 - The body motion analysis unit 240 analyses the type, the motion time, the motion vector (the magnitude, the direction), and the like of the body motion by using a technique such as the optical flow (S403). The type of the body motion includes a periodic motion such as a respiratory motion or a pulsation, a sudden motion such as coughing and sneezing, an irreversible position change such as a change in direction due to some reason, or the like, and can be determined based on the motion time (a frequency, a duration) and the motion vector." The different types of body motion, i.e. a periodic motion such as a respiratory motion or a pulsation, a sudden motion such as coughing and sneezing, an irreversible position change such as a change in direction due to some reason, can be regarded as a classification of the motion).
Regarding claim 2, SUEHLING discloses in figure(s) 1-4 the magnetic resonance imaging apparatus according claim 1 wherein the processor classifies the body movement information based on at least two or more types of indicators (para. 40 - periodic motion such as a respiratory motion or a pulsation, a sudden motion such as coughing and sneezing, an irreversible position change such as a change in direction due to some reason, or the like).
Regarding claim 3, SUEHLING discloses in figure(s) 1-4 the magnetic resonance imaging apparatus according claim 1 wherein the at least two or more types of indicators include a magnitude of a body movement and a duration of the body movement (para. 40 - The body motion analysis unit 240 analyses the type, the motion time, the motion vector (the magnitude, the direction), and the like of the body motion by using a technique such as the optical flow (S403). ... The type of the body motion ... can be determined based on the motion time (a frequency, a duration) and the motion vector).
Regarding claim 5, SUEHLING discloses in figure(s) 1-4 the magnetic resonance imaging apparatus according to claim 3 wherein the at least two or more types of indicators further include a spatial domain in which the body movement occurs (para. 102 - Spatial and functional relationships between elements).
Regarding claim 6, SUEHLING discloses in figure(s) 1-4 the magnetic resonance imaging apparatus according to claim 1 wherein the processor selects a partial region of the subject (para. 16 - the body region of interest may for example be head, thorax, a limb or part of a limb, hip, neck, shoulder, or any other body part which may be covered by a medical imaging scan) or a characteristic movement of the subject (para. 16 - motion model may be tailored to the shape, the features and/or the kind of motion that may occur in the specific body region) in a case of calculating the body movement information.
Regarding claim 7, SUEHLING discloses in figure(s) 1-4 the magnetic resonance imaging apparatus according to claim 1 wherein the measurement device is a camera, and the signal is an image captured by the camera, and the processor calculates the body movement information from a temporal change in the image (para. 6 - receiving an image sequence of the subject from the camera during the medical imaging scan; receiving the current position and/or velocity of the patient table during the medical imaging scan).
Regarding claim 9, SUEHLING discloses in figure(s) 1-4 the magnetic resonance imaging apparatus according claim 1 wherein the measurement device is a stereo camera, and the signal is a stereo image captured by the stereo camera, and the processor calculates the body movement information including three-dimensional information from the stereo image (clm. 16 - camera is (i) a video camera or digital camera configured to acquire two-dimensional images or (ii) a three-dimensional camera configured to acquire images including depth information of the subject.).
Regarding claim 10, SUEHLING discloses in figure(s) 1-4 the magnetic resonance imaging apparatus according to claim 2 wherein the processor sets a threshold value for each of the at least two or more types of indicators, and classifies the body movement information based on the threshold value (para. 76 - The threshold value of the magnitude of the body motion and a threshold value of the occurrence number of body motions in a predetermined time are set in advance …The threshold value is a value decided by machine learning using previously collected body movement information as correct answer data, and preferably, an algorithm used for the machine learning includes a support vector machine or a decision tree).
Regarding claim 11, SUEHLING discloses in figure(s) 1-4 the magnetic resonance imaging apparatus according to claim 10 wherein the threshold value is a preset value (para. 38 - detected motion is above a pre-determined threshold).
Regarding claim 12, SUEHLING discloses in figure(s) 1-4 the magnetic resonance imaging apparatus according claim 10 wherein the threshold value is a value decided by machine learning using previously collected body movement information as correct answer data (para. 15 - utilise machine-learning based algorithms to estimate motion on the image sequence … One correction approach is to subtract the table motion from the camera-estimated overall motion. This ensures that only patient motion relative to the table is captured by the camera-based motion estimates).
Regarding claim 13, SUEHLING discloses in figure(s) 1-4 the magnetic resonance imaging apparatus according claim 12 wherein an algorithm used for the machine learning includes a support vector machine or a decision tree (para. 15 - algorithms use e.g., neural networks, to extract the position of pre-determined objects on each image. Thereby, motion can be estimated directly from the RGB image data, or in the case of a three-dimensional (3D) camera acquiring images with depth information, also form the depth data).
Regarding claim 14, SUEHLING discloses in figure(s) 1-4 the magnetic resonance imaging apparatus according claim 12 wherein the correct answer data includes augmented correct answer data generated by data augmentation (para. 15 - motion may be corrected for movements of the medical imaging system patient table, that are explicitly known within the control unit).
Regarding claim 15, SUEHLING discloses in figure(s) 1-4 the magnetic resonance imaging apparatus according claim 1 wherein the processor applies a different calculation expression depending on a movement of the subject in a case of calculating the body movement information (para. 16 - motion model may consider the joints and the movement they allow … the motion tracking analysis will specifically look out for motion which fits the motion model specific to the body region of interest to be scanned.).
Regarding claim 16, SUEHLING discloses in figure(s) 1-4 the magnetic resonance imaging apparatus according claim 1 wherein the processor outputs a classification result and/or outputs an alert based on the classification result (para. 6 - issuing an alert to make the subject and/or an operator of the medical imaging system aware of the detected motion).
Regarding claim 19, SUEHLING discloses in figure(s) 1-4 the magnetic resonance imaging apparatus according claim 1 wherein the processor decides a plurality of regions for measuring the movement information of the subject (para. 16 - selected scan protocol already comprises the relevant body region, wherein the body region of interest may for example be head, thorax, a limb or part of a limb, hip, neck, shoulder, or any other body part which may be covered by a medical imaging scan).
Regarding claim 20, SUEHLING discloses in figure(s) 1-4 a body movement information processing method of processing movement information of a subject disposed on an imaging apparatus including a processor (MRI apparatus 10; fig. 1), the body movement information processing method comprising:
causing the processor (computer 200; figs. 1,3) to receive a signal from a measurement device (sensing unit 300; figs. 1-2) that measures the movement information of the subject (processing determination unit 230 with body motion analysis unit 240 and body motion data specifying unit 241),
calculate body movement information from the signal (para. 30 - The body motion analysis unit 240 analyzes a type, a motion time, a motion vector (a magnitude, a direction), and the like of the body motion based on a video of the subject imaged by the imaging unit of the sensing unit 300. The analysis can be executed by using an analysis algorithm known in the field of computer vision such as an optical flow, Remote Photoplethysmography (RPPG), Stereo Matching, and Pose Estimation; step S403 in fig. 4), and
classify the body movement information (para. 40 - The body motion analysis unit 240 analyses the type, the motion time, the motion vector (the magnitude, the direction), and the like of the body motion by using a technique such as the optical flow (S403). The type of the body motion includes a periodic motion such as a respiratory motion or a pulsation, a sudden motion such as coughing and sneezing, an irreversible position change such as a change in direction due to some reason, or the like, and can be determined based on the motion time (a frequency, a duration) and the motion vector." The different types of body motion, i.e. a periodic motion such as a respiratory motion or a pulsation, a sudden motion such as coughing and sneezing, an irreversible position change such as a change in direction due to some reason, can be regarded as a classification of the motion).
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 of this title, 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) 4 and 8 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over SUEHLING in view of Yatsuo et al. (US 20230078113).
Regarding claim 4, SUEHLING teaches in figure(s) 1-4 the magnetic resonance imaging apparatus according to claim 3
SUEHLING does not teach explicitly wherein the at least two or more types of indicators include the magnitude of the body movement, the duration of the body movement, and an envelope curve.
However, Yatsuo teaches in figure(s) 1-8 wherein the at least two or more types of indicators include the magnitude of the body movement, the duration of the body movement, and an envelope curve (paras. 40,71,83 - A sudden motion is determined by using the envelope of the displacement signal and calculating the speed from it).
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the teachings of SUEHLING by having wherein the at least two or more types of indicators include the magnitude of the body movement, the duration of the body movement, and an envelope curve as taught by Yatsuo in order to provide use of known technique to improve similar devices (methods, or products) in the same way as evidenced by "The control unit, before causing the imaging unit to execute one small sequence, detects a displacement of the subject with respect to a predetermined reference position or a motion speed of the subject based on an image of the latest frame, and causes the imaging unit to execute the small sequence when a detection result is within a predetermined allowable range and waits until an image of a next frame is taken in according to the frame rate without causing the imaging unit to execute the small sequence when the detection result exceeds the allowable range" (abstract).
Regarding claim 8, SUEHLING teaches in figure(s) 1-4 the magnetic resonance imaging apparatus according to claim 1
SUEHLING does not teach explicitly wherein the measurement device is a camera, and the signal is an image captured by the camera, and the processor calculates the body movement information from a temporal change in a correlation coefficient of the image.
However, Yatsuo teaches in figure(s) 1-8 wherein the measurement device is a camera, and the signal is an image captured by the camera, and the processor calculates the body movement information from a temporal change in a correlation coefficient of the image (para. 4 - acquiring still images of a subject before the start of MRI imaging and during MRI imaging by a video camera and obtaining a correlation function between the two still images).
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the teachings of SUEHLING by having wherein the measurement device is a camera, and the signal is an image captured by the camera, and the processor calculates the body movement information from a temporal change in a correlation coefficient of the image as taught by Yatsuo in order to provide "a device having a function of observing a motion of a subject in a magnetic resonance imaging (hereinafter, referred to as “MRI”) apparatus, which measures a nuclear magnetic resonance (hereinafter, referred to as “NMR”) signal from hydrogen, phosphorus, or the like in the subject and images a nuclear density distribution, a relaxation time distribution, and the like." (para. 1).
Claim(s) 17-18 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over SUEHLING in view of Shoji et al. (US 20230045497).
Regarding claim 17, SUEHLING teaches in figure(s) 1-4 the magnetic resonance imaging apparatus according claim 1
SUEHLING does not teach explicitly wherein the processor decides whether or not to apply a body movement correction function based on a classification result.
However, Shoji teaches in figure(s) 1-9 wherein the processor decides whether or not to apply a body movement correction function based on a classification result (para. 8 - a correction method is selected according to a time pattern and/or an arrangement pattern in the k-space of body motion data).
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the teachings of SUEHLING by having wherein the processor decides whether or not to apply a body movement correction function based on a classification result as taught by Shoji in order to provide "Appropriate processing is executed in a method for excluding body motion data and image reconstruction according to a type and a characteristic of a body motion, so as to reduce an influence of the body motion, and prevent deterioration of image quality caused by exclusion of data generated during the body motion." (abstract).
Regarding claim 18, SUEHLING teaches in figure(s) 1-4 the magnetic resonance imaging apparatus according claim 1
SUEHLING does not teach explicitly wherein the processor applies a body movement correction function based on a classification result, and outputs a body movement-corrected image based on the body movement information.
However, Shoji teaches in figure(s) 1-9 wherein the processor applies a body movement correction function based on a classification result, and outputs a body movement-corrected image based on the body movement information (para. 19 - computer 200 that controls the measurement unit 100 and executes image reconstruction, corrections, and other calculations by using the nuclear magnetic resonance signal measured by the measurement unit 100.).
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the teachings of SUEHLING by having wherein the processor applies a body movement correction function based on a classification result, and outputs a body movement-corrected image based on the body movement information as taught by Shoji in order to provide "MRI apparatus determines, based on a temporal characteristic such as a duration and a frequency, and a spatial characteristic of the body motion, particularly a generation pattern in a k-space, body motion data to be excluded, and executes image reconstruction suitable for k-space data after exclusion of the body motion data." (abstract).
Prior Art
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
Kaditz et al. (US 20240005514) discloses “dynamic segmentation of anatomical structures”.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to AKM ZAKARIA whose telephone number is (571)270-0664. The examiner can normally be reached on 8-5 PM (PST).
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Judy Nguyen can be reached on (571) 272-2258. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/AKM ZAKARIA/
Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2858
