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 .
Priority
Receipt is acknowledged of certified copies of papers required by 37 CFR 1.55.
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on 02/20/2025 and 07/25/2025 is in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statement is being considered by the examiner.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 101
35 U.S.C. 101 reads as follows:
Whoever invents or discovers any new and useful process, machine, manufacture, or composition of matter, or any new and useful improvement thereof, may obtain a patent therefor, subject to the conditions and requirements of this title.
Claims 1, 19, and 20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 101 because the claimed invention is directed to an abstract idea without significantly more. The claims recite compare an image pattern, determining that the arbitrary cross section image represents the recommended cross section, and guide a user to perform scanning are associated with the sub-grouping "managing personal behavior or relationships or interactions between people" to include teaching. This judicial exception is not integrated into a practical application because the data gathering steps required to use the correlation do not add a meaningful limitation to the method as they are insignificant extra-solution activity. The claims do not include additional elements that are sufficient to amount to significantly more than the judicial exception because the additional limitations only store and retrieve information in memory, explain that these are well-understood, routine, conventional computer functions as recognized by the court decisions listed in MPEP § 2106.05(d).
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.
Claims 1-4 and 20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Smistad et al. (Pub. No.: WO 2020/246894) in view of Shim et al. (Pub. No.: US 2025/0272844).
Consider claims 1, 20, Smistad discloses an ultrasound diagnostic apparatus (Abstract, ultrasound imaging device) comprising:
an ultrasound probe (Abstract, ultrasound probe); and
a processor (page 7, lines 15 to 33, computer implemented image processing) configured to:
detect a position and a posture angle of the ultrasound probe (page 7, lines 15 to 33, computer implemented image processing);
acquire a three-dimensional ultrasound image of an inside of a subject by transmitting and receiving an ultrasound beam by using the ultrasound probe with reference to the position and the posture angle of the ultrasound probe (page 5, line 26, obtaining images of said region of interest using the ultrasound probe and page 6, lines 4-6, rotating the image plane of the probe to determine a required orientation of the image plane of the probe);
cut out a two-dimensional arbitrary cross section image from the three-dimensional ultrasound image, to generate the arbitrary cross section image (page 6, lines 7 to 21, obtain an image plane (2D real-time or an image plane extracted from a 3D image volume by finding the cross sections of the extracted boundary features);
Smistad does not specifically disclose compare an image pattern of a predetermined recommended cross section for a part of the subject with an image pattern of the arbitrary cross section image, to determine whether or not the arbitrary cross section image represents the recommended cross section; and
upon determining that the arbitrary cross section image represents the recommended cross section, guide a user to perform scanning with the ultrasound probe toward a target position and a target posture angle of the ultrasound probe for capturing a two-dimensional ultrasound image representing the recommended cross section with reference to the position and the posture angle of the ultrasound probe.
Shim discloses compare an image pattern of a predetermined recommended cross section for a part of the subject with an image pattern of the arbitrary cross section image, to determine whether or not the arbitrary cross section image represents the recommended cross section (paragraph [0093], calculates a matching rate for the cross section in which the plurality of cardiac monolayer regions is segmented based on a standard cross section received in advance, and determines whether to provide the guide based on the matching rate for the cross section); and
upon determining that the arbitrary cross section image represents the recommended cross section, guide a user to perform scanning with the ultrasound probe toward a target position and a target posture angle of the ultrasound probe for capturing a two-dimensional ultrasound image representing the recommended cross section with reference to the position and the posture angle of the ultrasound probe (paragraph [0125], provide a guide for acquiring a cross section having a preset matching rate or higher in response to whether to provide the guide).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claim invention to replace the processor as disclosed by Smistad with the processor as taught by Shim to provide a guide for acquiring a cross section (paragraph [0093]).
Consider claim 2, the combination of Smistad and Shim discloses wherein the processor is configured to: calculate a matching degree between the image pattern of the recommended cross section and the image pattern of the arbitrary cross section image; and determine that the arbitrary cross section image of which the matching degree exceeds a predetermined threshold value represents the recommended cross section (Shim, paragraph [0181], provided guide may provide a matching degree between relative angles of the cross section and a standard image).
Consider claim 3, the combination of Smistad and Shim discloses a memory, wherein the processor is configured to store the arbitrary cross section image determined to represent the recommended cross section in the memory (paragraph [0115], Fig. 2B, memory 320 may store models trained to compare and evaluate a measurement value acquired from the echocardiography cross section based on a previously received standard cross section).
Consider claim 4, the combination of Smistad and Shim discloses a memory, wherein the processor is configured to store the arbitrary cross section image determined to represent the recommended cross section in the memory (paragraph [0115], Fig. 2B, memory 320 may store models trained to compare and evaluate a measurement value acquired from the echocardiography cross section based on a previously received standard cross section).
Claims 9-17 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over the combination of Smistad and Shim in view of Ishikawa et al. (Pub. No.: US 2025/0132030).
Consider claims 9, 10, 11, the combination of Smistad and Shim discloses a monitor (page 6, lines 7 to 21, displayed image; thus, a monitor).
The combination of Smistad and Shim does not specifically disclose wherein the processor is configured to display, on the monitor, a schema image in which the target position and the target posture angle of the ultrasound probe and a current position and a current posture angle of the ultrasound probe are superimposed.
Ishikawa discloses a monitor, wherein the processor is configured to display, on the monitor, a schema image in which the target position and the target posture angle of the ultrasound probe and a current position and a current posture angle of the ultrasound probe are superimposed (paragraph [0090], processing circuit 110 causes the display control function 110d to display the image 40 visually presenting a desirable scan position and angle of the ultrasound probe 5 for a target examination, in the display area 52).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claim invention to replace the monitor as disclosed by the combination of Smistad and Shim with the display as taught by Ishikawa to provide a desirable way to operate the ultrasound probe 5 to achieve the desirable scan position and angle of the ultrasound probe in the display area (Ishikawa, paragraph [0090]).
Consider claims 12, 13, the combination of Smistad and Shim discloses a monitor (page 6, lines 7 to 21, displayed image; thus, a monitor).
The combination of Smistad and Shim does not specifically disclose wherein the processor is configured to: store a plurality of different recommended cross sections; display, on the monitor, cross section specification information for specifying the recommended cross section determined to be represented by the arbitrary cross section image among the plurality of different recommended cross sections.
Ishikawa discloses wherein the processor is configured to: store a plurality of different recommended cross sections; display, on the monitor, cross section specification information for specifying the recommended cross section determined to be represented by the arbitrary cross section image among the plurality of different recommended cross sections (paragraph [0056], Fig. 1, the display control function 110d to acquire information associated with the first ultrasonic image data, the information being information for enabling the user to acquire the cross section of the first ultrasonic image data designated as a reference image, from the storage device 132, and to display the information on the display 135).
Consider claims 14, 15, the combination of Smistad, Shim, and Ishikawa discloses store a plurality of different recommended cross sections (paragraph [0056], cross section image data designated as a reference image, from the storage device 132); and set the recommended cross section that has been imaged among the plurality of different recommended cross sections, as a target not to be determined (paragraph [0057], determining which cross section first ultrasonic image data represents, the first ultrasonic image data being image data designated as a reference image for an examination including a process of acquiring an ultrasonic image; acquiring information for enabling a user to acquire the determined cross section; and storing the acquired information in a storage device).
Consider claims 16, 17, the combination of Smistad, Shim, and Ishikawa discloses wherein the processor is configured to: store a plurality of different recommended cross sections and a target position and a target posture angle for imaging each of the plurality of different recommended cross sections (paragraph [0103], storage device 132 already has the information of the position and angle of the probe corresponding to the same cross section as the determined cross section); and
upon determining that the arbitrary cross section image represents the recommended cross section that has already been imaged among the plurality of different recommended cross sections, guide the user to perform the scanning with the ultrasound probe toward the target position and the target posture angle of the ultrasound probe, which correspond to the recommended cross section that has not yet been imaged (paragraph [0081], the information giving a user an instruction related to a desirable way to operate the ultrasound probe 5 to achieve the desirable scan position and angle of the ultrasound probe 5, in the display area 52).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 5, 6, 7, 8, 18, and 19 are objected to as being dependent upon a rejected base claim, but would be allowable if rewritten in independent form including all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims.
Regarding claim 5, the prior art of record fails to disclose to determine whether or not a quality of the arbitrary cross section image determined to represent the recommended cross section.
Regarding claims 6-8, the prior art of record fails to disclose upon a predetermined time span is collapsed from starting scan of the ultrasound probe.
Regarding claim 18, the prior art of record fails to disclose a correspondence relationship between target positions and target posture angles of the ultrasound probe for imaging the plurality of different recommended cross sections and a position and a posture angle of the ultrasound probe for imaging the indicator cross section.
Regarding claim 19, the prior art of record fails to disclose determining that the first matching degree is greater than the first threshold value and equal to or less than the second threshold value.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to GERALD JOHNSON whose telephone number is (571)270-7685. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday 8am-5pm EST.
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/Gerald Johnson/
Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3797