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 (IDS) was submitted on 2/27/2025. The submission 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 § 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.
Claims 1-3, 8, 10, 12-13, and 16-17 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Yoshikawa (U.S. Pub. No. 20150133782) hereinafter Yoshikawa.
Regarding claim 1, Yoshikawa teaches:
An ultrasound diagnostic apparatus (abstract) comprising:
processing circuitry configured to measure a plurality of tissue property parameters based on a reflected wave signal received from a subject ([0028], “indicates general physical properties of tissues such as distortion, a shear wave velocity, a longitudinal wave velocity, a Young's modulus, the modulus of rigidity, the modulus of volume elasticity, a Poisson's ratio, and a viscosity coefficient” and “a reliability index of a result of the elastic evaluation in a measurement region, and is a value indicating the reliability of a result of the elastic evaluation in each measurement region”; [0029], ultrasonic waves to and from the tissue; [0031], elastic evaluation for a region of interest; [0044], elastic information indicative of elasticity and viscosity; [0050], “the elastic information of the tissue, namely, the physical properties of the tissue such as distortion, a shear wave velocity, a longitudinal wave velocity, a Young's modulus, the modulus of rigidity, the modulus of volume elasticity, a Poisson's ratio, and a viscosity coefficient are evaluated by the elastic evaluation unit 35 on the basis of the measured shear wave velocity.”; [0061]; [0063]-[0065], reliability indices are determines for the plurality of region of interest elastic evaluation values which forms a plurality of tissue property parameters across the regions of interest of tissue; [0074], figure 14; [0075]-[0076]); and
calculate a reliability index of an index value based on the plurality of tissue property parameters, based on a reliability of each of the plurality of tissue property parameters ([0028], “indicates general physical properties of tissues such as distortion, a shear wave velocity, a longitudinal wave velocity, a Young's modulus, the modulus of rigidity, the modulus of volume elasticity, a Poisson's ratio, and a viscosity coefficient” and “a reliability index of a result of the elastic evaluation in a measurement region, and is a value indicating the reliability of a result of the elastic evaluation in each measurement region”; [0029], ultrasonic waves to and from the tissue; [0031], elastic evaluation for a region of interest; [0044], elastic information indicative of elasticity and viscosity; [0050], “the elastic information of the tissue, namely, the physical properties of the tissue such as distortion, a shear wave velocity, a longitudinal wave velocity, a Young's modulus, the modulus of rigidity, the modulus of volume elasticity, a Poisson's ratio, and a viscosity coefficient are evaluated by the elastic evaluation unit 35 on the basis of the measured shear wave velocity.”; [0061]; [0063]-[0065], reliability indices are determines for the plurality of region of interest elastic evaluation values which forms a plurality of tissue property parameters across the regions of interest of tissue. Each of the plurality of tissue property parameters across the regions of interest are analyzed to form a reliability and then an All ROIS reliability index is calculated based upon all of the plurality; [0074], figure 14; [0075]-[0076]).
Regarding claim 2, Yoshikawa teaches all of the limitations of claim 1. Yoshikawa further teaches:
wherein the plurality of tissue property parameters include at least two of elasticity of a tissue, viscosity of a tissue, and attenuation of an ultrasonic wave [0044], elastic information indicative of elasticity and viscosity; [0050], “the elastic information of the tissue, namely, the physical properties of the tissue such as distortion, a shear wave velocity, a longitudinal wave velocity, a Young's modulus, the modulus of rigidity, the modulus of volume elasticity, a Poisson's ratio, and a viscosity coefficient are evaluated by the elastic evaluation unit 35 on the basis of the measured shear wave velocity.” This forms at least elasticity of a tissue and viscosity of a tissue as claimed).
Regarding claim 3, Yoshikawa teaches all of the limitations of claim 2. Yoshikawa further teaches:
wherein the processing circuitry is configured to acquire a reliability regarding the elasticity and the viscosity of a tissue based on at least one of an amplitude of a shear wave, a signal-to-noise (S/N) ratio, propagation accuracy of the shear wave, and a standard deviation of numerical value ([0055]-[0056], standard deviation of the ROI is utilized to calculate the distance index which as in [0063]-[0065] is used to determine the reliability measurement of the regions of interest and all regions of interest as a whole; [0074]-[0076], standard deviation of the elastic evaluation values calculated in the ROIs and figure 14).
Regarding claim 8, Yoshikawa teaches all of the limitations of claim 1. Yoshikawa further teaches:
wherein the processing circuitry is further configured to cause a display to display an index value based on the plurality of tissue property parameters and a reliability index ([0039], “the color map used as the image for determination of the inspection target is displayed on the display unit 20 on the basis of the value of the distance index calculated”; [0058]-[0060], display of determinations of the distance indices which are a measure of the reliability; [0062]-[0065], as depicted in figure 10 the reliability indices are displayed as a result of the elastic evaluation on the display unit for regions of interest; [0074]-[0075], figure 14).
Regarding claim 10, Yoshikawa teaches all of the limitations of claim 8. Yoshikawa further teaches:
wherein the processing circuitry is configured to cause the display to display a two-dimensional color map indicating the reliability index for a region of interest in a tissue of the subject ([0039], color map of distance index which is a measure of reliability; [0057], “The image for determination 72 is displayed using a color map colored in accordance with the values of the distance indexes, and a color scale in accordance with the values of the distance indexes is displayed on the image for determination 72”; [0058]-[0059], color map; see also [0063], figure 10).
Regarding claim 12, Yoshikawa teaches all of the limitations of claim 1. Yoshikawa further teaches:
wherein the processing circuitry is configured to calculate the reliability index represented by any one of a numerical value, a binary indicator, and a probability ([0028], “a reliability index of a result of the elastic evaluation in a measurement region, and is a value indicating the reliability of a result of the elastic evaluation in each measurement region” which forms a numerical value; [0061]; [0063]-[0065], reliability indices are determines for the plurality of region of interest elastic evaluation values which forms a plurality of tissue property parameters across the regions of interest of tissue. Each of the plurality of tissue property parameters across the regions of interest are analyzed to form a reliability and then an All ROIS reliability index is calculated based upon all of the plurality and forms a numerical value; [0074], figure 14; [0075]-[0076]).
Regarding claim 13, Yoshikawa teaches all of the limitations of claim 12. Yoshikawa further teaches:
wherein the processing circuitry is configured to calculate at least one of a mean value, a median value, and a standard deviation in a specified area, for the index value based on the plurality of tissue property parameters ([0028], “a reliability index of a result of the elastic evaluation in a measurement region, and is a value indicating the reliability of a result of the elastic evaluation in each measurement region” which forms a numerical value; [0061]; [0063]; [0064], the “all ROIs” value is an average value (mean value) for a specified area of all regions of interest based upon the plurality of tissue property parameters calculated for each individual region of interest; [0065], reliability indices are determines for the plurality of region of interest elastic evaluation values which forms a plurality of tissue property parameters across the regions of interest of tissue; [0074], figure 14; [0075]-[0076]).
Regarding claim 16, Yoshikawa teaches:
A method (abstract) composing:
measuring a plurality of tissue property parameters based on a reflected wave signal received from a subject ([0028], “indicates general physical properties of tissues such as distortion, a shear wave velocity, a longitudinal wave velocity, a Young's modulus, the modulus of rigidity, the modulus of volume elasticity, a Poisson's ratio, and a viscosity coefficient” and “a reliability index of a result of the elastic evaluation in a measurement region, and is a value indicating the reliability of a result of the elastic evaluation in each measurement region”; [0029], ultrasonic waves to and from the tissue; [0031], elastic evaluation for a region of interest; [0044], elastic information indicative of elasticity and viscosity; [0050], “the elastic information of the tissue, namely, the physical properties of the tissue such as distortion, a shear wave velocity, a longitudinal wave velocity, a Young's modulus, the modulus of rigidity, the modulus of volume elasticity, a Poisson's ratio, and a viscosity coefficient are evaluated by the elastic evaluation unit 35 on the basis of the measured shear wave velocity.”; [0061]; [0063]-[0065], reliability indices are determines for the plurality of region of interest elastic evaluation values which forms a plurality of tissue property parameters across the regions of interest of tissue; [0074], figure 14; [0075]-[0076]); and
calculating a reliability index of an index value based on the plurality of tissue property parameters, based on each of reliabilities of the plurality of tissue property parameters ([0028], “indicates general physical properties of tissues such as distortion, a shear wave velocity, a longitudinal wave velocity, a Young's modulus, the modulus of rigidity, the modulus of volume elasticity, a Poisson's ratio, and a viscosity coefficient” and “a reliability index of a result of the elastic evaluation in a measurement region, and is a value indicating the reliability of a result of the elastic evaluation in each measurement region”; [0029], ultrasonic waves to and from the tissue; [0031], elastic evaluation for a region of interest; [0044], elastic information indicative of elasticity and viscosity; [0050], “the elastic information of the tissue, namely, the physical properties of the tissue such as distortion, a shear wave velocity, a longitudinal wave velocity, a Young's modulus, the modulus of rigidity, the modulus of volume elasticity, a Poisson's ratio, and a viscosity coefficient are evaluated by the elastic evaluation unit 35 on the basis of the measured shear wave velocity.”; [0061]; [0063]-[0065], reliability indices are determines for the plurality of region of interest elastic evaluation values which forms a plurality of tissue property parameters across the regions of interest of tissue. Each of the plurality of tissue property parameters across the regions of interest are analyzed to form a reliability and then an All ROIS reliability index is calculated based upon all of the plurality; [0074], figure 14; [0075]-[0076]).
Regarding claim 17, Yoshikawa teaches:
A storage medium that non-transitorily stores a program (abstract) that causes a computer to execute:
measuring a plurality of tissue property parameters based on a reflected wave signal received from a subject ([0028], “indicates general physical properties of tissues such as distortion, a shear wave velocity, a longitudinal wave velocity, a Young's modulus, the modulus of rigidity, the modulus of volume elasticity, a Poisson's ratio, and a viscosity coefficient” and “a reliability index of a result of the elastic evaluation in a measurement region, and is a value indicating the reliability of a result of the elastic evaluation in each measurement region”; [0029], ultrasonic waves to and from the tissue; [0031], elastic evaluation for a region of interest; [0044], elastic information indicative of elasticity and viscosity; [0050], “the elastic information of the tissue, namely, the physical properties of the tissue such as distortion, a shear wave velocity, a longitudinal wave velocity, a Young's modulus, the modulus of rigidity, the modulus of volume elasticity, a Poisson's ratio, and a viscosity coefficient are evaluated by the elastic evaluation unit 35 on the basis of the measured shear wave velocity.”; [0061]; [0063]-[0065], reliability indices are determines for the plurality of region of interest elastic evaluation values which forms a plurality of tissue property parameters across the regions of interest of tissue; [0074], figure 14; [0075]-[0076]); and
calculating a reliability index of an index value based on the plurality of tissue property parameters, based on each of reliabilities of the plurality of tissue property parameters ([0028], “indicates general physical properties of tissues such as distortion, a shear wave velocity, a longitudinal wave velocity, a Young's modulus, the modulus of rigidity, the modulus of volume elasticity, a Poisson's ratio, and a viscosity coefficient” and “a reliability index of a result of the elastic evaluation in a measurement region, and is a value indicating the reliability of a result of the elastic evaluation in each measurement region”; [0029], ultrasonic waves to and from the tissue; [0031], elastic evaluation for a region of interest; [0044], elastic information indicative of elasticity and viscosity; [0050], “the elastic information of the tissue, namely, the physical properties of the tissue such as distortion, a shear wave velocity, a longitudinal wave velocity, a Young's modulus, the modulus of rigidity, the modulus of volume elasticity, a Poisson's ratio, and a viscosity coefficient are evaluated by the elastic evaluation unit 35 on the basis of the measured shear wave velocity.”; [0061]; [0063]-[0065], reliability indices are determines for the plurality of region of interest elastic evaluation values which forms a plurality of tissue property parameters across the regions of interest of tissue. Each of the plurality of tissue property parameters across the regions of interest are analyzed to form a reliability and then an All ROIS reliability index is calculated based upon all of the plurality; [0074], figure 14; [0075]-[0076]).
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, 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 4 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Yoshikawa as applied to claim 2 above, and further in view of Kanayama (U.S. Pub. No. 20170258438) hereinafter Kanayama, in further view of Suzuki et al. (U.S. Pub. No. 20100185090) hereinafter Suzuki.
Regarding claim 4, primary reference Yoshikawa teaches all of the limitations of claim 2. Primary reference Yoshikawa further fails to teach:
wherein the processing circuitry is configured to acquire a reliability regarding the attenuation of an ultrasonic wave
However, the analogous art of Kanayama of a ultrasound diagnostic apparatus for analysis of tissue characterization (abstract) teaches:
wherein the processing circuitry is configured to acquire a reliability regarding the attenuation of an ultrasonic wave ([0152]-[0154], attenuation constant reliability determination; [0159], “calculates the reliability for representative values representing a plurality of attenuation constants included in the measurement ROI”; [0162]-[0164]; [0175]-[0180], reliability of a representative value of attenuation)
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the tissue parameter reliability ultrasound characterization system of Yoshikawa to incorporate the reliability regarding ultrasound wave attenuation as taught by Kanayama because it provides a user with an indication as to whether the ultrasound output data has sufficient reliability to provide useful diagnostic information of the attenuated signal (Kanayama, [0154]-[0156]). This leads to more accurate diagnostics and improved clinical outcomes.
Primary reference Yoshikawa further fails to teach:
based on at least one of accuracy of linear approximation of the reflected wave signal, multiple signals, and a structure
However, the analogous art of Suzuki of an ultrasound diagnostic apparatus with processing features for obtaining highly reliable measurements (abstract) teaches:
based on at least one of accuracy of linear approximation of the reflected wave signal, multiple signals, and a structure ([0180]; [0181], “The degree-of-reliability determining section 33d includes a minimum square calculating section 338 and an estimated error checking section 339. The minimum square calculating section 338 receives the output of the shape measured value calculating section 31, finds the maximum value of the magnitudes of positional displacements (i.e., the maximum displacement) of the respective measuring points (i.e., tissues under test), performs a minimum square computation using the depths of the respective measuring points and their maximum displacement, and then outputs a gradient by subjecting those minimum squares to linear approximation.”; [0182]-[0185]; see also [0118]-[0119]; [0122]-[0123]; [0143]-[0148]; [0155]-[0162]; [0163]-[0164]).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the tissue parameter reliability ultrasound characterization system of Yoshikawa and Kanayama to incorporate the linear approximation of the signal for reliability determination as taught by Suzuki because it provides quantitative analysis of the estimated error for measured points of the linear function, leading to highly accurate reliability estimates of the measured acoustic line output data (Suzuki, [0180]-[0185]). This leads to higher certainty of output data, leading to better quality diagnostics.
Claims 5-7 and 9 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Yoshikawa as applied to claims 1 or 8 above, and further in view of Park et al. (U.S. Pub. No. 20230121329) hereinafter Park.
Regarding claim 5, primary reference Yoshikawa teaches all of the limitations of claim 1. Primary reference Yoshikawa further fails to teach:
wherein the processing circuitry is configured to calculate the reliability index within an area in which each of reliabilities of the plurality of tissue property parameters is equal to or higher than a threshold, in a tissue of the subject
However, the analogous art of Park of an ultrasound diagnostic apparatus for generating elastic information about a target tissue region of interest (abstract) teaches:
wherein the processing circuitry is configured to calculate the reliability index within an area in which each of reliabilities of the plurality of tissue property parameters is equal to or higher than a threshold, in a tissue of the subject ([0077]-[0085], threshold value for the reliability information is compared to a value ([0078]) for a region of interest 421 from which data is acquired (corresponding to the ROIs of Yoshikawa in the combined prior art invention). This index is calculated within the area in which it is greater than the threshold which corresponds to the plurality of measured tissue property parameters for each of the regions of interest in the combined prior art invention; figures 4-5).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the tissue parameter reliability ultrasound characterization system of Yoshikawa to incorporate the reliability index threshold determination for a region of interest in which the values are greater as taught by Park because it enables selection of ultrasound information for display and output which only reach a minimum reliability and quality threshold (Park, [0077]-[0085]). This reduces the amount of poor-quality image data output to a user, which increases procedure efficiency.
Regarding claim 6, primary reference Yoshikawa teaches all of the limitations of claim 1. Primary reference Yoshikawa further fails to teach:
wherein the processing circuitry is configured to calculate the reliability index within an area in which at least one of reliabilities of the plurality of tissue property parameters is equal to or higher than a threshold, in a tissue of the subject
However, the analogous art of Park of an ultrasound diagnostic apparatus for generating elastic information about a target tissue region of interest (abstract) teaches:
wherein the processing circuitry is configured to calculate the reliability index within an area in which at least one of reliabilities of the plurality of tissue property parameters is equal to or higher than a threshold, in a tissue of the subject ([0077]-[0085], threshold value for the reliability information is compared to a value ([0078]) for a region of interest 421 from which data is acquired (corresponding to the ROIs of Yoshikawa in the combined prior art invention). This index is calculated within the area in which it is greater than the threshold which corresponds to the at least one of the pluralities of measured tissue property parameters for at least one of the regions of interest in the combined prior art invention; figures 4-5).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the tissue parameter reliability ultrasound characterization system of Yoshikawa to incorporate the reliability index threshold determination for a region of interest in which the values are greater as taught by Park because it enables selection of ultrasound information for display and output which only reach a minimum reliability and quality threshold (Park, [0077]-[0085]). This reduces the amount of poor-quality image data output to a user, which increases procedure efficiency.
Regarding claim 7, primary reference Yoshikawa teaches all of the limitations of claim 1. Primary reference Yoshikawa further fails to teach:
wherein the processing circuitry is further configured to evaluate an index value based on the plurality of tissue property parameters, based on the reliability index
However, the analogous art of Park of an ultrasound diagnostic apparatus for generating elastic information about a target tissue region of interest (abstract) teaches:
wherein the processing circuitry is further configured to evaluate an index value based on the plurality of tissue property parameters, based on the reliability index ([0068]-[0071], the quality information index is determined from the reliability information index and the elasticity data which forms an index value based on the tissue property parameters and the reliability index in the combined prior art invention).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the tissue parameter reliability ultrasound characterization system of Yoshikawa to incorporate the quality information index based upon reliability index of tissue elasticity information as taught by Park because it enables selection and display of only image data with reliable and quality output information (Park, [0075]). This enables automated recommendation of which images are the most useful for diagnostic analysis, leading to more efficient and accurate diagnostics.
Regarding claim 9, primary reference Yoshikawa teaches all of the limitations of claim 8. Primary reference Yoshikawa further fails to teach:
wherein the processing circuitry is configured to cause the display to display the index value based on the plurality of tissue property parameters only for an area in which the reliability index is equal to or higher than a threshold in a tissue of the subject
However, the analogous art of Park of an ultrasound diagnostic apparatus for generating elastic information about a target tissue region of interest (abstract) teaches:
wherein the processing circuitry is configured to cause the display to display the index value based on the plurality of tissue property parameters only for an area in which the reliability index is equal to or higher than a threshold in a tissue of the subject (figure 4; [0077]-[0085], threshold value for the reliability information is compared to a value ([0078]) for a region of interest 421 from which data is acquired (corresponding to the ROIs of Yoshikawa in the combined prior art invention). This index is calculated within the area in which it is greater than the threshold. As in figure 5, the display only displays the recommended elastic images for the reliability index being equal or higher to the set threshold value as a recommended image to the user and displays the index associated with the displayed image and region of interest area).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the tissue parameter reliability ultrasound characterization system of Yoshikawa to incorporate the reliability index determination for a region of interest in which the values are greater than the threshold and display of the index as taught by Park because it enables selection of ultrasound information for display and output which only reach a minimum reliability and quality threshold (Park, [0077]-[0085]). This reduces the amount of poor-quality image data output to a user, which increases procedure efficiency.
Claims 11 and 14-15 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Yoshikawa as applied to claim 1 above, and further in view of Labyed (U.S. Pub. No. 20200205786) hereinafter Labyed.
Regarding claim 11, primary reference Yoshikawa teaches all of the limitations of claim 1. Primary reference Yoshikawa further fails to teach:
wherein the processing circuitry is configured to calculate the index value based on the plurality of tissue property parameters, based on the plurality of tissue property parameters, and any one of a regression model and a machine learning model based on statistical analysis
However, the analogous art of Labyed of an ultrasound-based estimation of disease activity (abstract) teaches:
wherein the processing circuitry is configured to calculate the index value based on the plurality of tissue property parameters, based on the plurality of tissue property parameters, and any one of a regression model and a machine learning model based on statistical analysis ([0054]-[0055], machine learnt classifier estimates the tissue property; [0056]-[0063], tissue parameter determination; [0107]-[0109], tissue property and/or disease activity values are determined based upon the ultrasound signals and tissue property estimations are applied with a machine-learnt classifier which is a machine learning model based on statistical analysis).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the tissue parameter reliability ultrasound characterization system of Yoshikawa to incorporate the machine learning based tissue parameter estimation as taught by Labyed because thousands of samples can be used to train the model to determine highly accurate estimations of tissue parameters (Labyed, [0054]-[0056]). This leads to faster, higher quality outputs on the same amounts of input data.
Regarding claim 14, the combined references of Yoshikawa and Labyed teach all of the limitations of claim 11. Primary reference Yoshikawa further fails to teach:
wherein the regression model is a model calculated by logistic regression
However, the analogous art of Labyed of an ultrasound-based estimation of disease activity (abstract) teaches:
wherein the regression model is a model calculated by logistic regression ([0090], logistic regression model is used; [0109], ‘the score is generated with a machine-learnt classifier or a logistic regression model. For example, the logistic regression model relates the scatter (e.g., acoustic backscatter coefficient) and two or more shear wave parameters (e.g., shear wave velocity and shear wave damping ratio) to the level of disease activity”).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the tissue parameter reliability ultrasound characterization system of Yoshikawa and Labyed to incorporate the logistic regression model as taught by Labyed because the model relates the scatter (e.g., acoustic backscatter coefficient) and two or more shear wave parameters (e.g., shear wave velocity and shear wave damping ratio) to the level of disease activity (Labyed, [0109]). This leads to a disease-relevant index value for calculation of tissue parameters, leading to enhanced diagnostic analysis of the tissue region of interest.
Regarding claim 15, the combined references of Yoshikawa and Labyed teach all of the limitations of claim 11. Primary reference Yoshikawa further fails to teach:
wherein the machine learning model is a model acquired by any one of support vector machine and a random forest
However, the analogous art of Labyed of an ultrasound-based estimation of disease activity (abstract) teaches:
wherein the machine learning model is a model acquired by any one of support vector machine and a random forest ([0054], support vector machine; [0090]).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the tissue parameter reliability ultrasound characterization system of Yoshikawa and Labyed to incorporate the machine learning support vector machine-based tissue parameter estimation as taught by Labyed because thousands of samples can be used to train the model to determine highly accurate estimations of tissue parameters (Labyed, [0054]-[0056]). This leads to faster, higher quality outputs on the same amounts of input data.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to SEAN A FRITH whose telephone number is (571)272-1292. The examiner can normally be reached M-Th 8:00-5:30 Second Fri 8:00-4:30.
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/SEAN A FRITH/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3798