Prosecution Insights
Last updated: October 01, 2026
Application No. 19/085,981

CONE BEAM COMPUTED TOMOGRAPHY INTEGRATION FOR CREATING A NAVIGATION PATHWAY TO A TARGET IN THE LUNG AND METHOD OF NAVIGATING TO THE TARGET

Non-Final OA §102§103
Filed
Mar 20, 2025
Priority
Jun 30, 2022 — continuation of 12/257,082
Examiner
SONG, HOON K
Art Unit
Tech Center
Assignee
Covidien L.P.
OA Round
1 (Non-Final)
86%
Grant Probability
Favorable
1-2
OA Rounds
10m
Est. Remaining
95%
With Interview

Examiner Intelligence

Grants 86% — above average
86%
Career Allowance Rate
1325 granted / 1536 resolved
+26.3% vs TC avg
Moderate +8% lift
Without
With
+8.3%
Interview Lift
resolved cases with interview
Typical timeline
2y 4m
Avg Prosecution
31 currently pending
Career history
1560
Total Applications
across all art units

Statute-Specific Performance

§101
2.4%
-37.6% vs TC avg
§103
38.6%
-1.4% vs TC avg
§102
34.2%
-5.8% vs TC avg
§112
13.1%
-26.9% vs TC avg
Black line = Tech Center average estimate • Based on career data from 1536 resolved cases

Office Action

§102 §103
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 . 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)(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) 2-3, 5-10, 12-16 and 18-21 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102a2 as being anticipated by Nachtomy et al. (US 20230135733). Regarding claim 2, Nachtomy teaches a method, comprising: detecting movement of a catheter within a portion of a patient's anatomy to an area of interest identified from pre-procedural images; and generating a three-dimensional (3D) model of the portion of the patient's anatomy from intra-procedural cone beam computed tomography (CBCT) images, wherein the 3D model includes the area of interest (para 70-72). Regarding claim 9, Nachtomy teaches a method, comprising: generating a three-dimensional (3D) model of a portion of a patient's anatomy from pre- procedural images, wherein the 3D model includes an area of interest; detecting movement of a catheter within the portion of the patient's anatomy; and updating the location of the area of interest in the 3D model based on intra-procedural cone beam computed tomography (CBCT) images (para 70-72). Regarding claim 15, Nachtomy teaches a system, comprising: a catheter 104; a display 18; and a memory and a processor (para 142), the memory storing instructions, which when executed by the processor cause the processor to: display, on the display, a three-dimensional (3D) model of a portion of a patient's anatomy, including an area of interest; wherein the 3D model is generated from pre-procedural images; detect advancement of a catheter within the portion of the patient's anatomy; update a location of the area of interest in the 3D model, based on intra- procedural CBCT images; and display the updated location of the area of interest in the 3D model (para 70-72). Regarding claims 3, 10 and 16, Nachtomy teaches the intra-procedural CBCT images are received from a CBCT machine (para 72). Regarding claim 5, Nachtomy teaches the 3D model includes a pathway to the area of interest (para 78-83). Regarding claims 6, 13 and 19, Nachtomy teaches movement of the catheter within the portion of the patient's anatomy is detected based on information from a sensor associated with the catheter (para 84-87). Regarding claims 7 and 20, Nachtomy teaches the sensor is an electromagnetic or fiber-optic shape sensor (para 84-87). Regarding claim 8, Nachtomy teaches registering a location of the catheter within the portion of the patient's anatomy to the 3D model (para 84-87). Regarding claims 12 and 18, Nachtomy teaches updating the location of the catheter in the 3D model based on the intra-procedural CBCT images (para 70-72). Regarding claims 14 and 21, Nachtomy teaches adjusting a position of the catheter relative to the area of interest (para 84-87). 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(s) 4, 11 and 17 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Nachtomy in view of Wang et al. (US 20180271459). Nachtomy fails to teach the intra-procedural CBCT images are received from a mobile CBCT machine. Wang teaches a mobile CBCT machine (abstract). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to adapt the CBCT of Nachtomy with the mobile CBCT as taught by Wang, since it would provide better mobility. Conclusion Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to whose telephone number is (571)272-2494. The examiner can normally be reached M to Th 10am to 7pm. Examiner interviews are available via telephone, in-person, and video conferencing using a USPTO supplied web-based collaboration tool. To schedule an interview, applicant is encouraged to use the USPTO Automated Interview Request (AIR) at http://www.uspto.gov/interviewpractice. If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, David Makiya can be reached at 571-272-2273. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300. Information regarding the status of published or unpublished applications may be obtained from Patent Center. Unpublished application information in Patent Center is available to registered users. To file and manage patent submissions in Patent Center, visit: https://patentcenter.uspto.gov. Visit https://www.uspto.gov/patents/apply/patent-center for more information about Patent Center and https://www.uspto.gov/patents/docx for information about filing in DOCX format. For additional questions, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000. /HOON K SONG/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2884
Read full office action

Prosecution Timeline

Mar 20, 2025
Application Filed
Sep 21, 2026
Non-Final Rejection mailed — §102, §103 (current)

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Study what changed to get past this examiner. Based on 5 most recent grants.

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Prosecution Projections

1-2
Expected OA Rounds
86%
Grant Probability
95%
With Interview (+8.3%)
2y 4m (~10m remaining)
Median Time to Grant
Low
PTA Risk
Based on 1536 resolved cases by this examiner. Grant probability derived from career allowance rate.

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