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 Objections
Claim 13 is objected to because of the following informalities:
Claim 13, line 3 recites in part “a blade of a laryngoscope, evacuator device comprising” and should be amended to recite “a blade of a laryngoscope, the evacuator device comprising”.
Appropriate correction is required.
Drawings
New corrected drawings in compliance with 37 CFR 1.121(d) are required in this application because the gray-scale drawings are unclear. Black and white drawings are recommended. Applicant is advised to employ the services of a competent patent draftsperson outside the Office, as the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office no longer prepares new drawings. The corrected drawings are required in reply to the Office action to avoid abandonment of the application. The requirement for corrected drawings will not be held in abeyance.
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 (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.
(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 1-6 and 13-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Boedeker (U.S. Publication No.2010/0121152 A1).
Regarding claim 1, Boedeker discloses an evacuator device for attachment to a laryngoscope, the evacuator device (see catheter assembly 102 including retainer 160 as shown in Figure 8) comprising: a substantially rectangular body having a proximal end (136), a distal end (140), and a curved region formed in the body between the proximal end and the distal end (see where catheter assembly 102 bends near reference numeral 100 in Figure 2), the body defining an interior passage extending from the proximal end to the distal end (along the length of catheter 134), the proximal end configured to attach to a vacuum source (via adapter 136), and the distal end configured to attach to a blade of the laryngoscope (connector 140 includes a sleeve member 142 having a channel 144 with an open end 146 that is configured to receive the rod-shaped edge 132 of the blade 104, see para.0028) ; wherein a diameter of the interior passage is sized to allow airborne particles and fluid from a patient's larynx and pharynx to be evacuated through the interior passage due to a negative pressure created by the vacuum source (para.0026); and wherein the curved region reduces obstruction of a user's view of the patient's larynx and pharynx (see Figure 2).
Regarding claims 2 and 3, Boedeker further discloses wherein the body comprises a plastic, such as polylactic acid (PLA), or metal material (paras. 0026 and 0030).
Regarding claim 4, Boedecker further discloses wherein the proximal end of the body comprises a plurality of cone-shaped barbs for forming an interference fit with an interior diameter of a suction tube of the vacuum source (see adapter 136 in Figure 2).
Regarding claim 5, Boedeker further discloses wherein the distal end of the body comprises a clip for securing the evacuator device to the blade (see connector 140 in Figures 3-7, alternatively see retainer 160 in Figure 8).
Regarding claim 6, Boedeker further discloses wherein the clip is formed integrally with the body (first clip 168 is integrally formed with retainer 160, alternatively, connector 140 is integrally formed with catheter 134).
Regarding claim 13 Boedeker discloses a method of evacuating airborne particles and fluid from a larynx and pharynx of a patient during a medical procedure (see Abstract), the method comprising: attaching an evacuator device (see catheter assembly 102 including retainer 160 as shown in Figure 8) to a blade of a laryngoscope (Figure 1), evacuator device comprising a substantially rectangular body having a proximal end (136), a distal end (140), and a curved region formed in the body between the proximal end and the distal end (see where catheter assembly 102 bends near reference numeral 100 in Figure 2), the body defining an interior passage extending from the proximal end to the distal end (along the length of the catheter 134), the proximal end configured to attach to a vacuum source (via adapter 136), and the distal end configured to attach to the blade of the laryngoscope (connector 140 includes a sleeve member 142 having a channel 144 with an open end 146 that is configured to receive the rod-shaped edge 132 of the blade 104, see para.0028); inserting the blade into a breathing airway of the patient (Figure 2); and attaching the vacuum source to the proximal end of the body (para.0026); wherein a diameter of the interior passage is sized to allow the airborne particles and fluid from the patient's larynx and pharynx to be evacuated through the interior passage due to a negative pressure created by the vacuum source (para.0026); and wherein the curved region reduces obstruction of a user's view of the patient's larynx and pharynx (Figure 2).
Regarding claim 14, Boedeker further discloses wherein the medical procedure is an endotracheal intubation (see Abstract).
Regarding claim 15, Boedeker further discloses wherein attaching the evacuator device to the blade comprises attaching a clip on the distal end of the body to the blade (connector 140 or retainer 160).
Regarding claim 16, Boedecker further discloses wherein attaching the clip on the distal end of the body to the blade comprises attaching the clip at two different attachment points to the blade (along the longitudinal edge 176 of the blade 178 via first clip 168, and at rod shaped edge 182 via sleeve member 142 of connector 140).
Regarding claim 17, Boedecker discloses a laryngoscope (100) and evacuator assembly (see catheter assembly 102 including retainer 160 as shown in Figure 8) comprising: a handle (104); a blade extending from the handle (106); and an evacuator portion (see catheter assembly 102 including retainer 160 as shown in Figure 8), the evacuator portion comprising a substantially rectangular body having a proximal end (136), a distal end (140), and a curved region formed in the body between the proximal end and the distal end (see where catheter assembly 102 bends near reference numeral 100 in Figure 2), the body defining an interior passage extending from the proximal end to the distal end (along the length of catheter 134), the proximal end configured to attach to a vacuum source (via adapter 136); wherein a diameter of the interior passage is sized to allow airborne particles and fluid from a patient's larynx and pharynx to be evacuated through the interior passage due to a negative pressure created by the vacuum source (para.0026); and wherein the curved region reduces obstruction of a user's view of the patient's larynx and pharynx (see Figure 2).
Regarding claim 18, Boedecker further discloses wherein the curved region extends around an edge of the blade (see Figure 2).
Regarding claim 19, Boedecker further discloses wherein the proximal end of the body comprises a plurality of cone-shaped barbs for forming an interference fit with an interior diameter of a suction tube of the vacuum source (via adapter 136).
Regarding claim 20, Boedecker further discloses wherein the distal end of the body is formed integrally with the blade such that a side surface of the blade at least partially defines the interior passage (connector 140 comprises a duct 150 that allows fluids to be drawn into catheter 134, see para.0029).
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Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 7-12 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.
Claims 7-12 in the instant application have not been rejected using prior art because no references, or reasonable combination thereof, could be found which disclose, or suggest, the claimed combination of limitations recited in independent claim 1 and dependent claim 7. In particular, none of the cited references teach or suggest wherein the clip comprises a first section positioned adjacent the curved region and extending upward from the distal end of the body, and a second section extending distally from the first section, as required by claim 7. Boedeker fails to disclose this feature.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon but considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure has been cited in the Notice of References Cited PTO-892.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Christina Negrelli whose telephone number is 571-270-7389. The examiner can normally be reached on Monday-Friday, between 8:00am to 4:00pm. If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, please contact the examiner’s supervisor, Eduardo Robert, at (571) 272-4719. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/CHRISTINA NEGRELLI/
Examiner, Art Unit 3773
/EDUARDO C ROBERT/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 3773
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