Prosecution Insights
Last updated: August 30, 2026
Application No. 19/090,600

HYDROSOL, ULTRASOUND PHANTOM USING THE HYDROSOL, ULTRASOUND PHANTOM SET, AND METHOD FOR MANUFACTURING ULTRASOUND PHANTOM

Final Rejection §102§103§112
Filed
Mar 26, 2025
Priority
Mar 27, 2024 — JP 2024-051949 +1 more
Examiner
YANG, YI-SHAN
Art Unit
3798
Tech Center
3700 — Mechanical Engineering & Manufacturing
Assignee
Canon Inc.
OA Round
2 (Final)
70%
Grant Probability
Favorable
3-4
OA Rounds
1y 10m
Est. Remaining
99%
With Interview

Examiner Intelligence

Grants 70% — above average
70%
Career Allowance Rate
287 granted / 409 resolved
At TC average
Strong +54% interview lift
Without
With
+54.1%
Interview Lift
resolved cases with interview
Typical timeline
3y 3m
Avg Prosecution
31 currently pending
Career history
436
Total Applications
across all art units

Statute-Specific Performance

§101
11.3%
-28.7% vs TC avg
§103
38.1%
-1.9% vs TC avg
§102
12.2%
-27.8% vs TC avg
§112
34.7%
-5.3% vs TC avg
Black line = Tech Center average estimate • Based on career data from 409 resolved cases

Office Action

§102 §103 §112
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 . DETAILED ACTION The amendment filed on July 01, 2026 is acknowledged and entered. Claims 1, 3, 6 and 12 are amended. Claims 5 and 13 are canceled. Claims 1-4 and 6-12 are pending and under examination in this Office action. Response to Amendment The rejections to claims 3, 5, 6 and 13 under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) are now withdrawn in view of the claim amendment or claim cancelation. A new ground of rejection is now made to claim 12 under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) is now made. This rejection is based on the rejection to claim 13 previously presented. The rejection to claims 1-2, 7-9 and 12 under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) is now withdrawn in view of the claim amendment. The rejections to claims 3, 4, 10 and 11 under 35 U.S.C. 103 are now withdrawn in view of the claim amendment. Claim Objections Claim 6 is objected to because of the following informalities: Claim 6, line 4, the term “G’0.25,” should be deleted. Appropriate correction is required. Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112 The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(b): (b) CONCLUSION.—The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor regards as the invention. The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph: The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the applicant regards as his invention. Claim 12 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph, as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor, or for pre-AIA the applicant regards as the invention. Claim 12 recites “a curve of frequency-storage modulus of the hydrosol” that renders the scope of the claims indefinite. It is unclear what the “frequency” refers to. In [0041] of the specification, PG Pub US 2025/0302450 A1, it discloses a frequency of 3.5 MHz of an ultrasound being transmitted through the hydrosol. In [0076] it discloses a measurement frequency being 0l01 Hz or larger and 10.0 Hz or smaller. This limitation is incorporated from claim 13 that was previously rejected. Applicant has failed to address this issue. Applicant is requested to clarify, i.e., to define the frequency used to generate the frequency-storage modulus curve. Allowable Subject Matter Claims 1-4 and 7-11 are allowed. Claim 6 is objected. Claim 12 would be allowable if rewritten or amended to overcome the rejection(s) under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), 2nd paragraph, set forth in this Office action. The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter: The limitation recited in claim 1 in regard to the features of “in dynamic shear viscoelasticity measurement at 25*C, a storage modulus G’ measured at an applied frequency to the hydrosol of 2.5 Hz is represented by G'2.5, a storage modulus G’ measured at an applied frequency of 0.25 Hz is represented by G'0.25, and G'2.5/G'0.25 is 2.0 to 15. The limitation recited in claim 12 in regard to the features of “measuring a dynamic shear viscoelasticity of the hydrosol after the stirring, and thereby acquiring a curve of frequency-storage elastic modulus”, in combination with the other claimed elements, is not taught or disclosed in the prior arts. Conclusion Applicant's amendment necessitated the new ground(s) of rejection presented in this Office action. Accordingly, THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. See MPEP § 706.07(a). Applicant is reminded of the extension of time policy as set forth in 37 CFR 1.136(a). A shortened statutory period for reply to this final action is set to expire THREE MONTHS from the mailing date of this action. In the event a first reply is filed within TWO MONTHS of the mailing date of this final action and the advisory action is not mailed until after the end of the THREE-MONTH shortened statutory period, then the shortened statutory period will expire on the date the advisory action is mailed, and any nonprovisional extension fee (37 CFR 1.17(a)) pursuant to 37 CFR 1.136(a) will be calculated from the mailing date of the advisory action. In no event, however, will the statutory period for reply expire later than SIX MONTHS from the mailing date of this final action. Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to YI-SHAN YANG whose telephone number is (408)918-7628. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday 8am-4pm PST. 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, Pascal M Bui-Pho can be reached at 571-272-2714. 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. /YI-SHAN YANG/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3798
Read full office action

Prosecution Timeline

Mar 26, 2025
Application Filed
Apr 07, 2026
Non-Final Rejection mailed — §102, §103, §112
Jul 01, 2026
Response Filed
Jul 15, 2026
Final Rejection mailed — §102, §103, §112 (current)

Precedent Cases

Applications granted by this same examiner with similar technology

Patent 12714388
ULTRASOUND PROBE WITH AN INTEGRATED NEEDLE ASSEMBLY AND A COMPUTER PROGRAM PRODUCT, A METHOD AND A SYSTEM FOR PROVIDING A PATH FOR INSERTING A NEEDLE OF THE ULTRASOUND PROBE
3y 3m to grant Granted Aug 25, 2026
Patent 12714366
Wearable Computing Device to Adjust a Current Supplied to a Light Source of a Sensor Based on an Amount of Ambient Light Detected by Another Sensor
1y 10m to grant Granted Aug 25, 2026
Patent 12708451
OPERATING ROOM REMOTE MONITORING
2y 3m to grant Granted Aug 18, 2026
Patent 12702518
Tracker And Related Accessories For A Surgical Navigation System
2y 11m to grant Granted Aug 11, 2026
Patent 12702386
ULTRASONIC IMAGING APPARATUS AND CONTROL METHOD THEREOF
2y 5m to grant Granted Aug 11, 2026
Study what changed to get past this examiner. Based on 5 most recent grants.

Strategy Recommendation AI-generated — please review before filing

Get a prosecution strategy drawn from examiner precedents, rejection analysis, and claim mapping.
Typically takes 5-10 seconds — AI-generated, attorney review required before filing

Prosecution Projections

3-4
Expected OA Rounds
70%
Grant Probability
99%
With Interview (+54.1%)
3y 3m (~1y 10m remaining)
Median Time to Grant
Moderate
PTA Risk
Based on 409 resolved cases by this examiner. Grant probability derived from career allowance rate.

Sign in with your work email

Enter your email to receive a magic link. No password needed.

Personal email addresses (Gmail, Yahoo, etc.) are not accepted.

Free tier: 3 strategy analyses per month