DETAILED ACTION
[1] Remarks
I. The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA .
II. Claims 1-16 are pending and have been examined, where claims 16 is/are rejected, claims 1-15 is/are found allowable. Explanations will be provided below.
III. Inventor and/or assignee search were performed and determined no double patenting rejection(s) is/are necessary.
IV. Patent eligibility (updated in 2019) shown by the following: Claims 1-16 pass patent eligibility test because there is/are no limitation or a combination of limitations amounting to an abstract idea. Also, the following limitation or the combinations of the limitations: “a step of displaying at least one current image from the endoscope on a display device, a step of superimposing, on at least one current image from the endoscope, a projection with semi-transparency of the 3D model based on the predicted position and orientation, on the display device, said projection being fixed with respect to the endoscope, a step of receiving a command indicating an alignment between the projection with semi-transparency of the 3D model and the image of the target organ on the current image” effects a transformation or a reduction of a particular article to a different state or thing / adds a specific limitation(s) other than what is well-understood, routine and conventional in the field, or adding unconventional steps that confine the claim to a particular useful application and providing improvements to the technical field of endoscope navigation, which recite additional elements that integrate the judicial exception into a practical application and amounting significant more.
[2] Claim Interpretation
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(f):
(f) Element in Claim for a Combination. – An element in a claim for a combination may be expressed as a means or step for performing a specified function without the recital of structure, material, or acts in support thereof, and such claim shall be construed to cover the corresponding structure, material, or acts described in the specification and equivalents thereof.
The following is a quotation of pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph:
An element in a claim for a combination may be expressed as a means or step for performing a specified function without the recital of structure, material, or acts in support thereof, and such claim shall be construed to cover the corresponding structure, material, or acts described in the specification and equivalents thereof.
Use of the word “means” (or “step for”) in a claim with functional language creates a rebuttable presumption that the claim element is to be treated in accordance with 35 U.S.C. 112(f) (pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph). The presumption that 35 U.S.C. 112(f) (pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph) is invoked is rebutted when the function is recited with sufficient structure, material, or acts within the claim itself to entirely perform the recited function. Absence of the word “means” (or “step for”) in a claim creates a rebuttable presumption that the claim element is not to be treated in accordance with 35 U.S.C. 112(f) (pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph). The presumption that 35 U.S.C. 112(f) (pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph) is not invoked is rebutted when the claim element recites function but fails to recite sufficiently definite structure, material or acts to perform that function.
Claim elements in this application that use the word “means” (or “step for”) are presumed to invoke 35 U.S.C. 112(f) except as otherwise indicated in an Office action. Similarly, claim elements that do not use the word “means” (or “step for”) are presumed not to invoke 35 U.S.C. 112(f) except as otherwise indicated in an Office action.
Claim(s) 8-15 are interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA U.S.C. 112 6th paragraph because of the following reason(s): the claim limitations uses the term “means” or a term used as a substitute for “means” that is a generic placeholder; the term “means” or the generic placeholder is modified by functional language, typically linked by the transition word “for” or another linking word or phrase, such as “configured to” or “so that”; the term “means” or the generic placeholder is not modified by sufficient structure or material for performing the claimed function.
Claim(s) 1-7 and 16 do not require 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA U.S.C. 112 6th paragraph interpretation because they are method claims and / or they are CRM claims.
Upon examination of the specification and claims, the examiner has determined, under the best understanding of the scope of the claim(s), rejection(s) under 35 U.S.C. 112(a)/(b) is not necessitated because of the following reasons: sufficient support are provided in the written description / drawings of the invention.
[3] Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 1-15 are allowable / patentable. Claim 16 is allowable if U.S.C. 101 rejection is overcome. The following is an examiner’s statement of reasons for allowance by comparing claims to closest references. The references are divided into primary and secondary, where primary would have been utilized in a USC 102 or main USC 103 reference and secondary would have been utilized a secondary USC 103 reference, but these references do not cover enough of the claim’s scope to warrant a rejection.
Primary reference, Mori (US 20190184198) discloses a method for registration of a virtual three-dimensional model of a target organ, with at least one image of said target organ in a scene obtained by an endoscope, comprising:
a step of receiving the 3D model of the target organ (see paragraph 35, acquirer 128 acquires the fluoroscopic image TI from the imager 30. The acquirer 128 acquires a detection value of the sensor 15. Moreover, the acquirer 128 acquires three-dimensional volume data of the object P from a medical inspection device),
a step of predicting a position
a step of displaying at least one current image
a step of superimposing, on at least one current image
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Mori is silent in disclosing a step of simulating a position and orientation of the 3D model based on said predicted position and said predicted orientation of the target organ, a step of receiving a command indicating an alignment between the projection with semi-transparency of the 3D model and the image of the target organ on the current image, a step of calculating the position and orientation of the target organ on the current image with respect to the reference coordinate frame.
Secondary reference, Mansi (US 20190325572) discloses a step of simulating a position and orientation of the 3D model based on said predicted position and said predicted orientation of the target tissue (see figure 1 and 10 and 11, simulate soft tissue simulation, see paragraph 55, the user indicates a path for intervention, which path may apply pressure or force to the organ), a step of receiving a command indicating an alignment between the projection with force to the organ. In other embodiments, the user changes one or more values of parameters of the model), a step of calculating the position and orientation of the target organ on the current image with respect to the reference coordinate frame (see paragraph 65, In act 18, the image processor predicts the position of the node or volumetric element from the predicted kinematic characteristic (e.g., acceleration) or other predicted parameter. The output of the machine-learned network may be the deformation (e.g., position) or may be a value (e.g., a force or forces, velocity, displacement, and/or acceleration) used to derive the deformation).
Primary reference, AKIMOTO (US 20150196228) a method for registration of a virtual three-dimensional model of a target organ, with at least one image of said target organ in a scene obtained by an endoscope, comprising:
a step of receiving the 3D model of the target organ (see paragraph 36, captures CT data as three-dimensional image information of the patient which was generated by a known CT apparatus),
a step of aligning a sensor coordinate system that is based on the antennas of the position sensor 41, where the sensor is the endoscope),
a step of simulating a position aligned generating a virtual endoscopic image as a virtual endoscopic image that corresponds to an endoscopic image),
a step of displaying at least one current image from the endoscope on a display device (see figure 1, 26a),
a step of superimposing, on at least one current image from the endoscope, a projection with distal end based on the aligned position and orientation, on the display device, said projection being fixed with respect to the endoscope (see paragraph 98, the alignment processing portion 25a estimates (calculates) the position and posture of the distal end of the insertion portion 11 by image matching based on the result of the alignment processing).
AKIMOTO is silent in disclosing a step of receiving a command indicating an alignment between the projection with semi-transparency of the 3D model and the image of the target organ on the current image, and a step of calculating the position and orientation of the target organ on the current image with respect to the reference coordinate frame.
For reason above claims 1-15 are allowable.
[4] Grounds of Rejection
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.
35 U.S.C. 101 requires that a claimed invention must fall within one of the four eligible categories of invention (i.e. process, machine, manufacture, or composition of matter) and must not be directed to subject matter encompassing a judicially recognized exception as interpreted by the courts. MPEP 2106. The four eligible categories of invention include: (1) process which is an act, or a series of acts or steps, (2) machine which is an concrete thing, consisting of parts, or of certain devices and combination of devices, (3) manufacture which is an article produced from raw or prepared materials by giving to these materials new forms, qualities, properties, or combinations, whether by hand labor or by machinery, and (4) composition of matter which is all compositions of two or more substances and all composite articles, whether they be the results of chemical union, or of mechanical mixture, or whether they be gases, fluids, powders or solids. MPEP 2106(I).
Claims 16 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 101 as not falling within one of the four statutory categories of invention because the claimed invention is directed to computer program per se. See MPEP 2106(I). A claim directed toward a non-transitory computer-readable medium having the program encoded thereon establishes a sufficient functional relationship between the program and a computer so as to remove it from the realm of “program per se”. MPEP 2111.05(III). Hence, adding the limitation of “stored on a non-transitory computer-readable medium” would resolve this issue.
CONTACT INFORMATION
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to ALEX LIEW (duty station is located in New York City) whose telephone number is (571)272-8623 (FAX 571-273-8623), cell (917)763-1192 or email alexa.liew@uspto.gov. Please note the examiner cannot reply through email unless an internet communication authorization is provided by the applicant. The examiner can be reached anytime.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, MISTRY ONEAL R, can be reached on (313)446-4912. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/ALEX KOK S LIEW/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2674 Telephone: 571-272-8623
Date: 9/26/26
