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
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.
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.
Claim(s) 1-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Hugg (US 11723608)
With respect to claim 1, Hugg teaches an imaging system, comprising:
a gantry (40) with an opening configured to receive a patient to be imaged and a ring configured to orbit the patient under processor control (Col. 6, Lines 41-67);
a plurality of detector heads (10) having an imaging face (Figure 1) configured to receive and detect gamma radiation from the patient;
a plurality of extendable radial arms (16L, 16R) each coupled to the ring at a plurality of locations (Fig. 7) along the ring and configured to translate one of the plurality of detector heads radially and to orient the imaging face of each detector head under processor control; and
a processor (42) configured to coordinate movement of the plurality of extendable radial arms such that together the imaging faces form a plurality of predetermined imaging surfaces within the gantry,
wherein at least one of the predetermined imaging surfaces comprises a flat plane (Fig. 2) with uniform spacing of the plurality of detector heads.
With respect to claim 2, Hugg teaches the imaging system of claim 1, wherein at least one of the predetermined imaging surfaces comprises two orthogonal flat planes (Fig. 2) with uniform spacing of the plurality of detector heads within each plane.
With respect to claim 3, Hugg teaches the imaging system of claim 1, wherein at least one of the predetermined imaging surfaces comprises an arced surface (Fig. 3) with uniform spacing of the plurality of detector heads within each plane.
With respect to claim 4, Hugg teaches the imaging system of claim 1, wherein the spacing of the plurality of detector heads within the flat plane (Fig. 2) lacks substantial gaps.
With respect to claim 5, Hugg teaches the imaging system of claim 1, wherein each imaging face is sized with a range of 7 to 12 cm by 10 to 16 cm (Col. 7, Lines 19-56).
With respect to claim 6, Hugg teaches the imaging system of claim 1, wherein at least one of the predetermined imaging surfaces comprises a subset of the plurality of detector heads and another subset of the plurality of detector heads is retracted (Fig. 5).
With respect to claim 7, Hugg teaches the imaging system of claim 1, wherein the processor is further configured to control motion of the ring and to capture spiral images of the patient (Col. 9, Line 50-Col. 10, Line 17).
With respect to claim 8, Hugg teaches the imaging system of claim 1, wherein the processor is further configured to control motion of the plurality of extendable radial arms such that the plurality of detector heads orbit in a non-circular orbit (Col. 9, Line 50-Col. 10, Line 17).
With respect to claim 9, Hugg teaches the imaging system of claim 1, wherein the processor is further configured to capture stationary planar images of the patient (Col. 11, Lines 40-54).
With respect to claim 10, Hugg teaches the imaging system of claim 1, wherein the processor is further configured to capture tomographic images of the patient (Col. 11, Lines 40-54).
With respect to claim 11, Hugg teaches an imaging system, comprising:
a gantry (40) with an opening configured to receive a patient to be imaged;
a plurality of imaging arms (16L, 16R) each comprising a detector head (10) having an imaging face (Fig. 1) that receives and detects gamma radiation from the patient and an arm coupled to the gantry with a plurality of actuators) configured to move the detector head radially within the gantry, tilt the imaging face relative to an axis of the arm, and to adjust spacing between detector heads on adjacent imaging arms (Col. 9, Lines 12-37); and
a processor (42) configured to coordinate movement of the plurality of imaging arms such that together the imaging faces of the plurality of imaging arms selectively form one of a plurality of predetermined imaging surfaces within the gantry,
wherein at least one of the predetermined imaging surfaces comprises a flat plane (Fig. 2) with uniform spacing of the plurality of detector heads.
With respect to claim 12, Hugg teaches the imaging system of claim 11, wherein at least one of the predetermined imaging surfaces comprises two orthogonal flat planes (Fig. 2) with uniform spacing of the plurality of detector heads within each plane.
With respect to claim 13, Hugg teaches the imaging system of claim 11, wherein at least one of the predetermined imaging surfaces comprises an arced surface (Fig. 3) with uniform spacing of the plurality of detector heads within each plane.
With respect to claim 14, Hugg teaches the imaging system of claim 11, wherein the spacing of the plurality of detector heads within the flat plane (Fig. 2) lacks substantial gaps.
With respect to claim 15, Hugg teaches the imaging system of claim 11, wherein each imaging face is sized with a range of 7 to 12 cm by 10 to 16 cm (Col. 7, Lines 19-56).
With respect to claim 16, Hugg teaches the imaging system of claim 11, wherein at least one of the predetermined imaging surfaces comprises a subset of the detector heads of the plurality of imaging arms and another subset of the detector heads is retracted (Fig. 5).
With respect to claim 17, Hugg teaches the imaging system of claim 11, wherein the processor is further configured to control motion of the gantry and to capture spiral images of the patient (Col. 9, Line 50-Col. 10, Line 17).
With respect to claim 18, Hugg teaches the imaging system of claim 11, wherein the processor is further configured to control motion of the plurality of imaging such that the plurality of detector heads orbit in a non-circular orbit (Col. 9, Line 50-Col. 10, Line 17).
With respect to claim 19, Hugg teaches the imaging system of claim 11, wherein the processor is further configured to capture stationary planar images of the patient (Col. 11, Lines 40-54).
With respect to claim 20, Hugg teaches the imaging system of claim 11, wherein the processor is further configured to capture tomographic images of the patient (Col. 11, Lines 40-54).
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. Roth et al. (US 11534115), Zilberstein et al. (US 8338788 and 11903749), Bouhnik et al. (US 11986329), Khen et al. (US 9439607), and Shahar (US 20160077217) teach various gamma detector gantries with extendable and rotating detector heads.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to David J Makiya whose telephone number is (571)272-2273. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 6:30-2:30ET.
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.
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.
DAVID J. MAKIYA
Supervisory Patent Examiner
Art Unit 2884
/DAVID J MAKIYA/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2884
Prosecution Insights