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)(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) 1-11, 19-20, and 30-31 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Vitek et al. (US 2011/0270136; hereinafter Vitek).
Vitek shows a phased array ultrasound system and method ([0026]) comprising: a support ([0026]); a plurality of ultrasound modules mechanically supported by said support, each ultrasound module comprising a respective array of ultrasound elements, wherein each ultrasound element is in electrical communication with an output of a respective switch uniquely associated with said ultrasound element ([0026]); and control and driving electronics configured to generate and deliver, to each ultrasound module, a respective set of driving signals, such that the set of driving signals are provided to each switch of said ultrasound module ([0027]); said control and driving electronics being capable of controlling each switch, such that delivery of any one driving signal of the set of driving signals to a given ultrasound array element of said given ultrasound module is selectable, by actuation of the switch associated with said given ultrasound array element ([0027]); wherein, for each ultrasound module of the plurality of ultrasound modules: a number of driving signals in the set of driving signals provided to said ultrasound module is less than a number of ultrasound elements in said ultrasound module (group into sub-arrays; [0027], [0038]); and each driving signal of the set of driving signals has a respective phase, such that the set of driving signals has an associated set of phase values ([0028], [0038]); and wherein, for at least two ultrasound modules of the plurality of ultrasound modules, the set of phase values associated with the set of driving signals provided to the ultrasound module is a unique set of phase values customized to the ultrasound module (a-priori information includes sonication geometry; [0035]); wherein said control and driving electronics is configured to control each switch of each ultrasound module such that for each switch, the driving signal provided to the ultrasound element associated with said switch is the driving signal, from the set of driving signals provided to said switch, that has a phase value closest to an ideal phase associated with said ultrasound element for focusing ultrasound energy at a selected focus location (determine relative phases between transducer elements, phase corrections; [0034]-[0035]).
Vitek also shows wherein said control and driving electronics are configured such that the unique set of phase values associated with a given ultrasound module is determined based on set of ideal phases respectively associated with said array elements of said given ultrasound module for focusing ultrasound energy at a plurality of locations within a selected region ([0034]-[0035]); wherein said control and driving electronics are configured such that the selected region is associated with a specific subject (compensate for tissue aberrations; [0034]-[0035], [0037]); wherein said control and driving electronics are configured such that the selected region spans a target volume associated with the specific subject ([0034]-[0035]); wherein, for at least two ultrasound modules, a number of driving signals provided to each ultrasound module is dependent on a span of the set of ideal phases (number of driving signals would be dependent on the desired phase correction; [0035], [0038]-[0039]); wherein said control and driving electronics are configured such that the unique set of phase values associated with a given ultrasound module is determined based on a set of ideal phases respectively associated with said array elements of said given ultrasound module for focusing ultrasound energy at the selected focus location ([0038]-[0039]); wherein said control and driving electronics are configured such that the unique set of phase values associated with a given ultrasound module include a maximum phase value, a minimum phase value, and at least one intermediate phase value lying between the maximum phase value and the minimum phase value, and wherein each intermediate phase value resides within a phase range spanning a maximum ideal phase and a minimum ideal phase of the set of ideal phases associated with the given ultrasound module (optimizing focus of array by correcting phase for transducer elements encompasses minimum, intermediate, and maximum phase values; [0033]-[0035]); wherein said control and driving electronics are configured such that the unique set of phase values associated with a given ultrasound module minimize an aggregate phase error measure, the aggregate phase error measure being determined based on phase errors associated with each ultrasound element of said given ultrasound module, each phase error being determined by calculating, for a given ultrasound element of the given ultrasound module, a difference between a phase value of a driving signal provided to said given ultrasound element and an ideal phase value associated with said given ultrasound element (phase corrections; [0034]-[0035]); wherein, for at least two ultrasound modules, a number of driving signals provided to each ultrasound module is dependent on a span of the set of ideal phases ([0035]); wherein said control and driving electronics are configured such that each driving signal is a pulsed driving signal for generating pulsed ultrasound energy, and wherein each set of driving signals is delivered to a respective ultrasound module with a module-specific delay, each module-specific delay being selected to facilitate temporal alignment of the pulsed ultrasound energy from said ultrasound modules at the selected focus location (calculate time delay for each transducer element; [0037]); wherein said support is a conformal headset and wherein the selected focus location is an intracranial focus location (Fig. 4); wherein each unique set of phase values is determined based an acoustic model that characterizes spatial variations in acoustic properties of a tissue region that is to be insonify ([0034]-[0035]).
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) 12-17 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Vitek et al. (US 2011/0270136; hereinafter Vitek) in view of Vitek et al. (US 6613004; hereinafter Vitek ‘004).
Vitek shows the invention substantially as described in the 102 rejection above.
Vitek fails to show wherein, for at least one ultrasound module, each driving signal is provided to an equal number of ultrasound elements; wherein, for at least one ultrasound module, at least two driving signals are respectively provided to different numbers of ultrasound elements; wherein at least two ultrasound modules have different numbers of ultrasound elements; wherein at least two ultrasound modules are provided with different numbers of driving signals; wherein, for at least two ultrasound modules, a number of driving signals provided to each ultrasound module is dependent on the number of ultrasound elements within said each ultrasound module; wherein, for at least one module, a ratio of a number of ultrasound elements to a number of driving signals is at least 16.
Vitek ‘004 discloses systems and methods for phased array focused ultrasound systems. Vitek ‘004 teaches wherein, for at least one ultrasound module, each driving signal is provided to an equal number of ultrasound elements (divide transducer into sets that each have same number of transducer elements; column 5, lines 20-60); wherein, for at least one ultrasound module, at least two driving signals are respectively provided to different numbers of ultrasound elements (divide transducer into “p” sets each set including n/p transducer elements; column 5, lines 20-60; column 6, lines 55-65); wherein at least two ultrasound modules have different numbers of ultrasound elements (divide transducer into “p” sets each set including n/p transducer elements; column 5, lines 20-60; column 6, lines 55-65); wherein at least two ultrasound modules are provided with different numbers of driving signals (divide transducer into “p” sets each set including n/p transducer elements; column 5, lines 20-60); wherein, for at least two ultrasound modules, a number of driving signals provided to each ultrasound module is dependent on the number of ultrasound elements within said each ultrasound module (divide transducer into “p” sets each set including n/p transducer elements; column 5, lines 20-60; column 6, lines 55-65); wherein, for at least one module, a ratio of a number of ultrasound elements to a number of driving signals is at least 16 (it would be an obvious design choice to one of ordinary skill in the art to define any number of sets according to a particular number of ultrasound elements such that a ratio of number of ultrasound elements to a number of driving signals is at least 16, as Vitek ‘004 teaches that the sets maybe defined in any desired manner; column 5, lines 20-60; column 6, lines 55-65).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to have modified the invention of Vitek to define the number of sets of ultrasound transducer elements, groupings, sub-arrays and driving signals according to a particular format as taught by Vitek ‘004, as Vitek ‘004 teaches that optimizing the number of transducer elements and driving signals will improve the accuracy of the ultrasound treatment by increasing the f-number for a given focal distance (Vitek ‘004; column 6, lines 1-5).
Claim(s) 18 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Vitek et al. (US 2011/0270136; hereinafter Vitek) in view of Schwarz et al. (US 2022/0305284; hereinafter Schwarz).
Vitek shows the invention substantially as described in the 102 rejection above.
Vitek fails to show wherein said switches are optically configurable, and wherein said control and driving electronics comprises a light source controllable to deliver optical signals for configuring said switches to select suitable driving signals.
Schwarz discloses devices and methods for unattended treatment of a patient. Schwarz teaches wherein said switches are optically configurable, and wherein said control and driving electronics comprises a light source controllable to deliver optical signals for configuring said switches to select suitable driving signals (optical switch, or any other suitable switch known in the prior art; [0074]).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to have modified the invention of Vitek to utilize an optical switch as taught by Schwarz, as Schwarz teaches that switching circuitry may utilize any of a variety of known suitably equivalent switches, including an optical switch, for effectively providing the desired control of the switching between elements (Schwarz, [0074]).
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure:
Govari (US 11903656) discloses automatic control of ultrasound including adjusting phases of driving signals;
Hand (US 6488630) discloses arrays of distributed ultrasound transducers including applying different driving signals depending on the distribution;
Law (US 2017/0080255) discloses wearable ultrasound phased array devices, including driving circuitry for control of the phase.
Umemura (US 5523058) discloses ultrasonic irradiation apparatus including switching circuitry for control of the phase, such that a phase may be optimized.
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/JONATHAN CWERN/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3797
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