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 .
Election/Restrictions
Applicant’s election without traverse of Species 2 (fig. 18, claims 1 - 8) in the reply filed on 6/1/2026 is acknowledged.
Claims 9 - 20 are withdrawn from further consideration pursuant to 37 CFR 1.142(b) as being drawn to a nonelected species, there being no allowable generic or linking claim. Election was made without traverse in the reply filed on 6/1/2026.
Specification
The lengthy specification has not been checked to the extent necessary to determine the presence of all possible minor errors. Applicant’s cooperation is requested in correcting any errors of which applicant may become aware in the specification.
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.
Claims 1 and 4 - 7 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Ji et al. (US 2020/0219228).
Regarding claim 1, Ji shows an ultrasonic imaging method, comprising:
controlling an ultrasonic probe to transmit first ultrasonic waves to a first region of a tissue and receive echo signals of the first ultrasonic waves (“main channel domain data … is collected…”, [0036] and step 202 in fig. 2), and generating a first ultrasonic image based on the echo signals of the first ultrasonic waves (“main ultrasound images of the subject area are formed using the main channel domain data”, [0039] and step 206 in fig. 2);
displaying the first ultrasonic image on a first display region of a display interface (“…displayed concurrently with the one or more main ultrasound images …”, [0049] and step 210 in fig. 2);;
obtaining a second region from the first region based on the first ultrasonic image (“specify a ROI, e.g. in a main ultrasound image…”, [0052]);
controlling the ultrasonic probe to alternately transmit the first ultrasonic waves and second ultrasonic waves to the first region and the second region for a plurality of times and receive echo signals of the first ultrasonic waves and echo signals of the second ultrasonic waves ([0044] - [0045] and figs. 3 - 4), updating the first ultrasonic image based on the echo signals of the first ultrasonic waves (“ROI ultrasound images … display concurrently with …main ultrasound images in real-time as the images are formed”, [0049]), and generating a second ultrasonic image based on the echo signals of the second ultrasonic waves ([0049]); and
displaying the updated first ultrasonic image on the first display region of the display interface, and displaying the second ultrasonic image on a second display region of the display interface ([0049] and step 210 in fig. 2);
wherein: the first display region and the second display region are different ([0050] - [0051] and figs. 6 - 7);
the first ultrasonic image and the second ultrasonic image are of a same image type ([0057] and figs. 6 - 7 showing the ‘same image type’); and
an image display characteristic of the second ultrasonic image is higher than a corresponding image display characteristic of the second region in the first ultrasonic image, and the image display characteristic comprising at least one of an image penetration, an image contrast, an image resolution, an image clarity, and a richness of image details (improved image resolution, [0031]; improved temporal resolution, [0032]; [0045]; “… improving … a combination of spatial resolution, contrast resolution, temporal resolution, and penetration resolution in ROI ultrasound images when compared to main ultrasound images…”, [0053]; claims 7 - 8).
Regarding claim 4, Ji discloses the claimed invention substantially as noted above. Ji further shows the ultrasonic probe is controlled to transmit the first ultrasonic waves according to a first transmission parameter, the ultrasonic probe is controlled to transmit the second ultrasonic waves according to a second transmission parameter, and the first transmission parameter is different from the second transmission parameter (“varying ROI data acquisition parameters with respect to main channel domain data … transmit … parameters…”, [0038]).
Regarding claim 5, Ji discloses the claimed invention substantially as noted above. Ji further shows the transmission parameters comprise at least a transmission frequency and transmission waveform (“transmit frequency of ultrasound waves … transmit waveform…”, [0038]).
Regarding claim 6, Ji discloses the claimed invention substantially as noted above. Ji further shows the first transmission parameter and the second transmission parameter are configured such that a scan density of the second region by the second ultrasonic waves is greater than a scan density of the first region by the first ultrasonic waves, and the scan density comprises a scanning line density and/or a scanning pixel density (“ … ROI frame has a higher TX zone density…”, [0044] - [0045]).
Regarding claim 7, Ji discloses the claimed invention substantially as noted above. Ji further shows obtaining the second region comprises: in response to a user operation, obtaining a sampling region from the first ultrasonic image displayed on the first display region; and calculating the second region based on the sampling region (“input received from an operator/user … specify a ROI, e.g. in a main ultrasound image…”, [0052]).
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.
This application currently names joint inventors. In considering patentability of the claims the examiner presumes that the subject matter of the various claims was commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the claimed invention(s) absent any evidence to the contrary. Applicant is advised of the obligation under 37 CFR 1.56 to point out the inventor and effective filing dates of each claim that was not commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the later invention in order for the examiner to consider the applicability of 35 U.S.C. 102(b)(2)(C) for any potential 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) prior art against the later invention.
Claims 2 - 3 and 8 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Ji in view of Li et al. (US 2023/0086624).
Regarding claim 2, Ji discloses the claimed invention substantially as noted above. Ji further shows wherein the ultrasonic probe is controlled to transmit the first ultrasonic waves according to a first transmission parameter and the ultrasonic probe is controlled to transmit the second ultrasonic waves according to a second transmission parameter (implicit. The “transmit/receive cycle that is used to produce an ultrasound image”, [0036], necessarily employs ‘transmission parameters’);
generating and/or updating the first ultrasonic image based on the echo signals of the first ultrasonic waves comprises: performing a first processing on the echo signals of the first ultrasonic waves (“… imaging parameters for generating the one or more ROI ultrasound images can be varied with respect to imaging parameters used to generate the one or more main ultrasound images … ”, [0047]); and
generating the second ultrasonic image based on the echo signals of the second ultrasonic waves comprises: performing a second processing on the echo signals of the second ultrasonic waves ([0047]);
wherein: the first processing comprises a first signal processing and/or a first image processing, and the second processing comprises a second signal processing and/or a second image processing; and the first signal processing is different from the second signal processing, and/or, the first image processing is different from the second image processing ([0047]).
Ji is not specific to the first transmission parameter being the same as the second transmission parameter.
Li discloses ultrasound imaging. Li teaches a first transmission parameter being the same as a second transmission parameter (“… he first ultrasound wave and the second ultrasound wave share the transmitting and receiving step, and the scanning parameters such as transmitting position, transmitting frequency, focus position, transmitting time interval, and transmitting range of the ultrasound sequences are all the same”, [0126]).
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 Ji to have the first transmission parameter be the same as the second transmission parameter, as taught by Li, in order to save scan time, as suggested by Li ([0126]).
Regarding claim 3, the combined invention of Ji and Li discloses the claimed invention substantially as noted above. Ji further shows the first signal processing comprises a first beam forming procedure, the second signal processing comprises a second beam forming procedure, and the first beam forming procedure is different from the second beam forming procedure (“imaging parameters … varied … specify to apply a specific beamforming operation to generate the ROI images … specify values of parameters of a specific beamforming operation to apply in generating the ROI images…”, [0047]).
Regarding claim 8, the combined invention of Ji and Li discloses the claimed invention substantially as noted above. Ji further shows in response to a user operation, selecting the image display characteristic of the second ultrasonic image from a plurality of image display characteristics; and according to the selected image display characteristic, determining the second processing that is associated with said image display characteristic, wherein different image display characteristics are associated with different second processing (“ROI control input can specify one or a combination of data acquisition parameters to use in gathering ROI channel domain data, imaging parameters and corresponding ultrasound processing operations for generating ROI ultrasound images independently from main ultrasound images, and backend processing to apply in generating and displaying the ROI ultrasound images, e.g. displaying the ROI images concurrently with the main ultrasound images …”, [0053] - [0054]).
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to AMELIE R DAVIS whose telephone number is (571)270-7240. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday, 9:30 - 6:00 PST.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Pascal 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.
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/AMELIE R DAVIS/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3798
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