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 .
This action is in response to the non-provisional application filed on 05/12/2025. Claims 1-7 are pending. Claim 1 is independent.
Claim Objections
Claims 1-7 are objected to because of the following informalities:
Claim 1, lines 6-7, the limitation “a distal end of the steerable catheter” should be amended to --the distal end of the steerable catheter-- because line 3 of the claim provides the antecedent basis for the distal end of the steerable catheter. Claims 2-6 are objected because they depend on claim 1.
Appropriate correction is required.
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.
The claims in this application are given their broadest reasonable interpretation using the plain meaning of the claim language in light of the specification as it would be understood by one of ordinary skill in the art. The broadest reasonable interpretation of a claim element (also commonly referred to as a claim limitation) is limited by the description in the specification when 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, is invoked.
As explained in MPEP § 2181, subsection I, claim limitations that meet the following three-prong test will be interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph:
(A) the claim limitation uses the term “means” or “step” or a term used as a substitute for “means” that is a generic placeholder (also called a nonce term or a non-structural term having no specific structural meaning) for performing the claimed function;
(B) the term “means” or “step” or the generic placeholder is modified by functional language, typically, but not always linked by the transition word “for” (e.g., “means for”) or another linking word or phrase, such as “configured to” or “so that”; and
(C) the term “means” or “step” or the generic placeholder is not modified by sufficient structure, material, or acts for performing the claimed function.
Use of the word “means” (or “step”) in a claim with functional language creates a rebuttable presumption that the claim limitation is to be treated in accordance with 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph. The presumption that the claim limitation is interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, is rebutted when the claim limitation recites sufficient structure, material, or acts to entirely perform the recited function.
Absence of the word “means” (or “step”) in a claim creates a rebuttable presumption that the claim limitation is not to be treated in accordance with 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph. The presumption that the claim limitation is not interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, is rebutted when the claim limitation recites function without reciting sufficient structure, material or acts to entirely perform the recited function.
Claim limitations in this application that use the word “means” (or “step”) are being interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, except as otherwise indicated in an Office action. Conversely, claim limitations in this application that do not use the word “means” (or “step”) are not being interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, except as otherwise indicated in an Office action.
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.
Claims 2, 3, 6, and 7 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 applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the applicant), regards as the invention.
Claim 2 recites the limitation "the apex of the heart" in line 2 of the claim. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim.
Claim 3 recites the limitation "the right ventricular surface" in line 2 of the claim. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim.
Claim 6 recites the limitation "the septal wall" in line 3 of the claim. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim. Claim 7 is rejected because it depends on claim 6
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 1-7 would be allowable if rewritten to overcome the claim objection and rejection under 35 U.S.C. 112(b).
The closest prior art, Davidson (US Pub. No.: 2007/0118151), discloses a chordae replacement system, comprising: a steerable catheter (120, Fig. 7), a chordae replacement implant having a suture (80, Fig. 7); and piercing needle (180, Fig. 7). Davidson further discloses a separate anchor (50, Fig. 14). However, Davidson fails to disclose or render obvious that that the chordae replacement implant comprising a proximal end with a proximal tissue anchor and a distal end with a mitral valve leaflet attachment anchor, such that the chordae replacement implant is deployably carried by the catheter with the steerable catheter configured for transvascular access into the right ventricle, through the intraventricular septum and into the left ventricle.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
US 20040122448 A1 Levine, Robert A. discloses cardiac devices for repair of a heart valve.
US 20040181238 A1 Zarbatany, David et al. discloses a mitral valve repair system.
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/JING RUI OU/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3771
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