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 . All the claims have been examined on the basis of the merit of the claims.
Priority
The present application is a CON of 18/637,979 04/17/2024 PAT 12364461. 18/637,979 is a CON of 18/297,297 04/07/2023 PAT 12016727. 18/297,297 is a CON of 17/727,567 04/22/2022 PAT 11678866. 17/727,567 is a CON of 17/103,599 11/24/2020 PAT 11331077. 17/103,599 is a CON of 16/206,806 11/30/2018 PAT 10863971. Applicant’s claim for the benefit of a prior-filed application under 35 U.S.C. 119(e) or under 35 U.S.C. 120, 121, 365(c), or 386(c) is acknowledged.
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on 07/16/2025, 10/14/2025 and 12/11/2025 are considered and attached.
Double Patenting
The nonstatutory double patenting rejection is based on a judicially created doctrine grounded in public policy (a policy reflected in the statute) so as to prevent the unjustified or improper timewise extension of the “right to exclude” granted by a patent and to prevent possible harassment by multiple assignees. A nonstatutory double patenting rejection is appropriate where the conflicting claims are not identical, but at least one examined application claim is not patentably distinct from the reference claim(s) because the examined application claim is either anticipated by, or would have been obvious over, the reference claim(s). See, e.g., In re Berg, 140 F.3d 1428, 46 USPQ2d 1226 (Fed. Cir. 1998); In re Goodman, 11 F.3d 1046, 29 USPQ2d 2010 (Fed. Cir. 1993); In re Longi, 759 F.2d 887, 225 USPQ 645 (Fed. Cir. 1985); In re Van Ornum, 686 F.2d 937, 214 USPQ 761 (CCPA 1982); In re Vogel, 422 F.2d 438, 164 USPQ 619 (CCPA 1970); In re Thorington, 418 F.2d 528, 163 USPQ 644 (CCPA 1969).
A timely filed terminal disclaimer in compliance with 37 CFR 1.321(c) or 1.321(d) may be used to overcome an actual or provisional rejection based on nonstatutory double patenting provided the reference application or patent either is shown to be commonly owned with the examined application, or claims an invention made as a result of activities undertaken within the scope of a joint research agreement. See MPEP § 717.02 for applications subject to examination under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA as explained in MPEP § 2159. See MPEP § 2146 et seq. for applications not subject to examination under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA . A terminal disclaimer must be signed in compliance with 37 CFR 1.321(b).
The filing of a terminal disclaimer by itself is not a complete reply to a nonstatutory double patenting (NSDP) rejection. A complete reply requires that the terminal disclaimer be accompanied by a reply requesting reconsideration of the prior Office action. Even where the NSDP rejection is provisional the reply must be complete. See MPEP § 804, subsection I.B.1. For a reply to a non-final Office action, see 37 CFR 1.111(a). For a reply to final Office action, see 37 CFR 1.113(c). A request for reconsideration while not provided for in 37 CFR 1.113(c) may be filed after final for consideration. See MPEP §§ 706.07(e) and 714.13.
The USPTO Internet website contains terminal disclaimer forms which may be used. Please visit www.uspto.gov/patent/patents-forms. The actual filing date of the application in which the form is filed determines what form (e.g., PTO/SB/25, PTO/SB/26, PTO/AIA /25, or PTO/AIA /26) should be used. A web-based eTerminal Disclaimer may be filled out completely online using web-screens. An eTerminal Disclaimer that meets all requirements is auto-processed and approved immediately upon submission. For more information about eTerminal Disclaimers, refer to www.uspto.gov/patents/apply/applying-online/eterminal-disclaimer.
Claims 1-20 are rejected on the ground of nonstatutory double patenting as being unpatentable over claims 1-20 of U.S. Patent No. US12364461B2 as outlined in the table below. Although the claims at issue are not identical, they are not patentably distinct from each other because they are anticipated by the patented claims.
Present application
Patent No.: US12364461B2
Claim 1
Claim 1
Claim 2
Claim 2
Claim 3
Claim 3
Claim 4
Claim 4
Claim 5
Claim 5
Claim 6
Claim 6
Claim 7
Claim 7
Claim 8
Claim 8
Claim 9
Claim 9
Claim 10
Claim 10
Claim 11
Claim 11
Claim 12
Claim 12
Claim 13
Claim 13
Claim 14
Claim 14
Claim 15
Claim 15 and claim 1
Claim 16
Claim 16
Claim 17
Claim 18
Claim 18
Claim 20
Claim 19
Claim 6
Claim 20
Claim 8
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) 1,3-4, 8, 10-13, 15, 17 and 20 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by BANJANIN et al., (US-20130225999-A1, hereinafter as BANJANIN).
In regard to claims 1, 15, BANJANIN discloses a method to control an ultrasound machine (fig. 7, para 0051-0053), A non-transitory machine readable medium storing instructions thereon which, when executed by a system, cause the system to perform a method to control operation of an ultrasound machine, the method comprising: obtaining one or more touchless inputs (such as gestures S10 and/or voice S20); determining one or more operations to control the ultrasound machine based on the one or more touchless inputs (controls ultrasound apparatus using one or more touchless inputs such as gestures and/or voice, YES at Step S20 or YES for S10, para 0051) and machine state of the ultrasound machine (para 0053, Although the exemplary method illustrates the processing steps for gesture, voice and tactile inputs, other processes according to the current invention optionally include additional steps of processing other input types such as relative probe positional data (machine state)); and controlling the ultrasound machine using at least one of the one or more operations, wherein the one or more operations comprise commands to adjust one or more operating parameters of the ultrasound machine (fig. 8, outputs command signal at step S118, para 0030, the non-contact input to be recognized by the non-touch input device 200 optionally includes a relative position and a type of the ultrasound probe 100. For example, when the probe 100 is moved off from a patient, the non-touch input device 200 generates an input signal to the apparatus main body 1000 to freeze a currently available image. By the same token, when the non-touch input device 200 detects a probe 100, the non-touch input device 200 generates an input signal to the apparatus main body 1000 for setting certain predetermined scanning parameters that are desirable for the detected type of the probe 100. Additionally, see table 1, adjusting overall gain in the image by hand gestures. All these are not limiting examples of the adjusting operating parameters of the ultrasound apparatus using voice or gesture commands).
In regard to claims 3, 17, BANJANIN discloses the method of claim 1, the non-transitory machine readable medium of claim 15, wherein the determining the one or more operations is based on ultrasound data (para 0023 The receiving unit 112 includes an amplifier circuit, an analog-to-digital (A/D) converter, an adder and the like and creates reflected wave data by performing various processing on a reflected wave signal that has been received at the ultrasound probe 100.).
In regard to claim 4, BANJANIN discloses the method of claim 3, wherein the ultrasound data comprises one or more of ultrasound image data, an examination type being performed with the ultrasound machine, and a list of operations being performed with the ultrasound machine (table 1: selects patient data/exam type and other task listed for ultrasound apparatus).
In regard to claims 8, 20, BANJANIN discloses the method of claim 1, the non-transitory machine readable medium of claim 15, further comprising: identifying one or more image characteristics, wherein the determining the one or more operations is based on a correlation of an operating parameter to the one or more image characteristics and wherein the controlling the ultrasound machine is performed using the at least one of the one or more operations and comprises adjusting the one or more operating parameters to change an image (claim 30, the method of providing hand-free user interface for ultrasound imaging system wherein the predetermined gesture commands include a second predetermined hand gesture for adjusting a level of image gain).
In regard to claim 10, BANJANIN discloses the method of claim 1, further comprising: generating and displaying one or more selectable commands; capturing information from the individual; and interpreting the captured information as confirming selection of at least one of the one or more selectable commands prior to controlling the ultrasound machine using the at least one operation (para 0057, “if the alternative gesture flag is YES in the step S106, the exemplary gesture processing proceeds to a step S110 to prompt a set of the predetermined gesture commands to the user via audio and or visual prompt on a monitor so that the user now selects one of the predetermined gesture commands for the previously unrecognized gesture command or selects a different gesture command” selecting a gesture suggests that the gesture image was displayed on the visual prompt display to control the ultrasound apparatus).
In regard to claim 11, BANJANIN discloses the method of claim 1, wherein the one or more operating parameters comprise one or more of (This limitation appears in an or clause. Examiner reads only one limitation. BANJANIN discloses of depth, gain and image mode) gain (para 0023, table 1, gain), depth (para 0032, depth), a transducer selection, an imaging mode (image modes, para 0025).
In regard to claim 12, BANJANIN discloses the method of claim 1, wherein the one or more operations comprise one or more of (only one limitation is read) freezing an image being displayed by the ultrasound machine, saving an image being displayed by the ultrasound machine, adding an annotation at a user-specified location on an image being displayed by the ultrasound machine (para 0042, he input commands are not necessarily related to the direct operation of the ultrasound imaging diagnosis apparatus and include optional command for annotations, measurements and calculations in relation to the ultrasound images that have been acquired during the examination session. For example, the annotations include information on the region of interest, the patient information, the scanning parameters and the scanning conditions), and creating a report with one or more images displayed by the ultrasound machine (para 0042, an exemplary measurement includes a size of a certain tissue area such as a malignant tumor in the ultrasound images that have been acquired during the examination session. An exemplary calculation result in certain values such as a heart rate and blood flow velocity based upon the acquired ultrasound data that have been acquired during the examination session).
In regard to claim 13, BANJANIN discloses the method of claim 1, further comprising: placing an annotation on an image being displayed by the ultrasound machine based on at least one of the one or more touchless inputs (para 0042, he input commands are not necessarily related to the direct operation of the ultrasound imaging diagnosis apparatus and include optional command for annotations, measurements and calculations in relation to the ultrasound images that have been acquired during the examination session. For example, the annotations include information on the region of interest, the patient information, the scanning parameters and the scanning conditions).
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
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 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) 2 and 16 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over BANJANIN in view of Wang et al. (US-20140214424A1, hereinafter as Wang).
In regard to claims 2, 16, BANJANIN discloses the method of claim 1, the non-transitory machine-readable medium of claim 15, BANJANIN does not disclose further comprising: performing lip reading, including capturing lip movements of an individual using at least one camera, and wherein the determining the one or more operations to control the ultrasound machine is based on results of said perform the lip reading.
Wang discloses further comprising: performing lip reading, including capturing lip movements of an individual using at least one camera (fig.3, lip tracking module 306 performs LIP tracking 316 including determining if speaking 318 based on camera image, para 0061).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing of the invention, to use Wang's teachings of the use of LIP tracking module in order to track the lip gestures as an input means to the method and non-transitory medium of BANJANIN.
The combination of BANJANIN and Wang therefore discloses and wherein the determining the one or more operations to control the ultrasound machine is based on results of said perform the lip reading (reading (fig.3, LIP tracking module 306 performs LIP tracking 316, including determining if speaking 318 based on camera image, para 0061, Wang would be used in combination with BANJANIN’s touchless input from user /touchless input interfaces in order to control the interactive display of ultrasound images)).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing of the invention, to use Wang's teachings of the use of LIP tracking module in order to track the lip gestures as an input means to the system of BANJANIN so that the interactive display of ultrasound images of BANJANIN is controlled by lip movement of the user as well as an additional input control feature that do not require a clinician to leave the ultrasound field or use lip movement as an added confidence to the voice command for the ultrasound control system to enhance performance of using touchless inputs.
Claim(s) 5, 7 and 18 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over BANJANIN over Simpson et al. (US-20190336107-A1, hereinafter as Simpson).
In regard to claim 5, 18, BANJANIN discloses the method of claim 1, the non-transitory machine readable medium of claim 15, BANJANIN does not disclose “wherein the determining the one or more operations comprises predicting an operation that an individual is likely to perform based on historical data.”
Simpson discloses wherein the determining the one or more operations comprises predicting an operation that an individual is likely to perform based on historical data (para 0057, fig. 5, Simpson discloses a neural network with a training algorithm. Therefore, Simpson discloses one or more operations comprises predicting an operation based on historical data (training data or data used before as historical data) obtained using data selector 562).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing of the invention, to use Simpson’s teachings in order to predict operations using an NN and data training based in BANJANIN’s invention.
In regard to claim 7, BANJANIN discloses the method of claim 1, BANJANIN does not disclose wherein the performing lip reading is triggered in response to determining that an individual is looking directly at a camera or in response to determining that the individual has closed at least one eye for a predetermined period of time, winked, or nodded.
Simpson discloses wherein the performing lip reading is triggered in response to determining that an individual is looking directly at a camera (para 0018, some example implementation may use lip detection and tracking for speaker recognition (e.g., speaker change detection) and for adaptive user-specific voice recognition. In such an audio-visual voice recognition system, lip reading may rely on the accuracy of lip contour detection and/or tracking. Similarly, accurate lip detection may likewise rely on the robustness of face detection) or in response to determining that the individual has closed at least one eye for a predetermined period of time, winked, or nodded (these limitations appear in an or clause and are not read by the examiner).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claim 6, 9 and 19 are objected to as being dependent upon a rejected base claim but would be allowable if rewritten in independent form including all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims.
In regard to claims 6, 9 and 19 BANJANIN discloses the method of claim 1, The non-transitory machine readable medium of claim 15, BANJANIN nor Wang nor Simpson of record discloses “wherein said determining the one or more operations is based on captured audio information of an individual and the method further comprises dynamically adjusting, based on an environment in which the ultrasound machine resides, weights associated with results of lip reading recognition and audio recognition to determine the one or more operations to control the ultrasound machine.”
In regard to claim 9, BANJANIN discloses the method of claim 1, BANJANIN nor wang nor Simpson discloses “further comprising: receiving, by a neural network, one or more of feedback of ultrasound data from an ultrasound imaging subsystem, feedback of machine state from an ultrasound control subsystem, at least one of the one or more touchless inputs, wherein the determining the one or more operations to control the ultrasound machine is based on the one or more touchless inputs and the machine state of the ultrasound machine is performed by the neural network,” as a whole.
Conclusion
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/DEEPROSE SUBEDI/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2627