DETAILED ACTION
Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status
1. The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA .
2. Claims 49-68 are pending.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
3. The following is a quotation of the first paragraph of 35 U.S.C. 112(a):
(a) IN GENERAL.—The specification shall contain a written description of the invention, and of the manner and process of making and using it, in such full, clear, concise, and exact terms as to enable any person skilled in the art to which it pertains, or with which it is most nearly connected, to make and use the same, and shall set forth the best mode contemplated by the inventor or joint inventor of carrying out the invention.
The following is a quotation of the first paragraph of pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112:
The specification shall contain a written description of the invention, and of the manner and process of making and using it, in such full, clear, concise, and exact terms as to enable any person skilled in the art to which it pertains, or with which it is most nearly connected, to make and use the same, and shall set forth the best mode contemplated by the inventor of carrying out his invention.
4. Claims 49-68 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(a) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), first paragraph, as failing to comply with the written description requirement. The claim(s) contains subject matter which was not described in the specification in such a way as to reasonably convey to one skilled in the relevant art that the inventor or a joint inventor, or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the inventor(s), at the time the application was filed, had possession of the claimed invention.
Claim 49 recites “analyzing the data to determine completion of a task; and automatically illuminating a second compartment based on the analyzed data.” in lines 12-13. The limitations are not disclosed in the specification.
Claim 51 recites “receiving a revised sequence of operation from a remote healthcare provider.” in lines 1-2. The limitation is not disclosed in the specification.
Claim 54 recites “the touchscreen interface is configured to support a telemedicine session concurrent with operation of the selected medical apparatus.” in lines 1-2. The limitation is not disclosed in the specification.
Claim 55 recites “the central control unit detects a user identity and unlocks the housing based on authenticated access.” in lines 1-2. The limitation is not disclosed in the specification.
Claim 56 recites “recording a timestamp associated with each usage event for a medical apparatus.” in lines 1-2. The limitation is not disclosed in the specification.
Claim 57 recites “comparing received medical data to predefined thresholds and initiating an alert when a threshold is exceeded.” in lines 1-2. The limitation is not disclosed in the specification.
Claim 62 recites “disabling operation if outside a predefined area.” in line 2. The limitation is not disclosed in the specification.
Claim 64 recites “the medical apparatus… automatically activated upon illumination of at least one of the compartments.” in lines 1-3. The limitation is not disclosed in the specification.
Claim 65 recites “audible or visual indicators for correct sequence execution.” in lines 1-2. The limitation is not disclosed in the specification.
Claim 66 recites “maintaining a log of completed tasks and their associated apparatus identifiers.” in lines 1-2. The limitation is not disclosed in the specification.
Claim 68 recites “the second compartment is illuminated only upon confirmation that data has been successfully received and validated relating to an operation corresponding to the first compartment.” in lines 1-3. The limitation is not disclosed in the specification.
Claims 50, 52, 53, 58-61, 63 and 67 are further rejected based on their dependency of claims 49.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
5. 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.
6. 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.
7. Claims 49-55, 60, 62 and 63 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Ayanruoh (US Pub. No. 2013/0023741 A1 hereinafter “Ayanruoh”) in view of Nguyen et al. (US Pub. No. 2007/0135965 A1 hereinafter “Nguyen”), and further in view of Hyde et al. (US Pub. No. 2015/0002606 hereinafter “Hyde”).
Referring to claim 49, Ayanruoh discloses the method for assisting a user in operating a portable patient-care kit, the method comprising:
providing a housing with a plurality of compartments, each compartment retaining a medical apparatus (Ayanruoh – Par. [0199, 0212] disclose each medical module is securely mounted and secured within the case or on a sub-frame at its specific location. The case and/or frame structure is organized and may have either a compartment and/or dedicated space for each module.);
operating a central control unit having a touchscreen interface and transceiver to detect a medical task to be performed (Ayanruoh – Par. [0087] discloses an embedded computer stores all the required software for each module, displays the acquired patient results for physician review and stores these results into the patient's folder on the hard drive. Numerous patients can be evaluated and their medical histories, diagnostic and examination results can be stored on the computer's hard drive until it is convenient to upload the data to a central computer to synchronize all the test and patient information between this portable Medical Diagnostic System, (IPMDS) and the control computer. As an option, the data can be transmitted via a satellite modem to transfer the test data wireless to a central computer and/or EMS service for medical support. Par. [0314-0315] disclose design a computer program to operate the complete system as mentioned above on a handheld palm type computer.);
determining a sequence of operation for a plurality of medical apparatuses based on the detected task (Ayanruoh – See Par. [0231-309] & Figs. 7-15);
receiving data from the selected medical apparatus (Ayanruoh – See Par. [0231-309] & Figs. 7-15); and
analyzing the data to determine completion of a task (Ayanruoh – See Par. [0231-309] & Figs. 7-15).
Ayanruoh fails to explicitly disclose each compartment retaining a medical apparatus and associated with an identifying tag; illuminating, via compartment lights, a first compartment corresponding to a selected medical apparatus; and automatically illuminating a second compartment based on the analyzed data.
Nguyen discloses each compartment retaining a medical apparatus and associated with an identifying tag (Nguyen – Par. [0015] disclose the system further comprises a machine-readable identification tag affixed to an item, and a scanner in communication with the control unit, the scanner configured to read the tag. In yet other detailed aspects, the system further comprises a machine-readable identification tag affixed to one of the plurality of storage spaces, and a scanner in communication with the control unit, the scanner configured to read the tag.).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to include Nguyen’s teachings with Ayanruoh’s techniques for the benefit of providing a system and method for storing items and tracking usage of items in a user configurable medication dispensing cabinet (Nguyen – Abstract).
Ayanruoh and Nguyen fail to explicitly disclose illuminating, via compartment lights, a first compartment corresponding to a selected medical apparatus; and automatically illuminating a second compartment based on the analyzed data.
Hyde discloses illuminating, via compartment lights, a first compartment corresponding to a selected medical apparatus; and automatically illuminating a second compartment based on the analyzed data (Hyde – Par. [0049] disclose a common notification system can be used to provide notification to a user regarding presence of medical equipment 204 and two-way audio-visual system 206, as depicted in FIG. 4, or, separate notification systems can be used (e.g., separate LEDs that are illuminated to provide notification regarding the two-way audio-visual system and each of one or more articles of medical equipment, respectively).).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to include Hyde’s teachings with Ayanruoh and Nguyen’s techniques for the benefit of providing a medical equipment case for containing and transporting at least one article of medical equipment and a two-way audio-visual system that can be used by a patient discharged from a hospital (Hyde – Abstract).
Referring to claim 50, Ayanruoh, Nguyen and Hyde disclose the method of claim 49, further comprising transmitting the received data to a remote healthcare system over a mobile data network (Ayanruoh – Par. [0087] discloses the data can be transmitted via a satellite modem to transfer the test data wireless to a central computer and/or EMS service for medical support.).
Referring to claim 51, Ayanruoh, Nguyen and Hyde disclose the method of claim 49, further comprising receiving a revised sequence of operation from a remote healthcare provider (Ayanruoh – Par. [0076] & Fig. 6 disclose doctor decides tests deemed necessary 610, Physician decides 620, if the patient should see the results concurrently in real time on the screen for the circumstances and exigencies of the subject patient, if YES face screen towards the patient 622, if NO face screen away from the patient 624 and selection 625 of the modules identified supra and initiation of the main program.).
Referring to claim 52, Ayanruoh, Nguyen and Hyde disclose the method of claim 49, wherein the identifying tag is an RFID tag and identifying each compartment includes detecting proximity of the RFID tag to a reader (Nguyen – Par. [0015] disclose the system further comprises a machine-readable identification tag affixed to an item, and a scanner in communication with the control unit, the scanner configured to read the tag. In yet other detailed aspects, the system further comprises a machine-readable identification tag affixed to one of the plurality of storage spaces, and a scanner in communication with the control unit, the scanner configured to read the tag. Par. [0061] discloses an RFID tag number can be obtained via an RFID scanner 28' that emits radio waves and receives signals back from an RFID tag within a certain range or distance from the scanner.).
Referring to claim 53, Ayanruoh, Nguyen and Hyde disclose the method of claim 49, further comprising displaying usage instructions for the selected medical apparatus on the touchscreen interface (Hyde – Par. [0036, 0055, 0057] & Fig. 8 disclose two-way audio-visual system 314 may take the form of an off-the-shelf commercially available device that provides two-way audio-visual capability (e.g., a smart phone or tablet computer), or may be assembled from system components as known to those skilled in the art. In an aspect, two-way audio-visual system 314 is a hand-held device. Wirelessly communicating information between the electrical control circuitry and a remote location via communication circuitry in the medical equipment case, wherein the information includes audio-visual information from a two-way audio-visual system in the medical equipment case, at 710. In an aspect, the information includes at least one instruction for controlling the at least one article of medical equipment, as indicated at 804.).
Referring to claim 54, Ayanruoh, Nguyen and Hyde disclose the method of claim 49, wherein the touchscreen interface is configured to support a telemedicine session concurrent with operation of the selected medical apparatus (Hyde – Abstract, Par. [0036, 0055, 0057] & Fig. 8 disclose A medical equipment case is provided for containing and transporting at least one article of medical equipment and a two-way audio-visual system. Such equipment may be used, for example, for telemedicine applications by a patient discharged from a hospital, or other subject in need of remote health care monitoring. Two-way audio-visual system 314 may take the form of an off-the-shelf commercially available device that provides two-way audio-visual capability (e.g., a smart phone or tablet computer), or may be assembled from system components as known to those skilled in the art. In an aspect, two-way audio-visual system 314 is a hand-held device. Wirelessly communicating information between the electrical control circuitry and a remote location via communication circuitry in the medical equipment case, wherein the information includes audio-visual information from a two-way audio-visual system in the medical equipment case, at 710. In an aspect, the information includes at least one instruction for controlling the at least one article of medical equipment, as indicated at 804.).
Referring to claim 55, Ayanruoh, Nguyen and Hyde disclose the method of claim 49, wherein the central control unit detects a user identity and unlocks the housing based on authenticated access (Hyde –See Fig. 9, steps 702, 908, 704, 706.).
Referring to claim 60, Ayanruoh, Nguyen and Hyde disclose the method of claim 49, wherein the touchscreen displays a video tutorial corresponding to the selected medical apparatus (Hyde – Par. [0036, 0055, 0057] & Fig. 8 disclose two-way audio-visual system 314 may take the form of an off-the-shelf commercially available device that provides two-way audio-visual capability (e.g., a smart phone or tablet computer), or may be assembled from system components as known to those skilled in the art. In an aspect, two-way audio-visual system 314 is a hand-held device. Wirelessly communicating information between the electrical control circuitry and a remote location via communication circuitry in the medical equipment case, wherein the information includes audio-visual information from a two-way audio-visual system in the medical equipment case, at 710. In an aspect, the information includes at least one instruction for controlling the at least one article of medical equipment, as indicated at 804.).
Referring to claim 62, Ayanruoh, Nguyen and Hyde disclose the method of claim 49, further comprising determining geographic position of the kit and disabling operation if outside a predefined area (Hyde – See Par. [0042, 0044]).
Referring to claim 63, Ayanruoh, Nguyen and Hyde disclose the method of claim 49, wherein the touchscreen interface receives a prescription file (Ayanruoh – Figs. 7-13 disclose obtaining a prescription 750, 850, 950, 1050.) and configures a medication dispenser accordingly (Nguyen – Par. [0099-0100] disclose using a touchscreen 26 for configuring a dispensing station 10.).
8. Claims 56 and 18-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Ayanruoh in view of Nguyen and Hyde, and further in view of Byrd et al. (US Pub. No. 2015/0058032 A1 hereinafter “Byrd”).
Referring to claim 56, Ayanruoh, Nguyen and Hyde disclose the method of claim 49, however, fail to explicitly disclose further comprising recording a timestamp associated with each usage event for a medical apparatus.
Byrd discloses recording a timestamp associated with each usage event for a medical apparatus (Byrd – Par. [0009] discloses the device use data may comprise data relating to at least one of a usage count of the medical device, a usage duration of the medical device, and a usage timestamp of the medical device.).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to include Byrd’s teachings with Ayanruoh, Nguyen and Hyde’s techniques for the benefit of improving the integration of memory devices with multiple systems, components, and/or medical devices in an EP lab (Byrd – Par. [0007]).
9. Claims 57 and 61 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Ayanruoh in view of Nguyen and Hyde, and further in view of Ortiz et al. (US Pub. No. 2007/0272746 A1 hereinafter “Ortiz”).
Referring to claim 57, Ayanruoh, Nguyen and Hyde disclose the method of claim 49, however, fail to explicitly disclose further comprising comparing received medical data to predefined thresholds and initiating an alert when a threshold is exceeded.
Ortiz discloses comparing received medical data to predefined thresholds and initiating an alert when a threshold is exceeded (Ortiz – Par. [0019] discloses automatic alerts may be provided, based on any of various criteria, such as preselected minimum desired inventory amounts or replenishment levels, or expiration of certain medical device(s) in inventory, or future medical device expiration within a specified period of time. If a medical device tag is also provided with a temperature sensor, an automatic alert may be sent if a selected temperature is exceeded.).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to include Ortiz’s teachings with Ayanruoh, Nguyen and Hyde’s techniques for the benefit of providing a system for medical devices using radiofrequency identification, and more particularly to a medical device inventory management system using radiofrequency identification (Ortiz – Par. [0003]).
Referring to claim 61, Ayanruoh, Nguyen and Hyde disclose the method of claim 49, however, fail to explicitly disclose further comprising generating a re-supply request based on inventory tracking from the identifying tags.
Ortiz discloses generating a re-supply request based on inventory tracking from the identifying tags (Ortiz – See Par. [0062-0064].).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to include Ortiz’s teachings with Ayanruoh, Nguyen and Hyde’s techniques for the benefit of providing a system for medical devices using radiofrequency identification, and more particularly to a medical device inventory management system using radiofrequency identification (Ortiz – Par. [0003]).
10. Claim 58 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Ayanruoh in view of Nguyen and Hyde, and further in view of Nagaraj et al. (US Pub. No. 2014/0064164 A1 hereinafter “Nagaraj”).
Referring to claim 58, Ayanruoh, Nguyen and Hyde disclose the method of claim 49, however, fail to explicitly disclose further comprising activating a wireless hotspot from the central control unit to enable external communication by medical apparatuses.
Nagaraj discloses activating a wireless hotspot from the central control unit to enable external communication (Nagaraj – Par. [0022] discloses when an AP is included in a first device such as smartphone, tablet computer or laptop computer, a user may activate the AP (e.g., "personal hotspot") in order to connect to an second electronic device (e.g., another smartphone, tablet computer or laptop computer) so that the second electronic device may connect to a network such as the Internet through the AP in the first device.).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to include Nagaraj’s teachings with Ayanruoh, Nguyen and Hyde’s techniques for the benefit of providing a method and apparatus are described for transmitting beacon frames to an electronic device over a wireless data (Nagaraj – Abstract).
11. Claim 59 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Ayanruoh in view of Nguyen and Hyde, and further in view of Rayner (US Pub. No. 2014/0002239 A1 hereinafter “Rayner”).
Referring to claim 59, Ayanruoh, Nguyen and Hyde disclose the method of claim 49, however, fail to explicitly disclose wherein the central control unit initiates an environmental scan of the housing and logs at least one of temperature, humidity, vibration, or shock.
Rayner discloses the central control unit initiates an environmental scan of the housing and logs at least one of temperature, humidity, vibration, or shock (Rayner – Par. [0022] discloses the one or more data sources associated with the compartmented containment device, e.g., luggage, may include one or more environmental sensors. In some embodiments, the one or more environmental sensors may include one or more of a temperature sensor, a humidity sensor, a moisture sensor, a light sensor, a velocity sensor, a movement sensor, an accelerometer, a directionality sensor, a pressure sensor, a camera, a microphone, a speaker, and other sensors capable of generating data, e.g., electronic data, and communicating the same to a controller.).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to include Rayner’s teachings with Ayanruoh, Nguyen and Hyde’s techniques for the benefit of improving devices and systems to monitor, track, and/or control various personal effects (Rayner – Par. [0003]).
12. Claims 64, 66 and 68 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Ayanruoh in view of Nguyen and Hyde, and further in view of DiSilestro et al. (US Pub. No. 2006/0142739 A1 hereinafter “DiSilestro”).
Referring to claim 64, Ayanruoh, Nguyen and Hyde disclose the method of claim 49, however, fail to explicitly disclose wherein the medical apparatus is wirelessly paired with the central control unit and automatically activated upon illumination of at least one of the compartments.
DiSilestro discloses the medical apparatus is wirelessly paired with the central control unit and automatically activated upon illumination of at least one of the compartments (DiSilestro – See. Figs. 2, 4 & Par. [0034-0035, 0044-0045]).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to include DiSilestro’s teachings with Ayanruoh, Nguyen and Hyde’s techniques for the benefit of providing a system for managing medical instrument use during a predefined surgical procedure that includes a number of medical instruments (DiSilestro – Par. [0004]).
Referring to claim 66, Ayanruoh, Nguyen and Hyde disclose the method of claim 49, however, fail to explicitly disclose further comprising maintaining a log of completed tasks and their associated apparatus identifiers.
DiSilestro discloses maintaining a log of completed tasks and their associated apparatus identifiers (DiSilestro – See. Par. [0062]).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to include DiSilestro’s teachings with Ayanruoh, Nguyen and Hyde’s techniques for the benefit of providing a system for managing medical instrument use during a predefined surgical procedure that includes a number of medical instruments (DiSilestro – Par. [0004]).
Referring to claim 68, Ayanruoh, Nguyen and Hyde disclose the method of claim 49, however, fail to explicitly disclose wherein the second compartment is illuminated only upon confirmation that data has been successfully received and validated relating to an operation corresponding to the first compartment.
DiSilestro discloses the second compartment is illuminated only upon confirmation that data has been successfully received and validated relating to an operation corresponding to the first compartment (DiSilestro – See. Figs. 2, 4 & Par. [0034-0035, 0044-0045]).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to include DiSilestro’s teachings with Ayanruoh, Nguyen and Hyde’s techniques for the benefit of providing a system for managing medical instrument use during a predefined surgical procedure that includes a number of medical instruments (DiSilestro – Par. [0004]).
13. Claim 65 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Ayanruoh in view of Nguyen and Hyde, and further in view of Wilson (US Patent No. 5,850,630 hereinafter “Wilson”).
Referring to claim 65, Ayanruoh, Nguyen and Hyde disclose the method of claim 49, however, fail to explicitly disclose further comprising prompting the user with audible or visual indicators for correct sequence execution.
Wilson discloses prompting the user with audible or visual indicators for correct sequence execution (Wilson – Abstract discloses upon pressing a key, the internal electronics addresses and plays a selected set of instructions through the speaker or displays the instructions on a video screen, enabling the user to select and apply the correct tool(s) to complete the task.).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to include Wilson’s teachings with Ayanruoh, Nguyen and Hyde’s techniques for the benefit of providing an emergency medical kit which carries most of the necessary medical equipment to provide first aid to a patient and which has an audible instructional prompt (Wilson – Col. 1, lines 48-50).
14. Claim 67 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Ayanruoh in view of Nguyen and Hyde, and further in view of Singh et al. (US Patent No. 9,106,421 B1hereinafter “Singh”).
Referring to claim 67, Ayanruoh, Nguyen and Hyde disclose the method of claim 49, further comprising transmitting data only (Hyde – Par. [0027] discloses communication between a medical equipment case and remote location via a cellular network.), however fails to explicitly disclose enabling a secure and an unsecure communication channel, and transmitting patient data only over the secure channel.
Singh discloses enabling a secure and an unsecure communication channel (Singh – Col. 4, lines 41-43 disclose the cellular communication link is a secure encrypted communication link and the WLAN communication link is an unsecure or unencrypted communication link.).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to include Singh’s teachings with Ayanruoh, Nguyen and Hyde’s techniques for the benefit of providing a method, apparatus, and system for securing a communication link between a user equipment device (UE) and a communication network (Singh – Abstract).
Conclusion
The examiner requests, in response to this office action, support be shown for language added to any original claims on amendment and any new claims. That is, indicate support for newly added claim language by specifically pointing to page(s) and line number(s) in the specification and/or drawing figure(s). This will assist the examiner in prosecuting the application. When responding to this office action, applicant is advised to clearly point out the patentable novelty which he or she thinks the claims present, in view of the state of art disclosed by the references cited or the objections made. He or she must also show how the amendments avoid such references or objections. See 37 C.F.R.I .Ill(c).
In amending in reply to a rejection of claims in an application or patent under reexamination, the applicant or patent owner must clearly point out the patentable novelty which he or she thinks the claims present in view the state of the art disclosed by the references cited or the objections made. The applicant or patent owner must also show how the amendments avoid such references or objections.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to DAYTON LEWIS-TAYLOR whose telephone number is (571) 2707754. The examiner can normally be reached on Monday through Thursday, 8AM TO 4PM, EASTERN TIME.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Idriss Alrobaye, can be reached on (571) 270-1023. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/Dayton Lewis-Taylor/
Examiner, Art Unit 2181