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 I and IV in the reply filed on 02/10/2026 is acknowledged.
Claims 22, 29, 30 and 36-38 are withdrawn from further consideration pursuant to 37 CFR 1.142(b) as being drawn to a nonelected species, there being no allowable generic or linking claim.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 02/10/2026.
Claim Objections
Claim 21 is objected to because of the following informalities: Line 10 reading “deliver energy” should read --deliver the energy--. Appropriate correction is required.
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.
Claims 21, 23, 25-26 and 28 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Gill (USPGPub 2001/0003156).
Re Claim 21, Gill teaches a system for treatment, the system comprising: a surface mounted device (Gill Figs. 1-4) configured to be positioned on and secured to a head of a wearer (Gill Figs. 3-4; ¶ 0078-0079); a cannula (1) having a channel, the cannula configured to pass through the surface mounted device (Gill ¶ 0077), through an incision in the head of the wearer, and into body tissue of the wearer (Gill ¶ 0077-0079); and an energy delivering device configured to be inserted into the cannula (1), the surface mounted device, and the incision in order to enter the body tissue, wherein the energy delivering device is configured to deliver energy into the body tissue of the wearer (Gill ¶ 0081-0082), wherein the surface mounted device is configured to stabilize the energy delivering device while the energy delivering device delivers the energy into the body tissue of the wearer (Gill ¶ 0082-0083).
Re Claim 23, Gill teaches wherein the body tissue comprises a brain of the wearer (Gill ¶ 0082).
Re Claim 25, Gill teaches wherein the energy delivering device is configured to increase temperature of the body tissue of the wearer (Gill ¶ 0002).
Re Claim 26, Gill teaches wherein the energy delivering device is configured to provide electrical stimulation to the body tissue of the wearer (Gill ¶ 0002).
Re Claim 28, Gill teaches a method of using the system of Claim 21, the method comprising: inserting the energy delivering device into the cannula (1), the surface mounted device, and the incision so that the energy delivering device enters the body tissue (Gill ¶ 0081-0082), wherein the body tissue is a brain of the wearer (Gill ¶ 0082); and operating the energy delivering device, after said inserting, to treat at least one of: dementia, Alzheimer's disease, hyperactivity, seizure, sleep disorders, hypothermia, arthritis, pain, or infection, or to enhance tissue healing (Gill ¶ 0001, 0042).
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.
Claims 24, 41-45 and 47-50 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Gill (USPGPub 2001/0003156) in view of Keidar (USPGPub 2004/0078036).
Re Claim 24, Gill teaches all of the limitations of Claim 21. However, Gill fails to teach wherein the system is configured to be operational under guidance of a computed tomography (CT) scan. Keidar teaches a system for delivering energy to a body tissue (Keidar Abstract), the system is configured to be operational under guidance of a computed tomography (CT) scan for developing a map of the area to be treated wherein location of a catheter is visualized on this map for proper placement of an area to be treated (Keidar ¶ 0120). Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have configured the system of Keidar to include operating under guidance of a computed tomography (CT) scan as disclosed by Keidar for developing a map of the area to be treated wherein location of a catheter is visualized on this map for proper placement of an area to be treated (Keidar ¶ 0120).
Re Claim 41, Gill teaches a system for delivering energy to body tissue, the system comprising: a surface mounted device (Gill Figs. 1-4) configured to be positioned on and securely attached to a head of a wearer (Gill Figs. 3-4; ¶ 0078-0079); a cannula (1) defining a channel, the cannula configured to pass through the surface mounted device (Gill ¶ 0077), through an incision in the head, and into the body tissue (Gill ¶ 0077-0079); an energy delivering device configured to be positioned through the cannula (1), the surface mounted device, and the incision, wherein the energy delivering device configured to deliver energy into the body tissue (Gill ¶ 0082-0083). However, Gill fails to teach wherein the system is configured to be operational under of a computed tomography (CT) scan.
Keidar teaches a system for delivering energy to a body tissue (Keidar Abstract), the system is configured to be operational under guidance of a computed tomography (CT) scan for developing a map of the area to be treated wherein location of a catheter is visualized on this map for proper placement of an area to be treated (Keidar ¶ 0120). Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have configured the system of Keidar to include operating under guidance of a computed tomography (CT) scan as disclosed by Keidar for developing a map of the area to be treated wherein location of a catheter is visualized on this map for proper placement of an area to be treated (Keidar ¶ 0120).
Re Claim 42, Gill in view of Keidar teach all of the limitations of Claim 41. Gill further teaches wherein the body tissue is a brain (Gill ¶ 0082).
Re Claim 43, Gill in view of Keidar teach all of the limitations of Claim 41. Gill further teaches wherein the energy delivering device is configured to increase temperature of the body tissue (Gill ¶ 0002).
Re Claim 44, Gill in view of Keidar teach all of the limitations of Claim 41. Gill fails to explicitly teach wherein the energy delivering device is configured to increase blood flow in the body tissue. However, the limitation “configured to increase blood flow in the body tissue” is a functional limitation and an inherent characteristic of prior art Gill. Gill teaches an electrode at a tip of a catheter for heating tissue. This heating of brain tissue would result in the increase of blood flow in said heated brain tissue (Gill ¶ 0002).
Re Claim 45, Gill in view of Keidar teach all of the limitations of Claim 41. Gill further teaches wherein the energy delivering device is configured to provide electrical stimulation to the body tissue of the wearer (Gill ¶ 0002).
Re Claim 47, Gill in view of Keidar teach all of the limitations of Claim 41. Gill further teaches the method comprising: inserting the energy delivering device into the cannula (1), the surface mounted device, and the incision so that the energy delivering device enters the body tissue (Gill ¶ 0082-0083); and operating the energy delivering device, after said inserting, to treat at least one of: dementia, Alzheimer's disease, hyperactivity, seizure, sleep disorders, hypothermia, arthritis, pain, or infection, or to enhance tissue healing (Gill ¶ 0001, 0042).
Re Claim 48, Gill teaches a method of treatment comprising: creating an incision in a head of a wearer (Gill ¶ 0078); positioning a surface mounted device on a head of the wearer (Gill Figs. 1-4); securing the surface mounted device to the head of the wearer (Gill ¶ 0078); passing a cannula (1) through the surface mounted device, through an incision in the head of the wearer, and into a body tissue of the wearer, wherein the cannula comprises a channel (as seen in Gill Fig. 2); inserting an energy delivering device through the cannula, the surface mounted device, and the incision into the body tissue (Gill ¶ 0077-0079); and activating the energy delivering device, the energy delivering device being configured to deliver energy into the body tissue of the wearer while activated (Gill ¶ 0081-0083), wherein the surface mounted device stabilizes the energy delivering device while the energy delivering device delivers the energy into the body tissue of the wearer (Gill ¶ 0082-0083).
Gill fails to teach wherein the method is configured to be performed under guidance of computed tomography (CT) scans. Keidar teaches a system for delivering energy to a body tissue (Keidar Abstract), the system is configured to be operational under guidance of a computed tomography (CT) scan for developing a map of the area to be treated wherein location of a catheter is visualized on this map for proper placement of an area to be treated (Keidar ¶ 0120). Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have configured the system of Keidar to include operating under guidance of a computed tomography (CT) scan as disclosed by Keidar for developing a map of the area to be treated wherein location of a catheter is visualized on this map for proper placement of an area to be treated (Keidar ¶ 0120).
Re Claim 49, Gill in view of Keidar teach all of the limitations of Claim 48. Gill further teaches wherein the energy delivered by the energy delivering device is operative to treat at least one of: dementia, Alzheimer's disease, hyperactivity, seizure, sleep disorders, hypothermia, arthritis, pain, or infection, or to enhance tissue healing (Gill ¶ 0001, 0042).
Re Claim 50, Gill in view of Keidar teach all of the limitations of Claim 48. Gill fails to explicitly teach wherein the energy delivering device is configured to increase blood flow in the body tissue of the wearer. However, the limitation “configured to increase blood flow in the body tissue” is a functional limitation and an inherent characteristic of prior art Gill. Gill teaches an electrode at a tip of a catheter for heating tissue. This heating of brain tissue would result in the increase of blood flow in said heated brain tissue (Gill ¶ 0002).
Claim 46 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Gill (USPGPub 2001/0003156) in view of Keidar (USPGPub 2004/0078036) as applied to Claim 41 above, and further in view of Saadatmenesh et al. (USPN 5,242,438).
Re Claim 46, Gill in view of Keidar teach all of the limitations of Claim 41. Gill in view of Keidar fail to teach wherein the energy delivering device comprises a laser. Saadatmenesh teaches an energy delivering device (Saadatmenesh Fig. 1) for treating a body tissue (Saadatmenesh Abstract) wherein the energy delivering device comprises a laser for use in a variety of medical procedures for effecting coagulation, ablation, vaporization, and the like (Saadatmenesh Col. 4 Lines 44-53). Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have configured the energy delivering device of Gill in view of Keidar to comprise a laser as disclosed by Saadatmenesh for use in a variety of medical procedures for effecting coagulation, ablation, vaporization, and the like (Saadatmenesh Col. 4 Lines 44-53).
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to WILLIAM R FREHE whose telephone number is (571)272-8225. The examiner can normally be reached 10:30AM-7:30PM.
Examiner interviews are available via telephone, in-person, and video conferencing using a USPTO supplied web-based collaboration tool. To schedule an interview, applicant is encouraged to use the USPTO Automated Interview Request (AIR) at http://www.uspto.gov/interviewpractice.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Kevin Sirmons can be reached at 571-272-4965. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
Information regarding the status of published or unpublished applications may be obtained from Patent Center. Unpublished application information in Patent Center is available to registered users. To file and manage patent submissions in Patent Center, visit: https://patentcenter.uspto.gov. Visit https://www.uspto.gov/patents/apply/patent-center for more information about Patent Center and https://www.uspto.gov/patents/docx for information about filing in DOCX format. For additional questions, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000.
/WILLIAM R FREHE/Examiner, Art Unit 3783 /KEVIN C SIRMONS/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 3783