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 .
Claim Objections
Claims 1-24 are objected to because of the following informalities:
Claim 1, line 3-4, “the ventricular free wall” should read either: 1) “the ventricular free wall tissue” or 2) “a ventricular free wall”.
Claim 5, line 2, “the” before “pre-selected length” should read “a”.
Claim 11, line 3-4, “the ventricular free wall” should read either: 1) “the ventricular free wall tissue” or 2) “a ventricular free wall”.
Claim 16, line 2, “the” before “pre-selected length” should read “a”.
Appropriate correction is required.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 1-24 would be allowable if rewritten or amended to overcome the objection(s), set forth in this Office action.
The following is an examiner’s statement of reasons for allowance: the prior art fails to disclose, in combination with other limitations of the claims, a method for reshaping a heart ventricle including implanting a device in an uncinched configuration into ventricular free wall tissue of a heart ventricle a target implant site such that the device subtends ventricular free wall, cinching the device to a cinched configuration to reduce a first end diastolic diameter to a second, smaller end diastolic diameter, and reverse-remodeling the heart ventricle to improve one or more indices of cardiac functions, as recited in claims 1 and 11.
The reasons for allowance of the claims is clear from the written record of prosecution. Attention is specifically drawn to US 2018/0140421 (Sampson). However, Sampson is not a valid prior art reference under 35 U.S.C. 102/103.
As discussed above, Sampson does not anticipate applicant’s claimed invention. Furthermore, there does not appear to be a reason, absent hindsight, to modify Sampson, alone or in combination, to teach the claimed method. Therefore, the cited references taken singly or in combination do not anticipate or make obvious applicant’s claimed invention.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to TODD J SCHERBEL whose telephone number is (571)270-7085. The examiner can normally be reached Mon - Fri 9:00-6:00.
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TJ SCHERBEL
Primary Examiner
Art Unit 3771
/TODD J SCHERBEL/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3771
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