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 .
Priority
Acknowledgment is made of applicant's claim for foreign priority based on an application filed in Korea on 25 May 2023 and 22 May 2024. It is noted, however, that applicant has not filed a certified copy of the KR10-2023-0067755 and KR10-224-0066496 application as required by 37 CFR 1.55.
Claim Objections
Claim 29 is objected to because of the following informalities:
In claim 29, line 1: “maser device” should be “master device”
Appropriate correction is required.
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.
Claims 1, 2, 4, 8, 16, and 29 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Choi et al (US 2018/0056044).
Regarding claim 1, Choi discloses:
A method performed by a master device (112; Fig. 1) for remotely controlling a vascular interventional procedure robot (102), the method comprising: (a) generating a first remote advancement control signal (¶0031 – multiple tools are advanced and retracted and are able to both translate and rotate) for causing at least one guide device (¶0031 - guidewire) to reach a target branch in response to a user's first advancement operation of at least one operation rod (104, 106) configured to perform translational and rotational motions (¶0031), and providing the first remote advancement control signal to the vascular interventional procedure robot (102); (b) generating a second remote advancement control signal for causing at least one catheter (¶0029 - catheter) to reach the target branch by following the at least one guide device (¶0004 – robotic systems are used to advance a catheter over a guidewire during a minimally invasive procedure) in response to the user's second advancement operation of the at least one operation rod (104, 106), and providing the second remote advancement control signal to the vascular interventional procedure robot (102); (c) generating a first remote retraction control signal (¶0031) for removing the at least one guide device (¶0031 - guidewire) from the at least one catheter by withdrawing the at least one guide device (¶0031 - guidewire) in a direction opposite to that of insertion in response to the user's first retraction manipulation of the at least one operation rod (¶0035 – retracting the guidewire during wind up of the drum 214, Fig. 4), and providing the first remote retraction control signal to the vascular interventional procedure robot (102); and (d) generating a third remote advancement control signal for causing at least one procedure device (¶0031 – multiple instruments can be controlled) to reach the target branch by following the at least one catheter (¶0029 - catheter) in response to the user's third advancement operation of the at least one operation rod (104, 106), and providing the third remote advancement control signal to the vascular interventional procedure robot (102).
Regarding claim 2, Choi discloses:
The method of claim 1, further comprising displaying, on a display of the master device (112), a procedure interface for selecting a procedure step and a procedure tool driven by the vascular interventional procedure robot (¶0029 – “workstation 112 may include a computer monitor to display the catheter instrument or component thereof, e.g., a guidewire and/or a catheter sheath”).
Regarding claim 4, Choi discloses:
The method of claim 1, wherein the first advancement operation comprises an operation to advance the at least one operation rod (104, 106) while rotating (¶0031 – rotate and translate the tool during advancement); and the at least one guide device (¶0031 - guidewire) is inserted toward the target branch while being rotated by the vascular interventional procedure robot (102) in response to the first remote advancement control signal.
Regarding claim 8, Choi discloses:
The method of claim 1, wherein the master device comprises two operation rods (104, 106), the two operation rods (104, 106) are configured to move simultaneously and independently in response to the user's manipulation of each of the two operation rods (¶0029 – operator controls the two instruments at the workstation 112), and the method further comprises: acquiring a user input for designating a procedure tool operated by each of the two operation rods (¶0029); and generating, based on the user input, a signal for controlling the procedure tool corresponding to each of the two operation rods in response to the user's manipulation of the two operation rods, and providing the signal to the vascular interventional procedure robot (¶0029).
Regarding claim 16, Choi discloses:
The method of claim 1, wherein in step (b), a position of a distal end of the at least one catheter is maintained within the target branch (¶0055 – the devices can be fixed in place by using clamps in order to manipulate proximal elements of the devices as needed); and in step (d), the position of the distal end of the at least one catheter and a position of a distal end of the at least one procedure device are maintained within the target branch (¶0055).
Regarding claim 29, Choi discloses:
A master device (112; Fig. 1) comprising: one or more processors (¶0029 – workstation 112 controls the operation of the robot 102 and has at least one processor as a result); and one or more memories configured to store instructions to be executed by the one or more processors (¶0029 – because the system has a computer and controls a robot, it necessarily has at least one memory to function with at least one processor), wherein, the one or more processors are configured to, when the instructions are executed, (a) generate a first remote advancement control signal (¶0031 – multiple tools are advanced and retracted and are able to both translate and rotate) for causing at least one guide device (¶0031 - guidewire) to reach a target branch in response to a user's first advancement operation of at least one operation rod (104, 106) configured to perform translational and rotational motions (¶0031), and provide the first remote advancement control signal to the vascular interventional procedure robot (102); (b) generate a second remote advancement control signal for causing at least one catheter (¶0029 - catheter) to reach the target branch by following the at least one guide device (¶0004 – robotic systems are used to advance a catheter over a guidewire during a minimally invasive procedure) in response to the user's second advancement operation of the at least one operation rod (104, 106), and provide the second remote advancement control signal to the vascular interventional procedure robot (102); (c) generate a first remote retraction control signal (¶0031) for removing the at least one guide device (¶0031 - guidewire) from the at least one catheter by withdrawing the at least one guide device (¶0031 - guidewire) in a direction opposite to that of insertion in response to the user's first retraction manipulation of the at least one operation rod (¶0035 – retracting the guidewire during wind up of the drum 214, Fig. 4), and provide the first remote retraction control signal to the vascular interventional procedure robot (102); and (d) generate a third remote advancement control signal for causing at least one procedure device (¶0031 – multiple instruments can be controlled) to reach the target branch by following the at least one catheter (¶0029 - catheter) in response to the user's third advancement operation of the at least one operation rod (104, 106), and provide the third remote advancement control signal to the vascular interventional procedure robot (102).
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.
The factual inquiries for establishing a background for determining obviousness under 35 U.S.C. 103 are summarized as follows:
1. Determining the scope and contents of the prior art.
2. Ascertaining the differences between the prior art and the claims at issue.
3. Resolving the level of ordinary skill in the pertinent art.
4. Considering objective evidence present in the application indicating obviousness or nonobviousness.
This application currently names joint inventors. In considering patentability of the claims the examiner presumes that the subject matter of the various claims was commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the claimed invention(s) absent any evidence to the contrary. Applicant is advised of the obligation under 37 CFR 1.56 to point out the inventor and effective filing dates of each claim that was not commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the later invention in order for the examiner to consider the applicability of 35 U.S.C. 102(b)(2)(C) for any potential 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) prior art against the later invention.
Claims 5 and 25 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Choi in view of Liu et al (US 2020/0367977).
Regarding claim 5, Choi discloses the method of claim 1 but is silent regarding “a first measuring unit … related to a translational motion” and “a second measuring unit … related to a rotational motion.” However, Liu teaches a robotic surgical system (Fig. 1), thus being in the same field of endeavor, that uses sensors in the form of capacitive members to determine and measure the displacement and movement of the tool with respect to the surgical assembly in order to monitor and prevent collision (¶0041). It would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art prior to the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the method of Choi to incorporate sensors for rotational and translational motion as taught by Liu in order to have more precise control of the procedure device and prevent damage or collision within a patient, as recognized by Liu.
Regarding claim 25, Choi discloses the method of claim 1 but is silent regarding “analyzing a sensing value transmitted from a position sensor installed in each of multiple modules supporting respective procedure tools in the vascular interventional procedure robot such that collisions between the multiple modules are avoided in case that each of multiple modules advances, retracts, or stops; generating a remote control signal for reconfiguring a movement operation of each of the multiple modules, based on the analyzed sensing value, and providing the remote control signal to the vascular interventional procedure robot; and displaying, on a display, an alarm for the reconfigured movement operation of each of the multiple modules.” However, Liu teaches a robotic surgical system (Fig. 1), thus being in the same field of endeavor, that uses position sensors to monitor each procedure tool and prevent collision of the tools (¶0041), which is then communicated to the controller (¶0043). The controller is connected to a display (¶0029) and an alarm system (¶0044) to aid the user in monitoring the system. It would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art prior to the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the method of Choi to incorporate a collision prevention system as taught by Liu to manage multiple devices of a robotic surgical system in order to have more precise control of the procedure device and prevent damage or collision within a patient, as recognized by Liu.
Claims 7 and 14 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Choi in view of Strommer et al (US 2006/0058647).
Regarding claim 7, Choi discloses the method of claim 1 but is silent regarding “the at least one guide device and the at least one catheter are introduced into a first target branch” and “the at least one procedure device is introduced into a second target branch branched from the first target branch.” However, Strommer teaches a medical device positioning system, thus being in the same field of endeavor, which incorporates a coordinate system to direct different tools to different target branches of a patient (Fig. 5) in order to have precise control over the position of the tool with respect to the target vessel (¶0221). As applied to Choi, each tool of Choi would be use such a coordinate system to be directed to different target vessels as needed. It would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art prior to the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the method of Choi to incorporate the signals to introduce tools to specific target branches as taught by Strommer in order to provide sufficient means to move the tools of Choi to their desired targets.
Regarding claim 14, Choi discloses the method of claim 1 but is silent regarding “generating a fifth remote advancement control signal for causing a medical device to reach the target branch by following the at least one procedure device in response to the user's fifth advancement operation of the at least one operation rod, and providing the fifth remote advancement control signal to the vascular interventional procedure robot.” However, Strommer teaches a medical device positioning system, thus being in the same field of endeavor, which incorporates a coordinate system to direct different tools to different target branches of a patient (Fig. 5) in order to have precise control over the position of the tool with respect to the target vessel (¶0221). It would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art prior to the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the method of Choi to incorporate the signals to introduce tools to specific target branches as taught by Strommer in order to provide sufficient means to move the tools of Choi to their desired targets.
Claim 13 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Choi in view of Brock et al (US 2002/0087169).
Regarding claim 13, Choi discloses the method of claim 1 but is silent regarding the method completing at least one of “ (g) generating a first signal for suctioning a thrombus from the target branch through the at least one procedure device, and providing the first signal to the vascular interventional procedure robot; (h) generating a second signal for performing aneurysm coil embolization through the at least one procedure device, and providing the second signal to the vascular interventional procedure robot; (i) generating a third signal for performing angiography through the at least one procedure device, and providing the third signal to the vascular interventional procedure robot; or (j) generating a fourth signal for injecting at least one of a contrast agent, a drug, or an embolic material into the target branch through the at least one procedure device, and providing the fourth signal to the vascular interventional procedure robot.” However, Brock teaches a remote control instrument system, thus being in the same field of endeavor, that is used for performing an angiography with the device (¶0115). It would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art prior to the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have used the method of Choi in an angiography procedure as taught by Brock in order to treat a desired condition.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claim 30 is allowed.
Claims 3, 6, 9-12, 15, 17-24, and 26-28 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.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to TASNIM M AHMED whose telephone number is (571)272-9536. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 9am-5pm Pacific time.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Bhisma Mehta can be reached at (571)272-3383. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/TASNIM MEHJABIN AHMED/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3783