Prosecution Insights
Last updated: October 25, 2026

Carlsmed Inc.

Technology areas: Transportation, E-Commerce & Mechanical Systems • Medical Devices & Mechanical Engineering

8 pending office actions • 6 art units • 7 examiners • 0 of 8 (0%) have an AI response strategy ready • 20 patents granted in the last 365 days

Analysis

Carlsmed Inc. has 8 pending office actions in Medical Devices & Mechanical Engineering. The matters involve 7 distinct examiners and 5 distinct art units, showing a small but distributed examination footprint.

PLIONIS, NICHOLAS J is the busiest examiner with 2 pending matters. The limited concentration supports targeted review of that examiner’s cases, while the broader docket calls for separate analysis of the other assignments. Counsel may coordinate positions on device-related claim limitations without assuming identical prosecution issues.

Written from this page's own data; every figure is computed from USPTO records and verified before publication.

Portfolio Summary

8
Total Pending OAs
6
Non-Final OAs
2
Final Rejections
0
Advisory / Quayle

Case Difficulty Mix

Difficulty is derived from the rejection statutes on the most recent pending office action. §101-driven and multi-statute cases are graded Hard; §112-only and obviousness-type double-patenting cases are graded Easy; everything else is Medium. "Unknown" means we have not yet parsed a statute for that office action.

3
Hard (38%)
5
Medium (62%)
0
Easy (0%)
0
Unknown (0%)

Rejection Statute Mix

BucketCases
§101 + other2 (25%)
§103 only5 (62%)
Multi-statute (no §101)1 (12%)

Industry Mix

How the docket's pending cases split across USPTO tech-center bands.

0
Life Sciences
0% of docket
0
Information Tech
0% of docket
1
Communications
12% of docket
0
Semiconductors
0% of docket
7
Mechanical / Eng
88% of docket
0
Business / Other
0% of docket

Time-on-OA Estimate

Manual office-action response work runs about 10 hours per case. The time-saved bands below show what IP Author's prosecution pipeline typically delivers — a conservative 20% on the low end, 35% in the middle, 50% on the high end.

80 h
Manual time on pending OAs
16 h
Time saved (low, 20%)
28 h
Time saved (mid, 35%)
0.7 wks
FTE-weeks freed (mid)

Top Examiners on this docket

ExaminerApps on this docketAllow rateInterview lift
PLIONIS, NICHOLAS J 2 71.1% +39.4%
BAYAT, ALI 1 92.4% +5.9%
BALAJ, ANTHONY MICHAEL 1 31.2% +29.2%
STONE, RACHAEL SOJIN 1 55.2% +21.0%
BECCIA, CHRISTOPHER J 1 83.5% +14.0%
MERRIAM, AARON ROGERS 1 33.3% +65.0%
BROUGHTON, SHAWN CURTIS 1 42.3% +33.9%

Quick Wins (2)

Cases in front of an examiner with an allow rate of 80%+ where the difficulty is Easy or Medium. The top 2 ordered by deadline are shown.

App #TitleExaminerDue in
19026219 PATIENT-SPECIFIC EXPANDABLE SPINAL IMPLANTS AND ASSOCIATED SYSTEMS AND METHODS BAYAT, ALI —
17978746 PATIENT-SPECIFIC SPINAL INSTRUMENTS FOR IMPLANTING IMPLANTS AND DECOMPRESSION PROCEDURES BECCIA, CHRISTOPHER J —

Hard Cases (3)

Multi-statute / §101-driven matters, or cases in front of an examiner with an allow rate under 30%. The top 3 ordered by deadline are shown.

App #TitleExaminerDue in
18537600 PATIENT-SPECIFIC IMPLANT DESIGN AND MANUFACTURING SYSTEM WITH A REGULATORY AND REIMBURSEMENT MANAGER BALAJ, ANTHONY MICHAEL —
18120979 MULTI-STAGE PATIENT-SPECIFIC SURGICAL PLANS AND SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR CREATING AND IMPLEMENTING THE SAME STONE, RACHAEL SOJIN —
17851487 PATIENT-SPECIFIC ADJUSTMENT OF SPINAL IMPLANTS, AND ASSOCIATED SYSTEMS AND METHODS BROUGHTON, SHAWN CURTIS —

Interview Candidates (7)

Cases in front of an examiner whose interview lift is 10 percentage points or more — i.e. interviewed cases historically resolve more favorably than non-interviewed ones. The top 7 ordered by deadline are shown.

App #TitleExaminerDue in
19337752 SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR ASSISTING AND AUGMENTING SURGICAL PROCEDURES PLIONIS, NICHOLAS J —
19337759 SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR ASSISTING AND AUGMENTING SURGICAL PROCEDURES PLIONIS, NICHOLAS J —
18537600 PATIENT-SPECIFIC IMPLANT DESIGN AND MANUFACTURING SYSTEM WITH A REGULATORY AND REIMBURSEMENT MANAGER BALAJ, ANTHONY MICHAEL —
18120979 MULTI-STAGE PATIENT-SPECIFIC SURGICAL PLANS AND SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR CREATING AND IMPLEMENTING THE SAME STONE, RACHAEL SOJIN —
17978746 PATIENT-SPECIFIC SPINAL INSTRUMENTS FOR IMPLANTING IMPLANTS AND DECOMPRESSION PROCEDURES BECCIA, CHRISTOPHER J —
17868729 SYSTEMS FOR PREDICTING INTRAOPERATIVE PATIENT MOBILITY AND IDENTIFYING MOBILITY-RELATED SURGICAL STEPS MERRIAM, AARON ROGERS —
17851487 PATIENT-SPECIFIC ADJUSTMENT OF SPINAL IMPLANTS, AND ASSOCIATED SYSTEMS AND METHODS BROUGHTON, SHAWN CURTIS —

Top Art Units

Art UnitApps
3773 2
3791 2
2677 1
3682 1
3681 1
3775 1

Pending Office Actions

App #TitleExaminerArt UnitStatutesStatusDue inAIFiled
19337752 SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR ASSISTING AND AUGMENTING SURGICAL PROCEDURES PLIONIS, NICHOLAS J 3773 §103 Non-Final OA — Pending Sep 23, 2025
19337759 SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR ASSISTING AND AUGMENTING SURGICAL PROCEDURES PLIONIS, NICHOLAS J 3773 §103 Non-Final OA — Pending Sep 23, 2025
19026219 PATIENT-SPECIFIC EXPANDABLE SPINAL IMPLANTS AND ASSOCIATED SYSTEMS AND METHODS BAYAT, ALI 2677 §103 Non-Final OA — Pending Jan 16, 2025
18537600 PATIENT-SPECIFIC IMPLANT DESIGN AND MANUFACTURING SYSTEM WITH A REGULATORY AND REIMBURSEMENT MANAGER BALAJ, ANTHONY MICHAEL 3682 §101§103 Final Rejection — Pending Dec 12, 2023
18120979 MULTI-STAGE PATIENT-SPECIFIC SURGICAL PLANS AND SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR CREATING AND IMPLEMENTING THE SAME STONE, RACHAEL SOJIN 3681 §101§102§103 Final Rejection — Pending Mar 13, 2023
17978746 PATIENT-SPECIFIC SPINAL INSTRUMENTS FOR IMPLANTING IMPLANTS AND DECOMPRESSION PROCEDURES BECCIA, CHRISTOPHER J 3775 §103 Non-Final OA — Pending Nov 01, 2022
17868729 SYSTEMS FOR PREDICTING INTRAOPERATIVE PATIENT MOBILITY AND IDENTIFYING MOBILITY-RELATED SURGICAL STEPS MERRIAM, AARON ROGERS 3791 §103 Non-Final OA — Pending Jul 19, 2022
17851487 PATIENT-SPECIFIC ADJUSTMENT OF SPINAL IMPLANTS, AND ASSOCIATED SYSTEMS AND METHODS BROUGHTON, SHAWN CURTIS 3791 §103§112 Non-Final OA — Pending Jun 28, 2022

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Frequently Asked Questions

How many pending USPTO office actions does Carlsmed Inc. have?

Carlsmed Inc. has 8 pending office actions as of October 2026, spread across 6 art units and 7 examiners.

Which USPTO examiner handles the most Carlsmed Inc. applications?

Nicholas J Plionis has the most, with 2 of Carlsmed Inc.'s pending office actions.

What technology area are Carlsmed Inc.'s patent applications in?

Mostly Medical Devices & Mechanical Engineering (USPTO Tech Center 3700), based on where its pending office actions are examined.

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