Prosecution Insights
Prosecution Insights
Technology area: Medical Devices & Mechanical Engineering
73 pending office actions • 18 art units • 60 examiners • 0 of 73 (0%) have an AI response strategy ready • 66 patents granted in the last 365 days
Cochlear Limited currently manages 79 pending office actions within the Medical Devices & Mechanical Engineering technology area. These matters are distributed across 61 distinct examiners and 17 distinct art units. This distribution indicates a significant spread of examination across the USPTO, with some concentration among certain examiners.
GAUTHIER, GERALD is identified as the busiest examiner for this portfolio, currently handling 4 pending office actions. This represents a small portion of the total 79 pending office actions. The presence of 17 distinct art units suggests that the company's medical device innovations span multiple specialized classifications within the patent office.
Practitioners should note that with 61 distinct examiners for 79 actions, most pending matters are being reviewed by different individuals. This limited examiner overlap means that prosecution strategies may need to be tailored to the specific preferences of many different officials. Managing 17 distinct art units requires a sophisticated understanding of various examination guidelines within the Medical Devices & Mechanical Engineering sector.
Based on the USPTO statutory response window for each pending office action. 19 of the docket's apps have a known mailing date; the rest are excluded from the tile counts.
Every pending office action with a known statutory deadline, placed on a days-until-due axis. Dots left of Today are overdue; the further right, the more runway. Cases that share a deadline window stack vertically. 19 of the docket's apps have a known mailing date.
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.
| Bucket | Cases |
|---|---|
| §101 + other | 13 (18%) |
| §103 only | 8 (11%) |
| §102 only | 4 (5%) |
| Double-patenting only | 4 (5%) |
| Double-patenting + other | 4 (5%) |
| Multi-statute (no §101) | 40 (55%) |
How the docket's pending cases split across USPTO tech-center bands.
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.
| Examiner | Apps on this docket | Allow rate | Interview lift |
|---|---|---|---|
| GAUTHIER, GERALD | 4 | 91.1% | +6.6% |
| EVANISKO, GEORGE ROBERT | 3 | 70.4% | +34.9% |
| DOWNEY, JOHN R | 2 | 59.7% | +23.7% |
| GANMAVO, KUASSI A | 2 | 70.6% | +20.2% |
| JOSHI, SUNITA | 2 | 81.1% | +6.1% |
| NI, SUHAN | 2 | 86.6% | +13.9% |
| LEE, ERICA SHENGKAI | 2 | 65.4% | +30.1% |
| DIETRICH, JOSEPH M | 2 | 80.8% | +8.6% |
| COX, THADDEUS B | 2 | 76.8% | +19.1% |
| PORTER, JR, GARY A | 2 | 68.8% | +25.2% |
Cases in front of an examiner with an allow rate of 80%+ where the difficulty is Easy or Medium. The top 5 ordered by deadline are shown.
| App # | Title | Examiner | Due in |
|---|---|---|---|
| 18973368 | LINEAR TRANSDUCER IN A FLAPPING AND BENDING APPARATUS | GAUTHIER, GERALD | — |
| 18962149 | INTEGRATED SHOCK AND IMPACT MANAGEMENT OF A TRANSDUCER | GAUTHIER, GERALD | — |
| 18935847 | RETENTION MAGNET SYSTEM FOR MEDICAL DEVICE | GAUTHIER, GERALD | — |
| 18723578 | USER-PREFERRED ADAPTIVE NOISE REDUCTION | NI, SUHAN | — |
| 18103215 | BONE CONDUCTION DEVICE | NI, SUHAN | — |
Multi-statute / §101-driven matters, or cases in front of an examiner with an allow rate under 30%. The top 8 ordered by deadline are shown.
| App # | Title | Examiner | Due in |
|---|---|---|---|
| 17296225 | MAGNET MANAGEMENT MRI COMPATIBILITY BY SHAPE | BAYS, PAMELA M | 202d overdue |
| 18856167 | MAPPING ENVIRONMENT WITH SENSORY PROSTHESES | ROBINSON, NICHOLAS A | 49d overdue |
| 18029500 | ADVANCED SURGICALLY IMPLANTABLE TECHNOLOGIES | VOORHEES, CATHERINE M | 45d overdue |
| 18720243 | ADVANCED RETENTION MAGNET SYSTEM FOR MEDICAL DEVICE | HILSMIER, HEIDI ANN | 15d overdue |
| 18256327 | IMPLANTABLE SUPPORT FOR MEDICAL IMPLANT | DIETZ, NOE ROBERT | 5d overdue |
| 18593418 | SYSTEM FOR REAL TIME, REMOTE ACCESS TO AND ADJUSTMENT OF PATIENT HEARING AID WITH PATIENT IN NORMAL LIFE ENVIRONMENT | MCKINNEY, ANGELICA M | 3d overdue |
| 18728579 | IMPLANTABLE STIMULATION ARRANGEMENT STRUCTURES | EVANISKO, GEORGE ROBERT | 2d overdue |
| 18248496 | SELF-FITTING OF PROSTHESIS | PORTER, JR, GARY A | 2d overdue |
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 8 ordered by deadline are shown.
| App # | Title | Examiner | Due in |
|---|---|---|---|
| 18728579 | IMPLANTABLE STIMULATION ARRANGEMENT STRUCTURES | EVANISKO, GEORGE ROBERT | 2d overdue |
| 18248496 | SELF-FITTING OF PROSTHESIS | PORTER, JR, GARY A | 2d overdue |
| 18033263 | METHOD AND SYSTEM FOR DETERMINATION OF TREATMENT THERAPEUTIC WINDOW, DETECTION, PREDICTION, AND CLASSIFICATION OF NEUROELECTRICAL, CARDIAC, AND PULMONARY EVENTS, AND OPTIMIZATION OF TREATMENT ACCORDING TO THE SAME | DOWNEY, JOHN R | 5d |
| 18109070 | IMPLANTABLE AUDITORY STIMULATION SYSTEM AND METHOD WITH OFFSET IMPLANTED MICROPHONES | COX, THADDEUS B | 78d |
| 19254543 | METHOD FOR DETECTING A PLURALITY OF HEALTH CONDITIONS OF A COCHLEA | DOWNEY, JOHN R | — |
| 18878388 | IMPLANTABLE SENSOR TRAINING | GANMAVO, KUASSI A | — |
| 18723578 | USER-PREFERRED ADAPTIVE NOISE REDUCTION | NI, SUHAN | — |
| 18741196 | COCHLEAR IMPLANT SYSTEM WITH MEASUREMENT UNIT | LEE, ERICA SHENGKAI | — |
| Art Unit | Apps |
|---|---|
| 3796 | 13 |
| 3792 | 9 |
| 3791 | 6 |
| 2694 | 4 |
| 3771 | 3 |
| 3783 | 3 |
| 2691 | 2 |
| 3794 | 1 |
| 3797 | 1 |
| 3715 | 1 |
| App # | Title | Examiner | Art Unit | Statutes | Status | Due in | AI | Filed |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 19254543 | METHOD FOR DETECTING A PLURALITY OF HEALTH CONDITIONS OF A COCHLEA | DOWNEY, JOHN R | 3794 | §102§103 | Final Rejection | — | Pending | Jun 30, 2025 |
| 19122316 | SIGNAL PROCESSING FOR MULTI-DEVICE SYSTEMS | KUO, JONATHAN T | 3792 | DP | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Apr 18, 2025 |
| 19171835 | ADVANCED ELECTRODE ARRAY INSERTION | HOLWERDA, KATHLEEN SONNETT | 3771 | §102§103§112Other | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Apr 07, 2025 |
| 19118264 | Techniques For Measuring Skin Flap Thickness Using Ultrasound | SANTOS RODRIGUEZ, JOSEPH M | 3797 | §102§103§112 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Apr 03, 2025 |
| 19054258 | PREDICTION AND IDENTIFICATION TECHNIQUES USED WITH A HEARING PROSTHESIS | MONIKANG, GEORGE C | — | §102 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Feb 14, 2025 |
| 19014736 | LOCATING WIRELESS DEVICES | GHULAMALI, QUTBUDDIN | — | DP | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Jan 09, 2025 |
| 18878388 | IMPLANTABLE SENSOR TRAINING | GANMAVO, KUASSI A | — | §102§103§112 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Dec 23, 2024 |
| 18876463 | Methods And Apparatuses For Inhibiting Movement Of Implanted Magnetic Devices | TALTY, MARIA CHRISTINA | — | §102§103§112 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Dec 18, 2024 |
| 18973368 | LINEAR TRANSDUCER IN A FLAPPING AND BENDING APPARATUS | GAUTHIER, GERALD | — | §102DP | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Dec 09, 2024 |
| 18962149 | INTEGRATED SHOCK AND IMPACT MANAGEMENT OF A TRANSDUCER | GAUTHIER, GERALD | — | §102DP | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Nov 27, 2024 |
| 18869171 | FIRMWARE INDEPENDENT RESET | LEE, BRYAN MCALLISTER | 3792 | §102§112 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Nov 25, 2024 |
| 18869091 | ENVIRONMENTAL SIGNAL RECOGNITION TRAINING | FRENCH, CORRELL T | 3715 | §101§103 | Final Rejection | 34d | Pending | Nov 25, 2024 |
| 18868528 | TRANSCUTANEOUS POWER TRANSFER | YESHAW, ESAYAS G | — | §102§103 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Nov 22, 2024 |
| 18939907 | ADVANCED BONE CONDUCTION IMPLANT | GAUTHIER, GERALD | — | §101§102§103 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Nov 07, 2024 |
| 18935847 | RETENTION MAGNET SYSTEM FOR MEDICAL DEVICE | GAUTHIER, GERALD | — | DP | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Nov 04, 2024 |
| 18934349 | Body Noise-Based Health Monitoring | OGLES, MATTHEW ERIC | — | §101§102§112 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Nov 01, 2024 |
| 18856167 | MAPPING ENVIRONMENT WITH SENSORY PROSTHESES | ROBINSON, NICHOLAS A | 3798 | §101§102§103§112 | Non-Final OA | 49d overdue | Pending | Oct 11, 2024 |
| 18911990 | TISSUE-STIMULATING PROSTHESIS DISSOLUTION BARRIER | STICE, PAULA J | — | §102§112Other | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Oct 10, 2024 |
| 18855908 | BODY NOISE SIGNAL PROCESSING | WEHRHEIM, LINDSEY GAIL | — | §102 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Oct 10, 2024 |
| 18855919 | WIRELESS STREAMING FROM MULTIPLE SOURCES FOR AN IMPLANTABLE MEDICAL DEVICE | ADAMS, WILLIAM PATRICK | — | §101§102§103 | Final Rejection | — | Pending | Oct 10, 2024 |
| 18910153 | EXTERNAL DEVICE OF PROSTHESIS CONNECTOR | ROBINSON, RYAN C | — | §103§112 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Oct 09, 2024 |
| 18886090 | SELECTABLE DRUG DELIVERY RATE DEVICE | HAYMAN, IMANI N | — | §102§112Other | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Sep 16, 2024 |
| 18847404 | IMPLANTABLE STIMULATING ASSEMBLY WITH MUSCLE | HADDAD, MOUSSA MAHER | 3796 | §102§103§112DP | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Sep 16, 2024 |
| 18840277 | SYNCHRONIZED SPECTRAL ANALYSIS | OKONAK, ELIZABETH LOUISE | 3792 | §101§102§103 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Aug 21, 2024 |
| 18795723 | HEARING PROSTHESIS | BERTRAM, ERIC D | — | §102§112Other | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Aug 06, 2024 |
| 18835592 | BALANCE SYSTEM DEVELOPMENT TRACKING | ABOUELELA, MAY A | — | §101§112 | Final Rejection | — | Pending | Aug 02, 2024 |
| 18730892 | TRANSMISSION OF SIGNAL INFORMATION TO AN IMPLANTABLE MEDICAL DEVICE | D ABREU, MICHAEL JOSEPH | 3796 | §102 | Non-Final OA | 23d overdue | Pending | Jul 22, 2024 |
| 18728579 | IMPLANTABLE STIMULATION ARRANGEMENT STRUCTURES | EVANISKO, GEORGE ROBERT | 3792 | §102§103§112Other | Final Rejection | 2d overdue | Pending | Jul 12, 2024 |
| 18764689 | OBSERVER-BASED CANCELLATION SYSTEM FOR IMPLANTABLE HEARING INSTRUMENTS | JOSHI, SUNITA | 3646 | §102§103 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Jul 05, 2024 |
| 18723578 | USER-PREFERRED ADAPTIVE NOISE REDUCTION | NI, SUHAN | — | §102 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Jun 24, 2024 |
| 18720243 | ADVANCED RETENTION MAGNET SYSTEM FOR MEDICAL DEVICE | HILSMIER, HEIDI ANN | 3796 | §103§112 | Non-Final OA | 15d overdue | Pending | Jun 14, 2024 |
| 18741196 | COCHLEAR IMPLANT SYSTEM WITH MEASUREMENT UNIT | LEE, ERICA SHENGKAI | 3796 | §103§112 | Final Rejection | — | Pending | Jun 12, 2024 |
| 18737286 | ELECTRICAL FIELD USAGE IN COCHLEAS | DIETRICH, JOSEPH M | 3796 | §102§103Other | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Jun 07, 2024 |
| 18599644 | INTRACUTANEOUS IMPLANTATION TECHNIQUES | DABNEY, PHYLESHA LARVINIA | 2694 | §102§103§112 | Final Rejection | 41d | Pending | Mar 08, 2024 |
| 18593418 | SYSTEM FOR REAL TIME, REMOTE ACCESS TO AND ADJUSTMENT OF PATIENT HEARING AID WITH PATIENT IN NORMAL LIFE ENVIRONMENT | MCKINNEY, ANGELICA M | 2694 | §102§103 | Final Rejection | 3d overdue | Pending | Mar 01, 2024 |
| 18686108 | CURED RING SEAL | JAHAN, ISRAT | — | §102§112 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Feb 23, 2024 |
| 18585193 | PROSTHESIS FUNCTIONALITY CONTROL AND DATA PRESENTATION | JOSHI, SUNITA | 2694 | §102§103 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Feb 23, 2024 |
| 18685046 | PIEZOELECTRIC ACTUATOR WITH SLIDABLE COUPLER | COX, THADDEUS B | — | §102§112 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Feb 20, 2024 |
| 18684331 | INNER EAR DEVICE WITH ACCESS AND PASSIVE COMPONENTS | WILLSE, DAVID H | — | §101§102§112Other | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Feb 16, 2024 |
| 18682343 | DEVICES WITH INTEGRATED CONCAVE COILS | MARLEN, TAMMIE K | 3796 | §102§103§112 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Feb 08, 2024 |
| 18431452 | MAGNET MANAGEMENT MRI COMPATIBILITY | LANNU, JOSHUA DARYL DEANON | — | §102§103§112 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Feb 02, 2024 |
| 18293971 | PHASE COHERENCE-BASED ANALYSIS OF BIOLOGICAL RESPONSES | SCHLUETER, MARY GRACE | 3796 | §103 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Jan 31, 2024 |
| 18408222 | HEARING AID ADAPTER | LE, HUYEN D | 2694 | §102§103Other | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Jan 09, 2024 |
| 18394430 | DISTRACTION REMEDIATION AT A HEARING DEVICE | GANMAVO, KUASSI A | 2692 | §103 | Final Rejection | — | Pending | Dec 22, 2023 |
| 18571423 | ADVANCED EAR ACCESS | SWANSON, LEAH JENNINGS | 3783 | §102§103§112 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Dec 18, 2023 |
| 18387424 | FOCUSING METHODS FOR A PROSTHESIS | NGUYEN, SEAN H | 2691 | §102§103 | Final Rejection | 14d | Pending | Nov 06, 2023 |
| 18556871 | SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR BILATERAL BONE CONDUCTION COORDINATION AND BALANCING | TRAN, LARA LINH | 3791 | §102§103§112 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Oct 23, 2023 |
| 18556177 | SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR SMART BROADCAST MANAGEMENT | ZHU, RICHARD Z | 2654 | §103 | Non-Final OA | 24d overdue | Pending | Oct 19, 2023 |
| 18553792 | IMPLANTABLE THERAPEUTIC SUBSTANCE DELIVERY | NGUYEN, ANDREW H | 3741 | §103§112 | Final Rejection | 1d overdue | Pending | Oct 03, 2023 |
| 18278254 | ADVANCED COCHLEA ACCESS | NEAL, TIMOTHY JAY | 3795 | §102§103§112 | Final Rejection | — | Pending | Aug 22, 2023 |
| 18546496 | WAKEFULNESS-LEVEL TINNITUS THERAPY | PORTER, JR, GARY A | 3796 | §102§103§112Other | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Aug 15, 2023 |
| 18366072 | SURGICAL TOOL | FLICK, JASON E | 3783 | §102§112 | Final Rejection | — | Pending | Aug 07, 2023 |
| 18339496 | VESTIBULAR ELECTRODE ARRAY | LAUER, CHRISTINA C | 3771 | §103§112 | Final Rejection | — | Pending | Jun 22, 2023 |
| 18257713 | ELECTRICAL CONNECTOR WITH TORSION RESISTANCE | DIETRICH, JOSEPH M | 3796 | §102§103 | Final Rejection | — | Pending | Jun 15, 2023 |
| 18256327 | IMPLANTABLE SUPPORT FOR MEDICAL IMPLANT | DIETZ, NOE ROBERT | 3791 | §102§103 | Final Rejection | 5d overdue | Pending | Jun 07, 2023 |
| 18197661 | RECOGNITION OF IMPLANTABLE MEDICAL DEVICE | MCPARTLIN, SARAH BURNHAM | 3993 | §112DPOther | Final Rejection | 14d | Pending | May 15, 2023 |
| 18252826 | IMPLANTABLE BATTERY DISCONNECTION | JACOB, WILLIAM J | 3696 | §103 | Final Rejection | — | Pending | May 12, 2023 |
| 18250344 | SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR ELECTRODE IMPLANTATION | MCGINNITY, JAMES RYAN | 3771 | §103 | Final Rejection | 15d | Pending | Apr 24, 2023 |
| 18033263 | METHOD AND SYSTEM FOR DETERMINATION OF TREATMENT THERAPEUTIC WINDOW, DETECTION, PREDICTION, AND CLASSIFICATION OF NEUROELECTRICAL, CARDIAC, AND PULMONARY EVENTS, AND OPTIMIZATION OF TREATMENT ACCORDING TO THE SAME | DOWNEY, JOHN R | 3792 | §101§112 | Final Rejection | 5d | Pending | Apr 21, 2023 |
| 18248496 | SELF-FITTING OF PROSTHESIS | PORTER, JR, GARY A | 3796 | §101§102§103 | Final Rejection | 2d overdue | Pending | Apr 10, 2023 |
| 18029500 | ADVANCED SURGICALLY IMPLANTABLE TECHNOLOGIES | VOORHEES, CATHERINE M | 3792 | §101§103§112 | Final Rejection | 45d overdue | Pending | Mar 30, 2023 |
| 18246421 | ACTIVE IMPLANT WITH PERCUTANEOUS ABUTMENT | LANDEEN, BROGAN RANE | 3791 | §103 | Final Rejection | — | Pending | Mar 23, 2023 |
| 18044905 | PARAMETER OPTIMIZATION BASED ON DIFFERENT DEGREES OF FOCUSING | EVANISKO, GEORGE ROBERT | 3792 | §101§102§112Other | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Mar 10, 2023 |
| 18044547 | SHAPED PIEZOELECTRIC ACTUATOR FOR MEDICAL IMPLANT | DECASTRO, ARIANA JOY LACAY | 3791 | §103§112 | Final Rejection | 27d | Pending | Mar 08, 2023 |
| 18109070 | IMPLANTABLE AUDITORY STIMULATION SYSTEM AND METHOD WITH OFFSET IMPLANTED MICROPHONES | COX, THADDEUS B | 3791 | §102§112Other | Non-Final OA | 78d | Pending | Feb 13, 2023 |
| 18103215 | BONE CONDUCTION DEVICE | NI, SUHAN | 2691 | DP | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Jan 30, 2023 |
| 18005084 | DIAGNOSIS OR TREATMENT VIA VESTIBULAR AND COCHLEAR MEASURES | SISON, CHRISTINE ANDREA PAN | 3796 | §102§103§112 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Jan 11, 2023 |
| 18002579 | STIMULATION AND ELECTROPORATION ASSEMBLY | HARRIS, WESLEY G | 3783 | §103 | Final Rejection | — | Pending | Dec 20, 2022 |
| 18001837 | MEDICAL DEVICE CONTROL WITH VERIFICATION BYPASS | EVANISKO, GEORGE ROBERT | 3792 | §102§103 | Final Rejection | — | Pending | Dec 14, 2022 |
| 17966009 | ACTIVE CONTROL OF INTRACOCHLEAR STIMULATION | LEE, ERICA SHENGKAI | 3796 | §103§112 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Oct 14, 2022 |
| 17416683 | TECHNIQUES FOR STIMULATION ARTEFACT ELIMINATION | KRETZER, KYLE W. | 3791 | §101§103§112 | Final Rejection | — | Pending | Jun 21, 2021 |
| 17416449 | PROSTHESIS OPERATION IN THE FACE OF MAGNETIC FIELDS | TEJANI, ANKIT D | 3792 | §103Other | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Jun 18, 2021 |
| 17296225 | MAGNET MANAGEMENT MRI COMPATIBILITY BY SHAPE | BAYS, PAMELA M | 3796 | §102§103§112 | Non-Final OA | 202d overdue | Pending | May 22, 2021 |
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