Technology area: Medical Devices & Mechanical Engineering
133 pending office actions • 43 art units • 121 examiners • 0 of 133 (0%) have an AI response strategy ready • 282 patents granted in the last 365 days
Intuitive Surgical Operations Inc. has 138 pending office actions in Medical Devices & Mechanical Engineering. The portfolio reaches 126 examiners and 45 art units, demonstrating a highly distributed examination structure.
MALDONADO, STEVEN is the busiest examiner, with 2 pending matters. The small identified concentration relative to the overall docket means that centralized portfolio governance should complement examiner-specific preparation across many individual matters.
Based on the USPTO statutory response window for each pending office action. 23 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. 23 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 (10%) |
| §103 only | 52 (39%) |
| §102 only | 10 (8%) |
| §112 only | 1 (1%) |
| Double-patenting only | 5 (4%) |
| Double-patenting + other | 2 (2%) |
| Multi-statute (no §101) | 48 (36%) |
| No statute on record | 2 (2%) |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| MALDONADO, STEVEN | 2 | 26.9% | +42.9% |
| LYNCH, ROBERT A | 2 | 80.3% | +12.9% |
| PEHLKE, CAROLYN A | 2 | 62.1% | +28.1% |
| LY, TOMMY TAI | 2 | 80.0% | +23.6% |
| HODGE, LINDA J | 2 | 87.7% | +26.6% |
| FANG, MICHAEL YIMING | 2 | 62.1% | +36.7% |
| JAFFRI, ZEHRA | 2 | 58.0% | +49.1% |
| LAU, MICHAEL J | 2 | 72.3% | +23.2% |
| SEBASTIAN, KAITLYN E | 2 | 73.8% | +20.3% |
| FLANAGAN, BEVERLY MEINDL | 2 | 73.2% | +20.5% |
Cases in front of an examiner with an allow rate of 80%+ where the difficulty is Easy or Medium. The top 1 ordered by deadline are shown.
| App # | Title | Examiner | Due in |
|---|---|---|---|
| 18725235 | SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR INTEGRATING INTRA-OPERATIVE IMAGE DATA WITH MINIMALLY INVASIVE MEDICAL TECHNIQUES | LY, TOMMY TAI | — |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 19197926 | STAPLE CARTRIDGE FOR A SURGICAL INSTRUMENT | HODGE, LINDA J | 42d overdue |
| 18038902 | MEDICAL DEVICE INSUFFLATION ADAPTOR | ULSH, DUNG T | 38d overdue |
| 18553058 | DEVICES, SYSTEMS, AND METHODS FOR PERFORMING SUTURING PROCEDURES | KHANDKER, RAIHAN R | 30d overdue |
| 18259833 | SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR TRACKING OBJECTS CROSSING BODY WALLFOR OPERATIONS ASSOCIATED WITH A COMPUTER-ASSISTED SYSTEM | RUDOLPH, VINCENT M | 30d overdue |
| 18255352 | SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR GENERATING AND EVALUATING A MEDICAL PROCEDURE | LAGOY, KYRA RAND | 28d overdue |
| 18590526 | SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR PROVIDING ON-DEMAND FUNCTIONALITY DURING A MEDICAL PROCEDURE | GHIMIRE, SHANKAR RAJ | 8d |
| 19064448 | SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR NAVIGATING HIDDEN ANATOMIC PASSAGEWAYS | PEHLKE, CAROLYN A | 39d |
| 19112395 | SURGICAL INSTRUMENT KINEMATICS PROCESSING, NAVIGATION, AND FEEDBACK | FANG, MICHAEL YIMING | 41d |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 18808518 | SUTURING NEEDLES AND RELATED SYSTEMS AND METHODS | JAFFRI, ZEHRA | 49d overdue |
| 19197926 | STAPLE CARTRIDGE FOR A SURGICAL INSTRUMENT | HODGE, LINDA J | 42d overdue |
| 19064448 | SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR NAVIGATING HIDDEN ANATOMIC PASSAGEWAYS | PEHLKE, CAROLYN A | 39d |
| 19112395 | SURGICAL INSTRUMENT KINEMATICS PROCESSING, NAVIGATION, AND FEEDBACK | FANG, MICHAEL YIMING | 41d |
| 18601714 | SURGICAL INSTRUMENTS HAVING A REINFORCED STAPLE CARTRIDGE | HODGE, LINDA J | 82d |
| 19440445 | WAVEBAND-SELECTIVE IMAGING SYSTEMS AND METHODS | MALDONADO, STEVEN | — |
| 19410331 | APPARATUS AND METHOD FOR MINIMALLY INVASIVE SUTURING | LYNCH, ROBERT A | — |
| 19395631 | SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR REGISTERING ELONGATE DEVICES TO THREE-DIMENSIONAL IMAGES IN IMAGE-GUIDED PROCEDURES | PEHLKE, CAROLYN A | — |
| Art Unit | Apps |
|---|---|
| 3771 | 17 |
| 3797 | 13 |
| 3794 | 10 |
| 3795 | 9 |
| 3796 | 8 |
| 3731 | 6 |
| 3798 | 6 |
| 3792 | 5 |
| 3656 | 4 |
| 3658 | 4 |
| App # | Title | Examiner | Art Unit | Statutes | Status | Due in | AI | Filed |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 19538693 | SYSTEMS AND METHODS RELATED TO ELONGATE DEVICES | TALTY, MARIA CHRISTINA | 3797 | §101§103 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Feb 12, 2026 |
| 19440445 | WAVEBAND-SELECTIVE IMAGING SYSTEMS AND METHODS | MALDONADO, STEVEN | 3797 | §102§103§112 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Jan 05, 2026 |
| 19413447 | MULTI-MODAL RETRIEVAL AUGMENTED GENERATION FOR INTERACTIONS WITH DIGITAL VIDEOS | SHELDEN, BION A | 3683 | §101§103§112 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Dec 09, 2025 |
| 19410597 | DEVICES AND METHODS FOR MINIMALLY INVASIVE SUTURING | NGUYEN, VI X | 3771 | §103§112 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Dec 05, 2025 |
| 19410331 | APPARATUS AND METHOD FOR MINIMALLY INVASIVE SUTURING | LYNCH, ROBERT A | 3771 | §102§103 | Final Rejection | — | Pending | Dec 05, 2025 |
| 19402247 | STAPLER CARTRIDGE ASSEMBLIES AND RELATED DEVICES, SYSTEMS, AND METHODS | LOPEZ, MICHELLE | 3731 | §102 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Nov 26, 2025 |
| 19487674 | DETERMINATION OF A CURVILINEAR DISTANCE WITHIN A SUBJECT | DAVIS, AMELIE R | 3793 | §101§103§112 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Nov 25, 2025 |
| 19395631 | SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR REGISTERING ELONGATE DEVICES TO THREE-DIMENSIONAL IMAGES IN IMAGE-GUIDED PROCEDURES | PEHLKE, CAROLYN A | 3799 | §102§103 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Nov 20, 2025 |
| 19393131 | SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR UPDATING A TARGET LOCATION USING INTRAOPERATIVE IMAGE DATA | REMALY, MARK DONALD | 3797 | §102 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Nov 18, 2025 |
| 19480333 | COMPONENTS OF SURGICAL STAPLING INSTRUMENTS AND METHODS FOR MANUFACTURING THE SAME | FRY, PATRICK B | 3731 | §103§112 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Oct 30, 2025 |
| 19353158 | AUTO-EXPOSURE MANAGEMENT OF MULTI-COMPONENT IMAGES | WALKER, JARED T | 2426 | §103Other | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Oct 08, 2025 |
| 19344087 | SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR ASSESSING SURGICAL ABILITY | EZEWOKO, MICHAEL I | 3682 | §101§103 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Sep 29, 2025 |
| 19277090 | CATHETERS WITH CONTROL MODES FOR INTERCHANGEABLE PROBES | ALDARRAJI, ZAINAB MOHAMMED | 3797 | §103 | Final Rejection | — | Pending | Jul 22, 2025 |
| 19275066 | USER-INSTALLABLE PART INSTALLATION DETECTION TECHNIQUES | MARC, MCDIEUNEL | — | Other | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Jul 21, 2025 |
| 19270064 | SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR AUTOMATICALLY GENERATING AN ANATOMICAL BOUNDARY | CELESTINE, NYROBI I | 3798 | §103 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Jul 15, 2025 |
| 19264599 | SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR SPECULAR REFLECTION DETECTION AND REDUCTION | SHENG, CHAO | 3797 | §102§103§112Other | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Jul 09, 2025 |
| 19259415 | AUTOMATED ROTATION OF A NEEDLE IN A COMPUTER-ASSISTED SYSTEM | LE, KHOA TAN | 3771 | §102§103Other | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Jul 03, 2025 |
| 19255709 | SYSTEMS AND A METHOD FOR DIRECTING AN IMAGING DEVICE TO DETECT FLOURESCENCE AND FOR DETERMINING A LIFETIME OF THE FLOURESCENCE | PARK, PATRICIA JOO YOUNG | 3793 | §103Other | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Jun 30, 2025 |
| 19140489 | TRANSLATIONAL LOCKING OF AN OUT-OF-VIEW CONTROL POINT IN A COMPUTER-ASSISTED SYSTEM | HANNAN, B M M | 3657 | §103 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Jun 18, 2025 |
| 19214681 | CLOSED-LOOP FEEDBACK BASED ON MIXED DIMENSIONALITY IMAGING | LY, TOMMY TAI | 3797 | §103§112 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | May 21, 2025 |
| 19205652 | BASE POSITIONING SYSTEM FOR A REMOTELY CONTROLLABLE ARM AND RELATED METHODS | SAMPLE, JONATHAN L | 3657 | §102§103 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | May 12, 2025 |
| 19202037 | SURGICAL INSTRUMENTS FOR APPLYING MULTIPLE CLIPS | POLAND, CHERIE MICHELLE | 3771 | §102§103 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | May 08, 2025 |
| 19201545 | SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR DETECTING A HYDRATION CONDITION OF A FLEXBILE ELONGATED DEVICE | BARKER, DAYTON HYUN JIN | 3795 | §102§103§112 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | May 07, 2025 |
| 19199658 | MOTOR ASSEMBLY | NGUYEN, THUY-VI THI | 3656 | §101§103§112 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | May 06, 2025 |
| 19200507 | SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR BREAKAWAY CLUTCHING IN AN ARTICULATED ARM | FIGUEROA, JAIME | 3656 | DP | Final Rejection | — | Pending | May 06, 2025 |
| 19197926 | STAPLE CARTRIDGE FOR A SURGICAL INSTRUMENT | HODGE, LINDA J | 3731 | §103§112 | Non-Final OA | 42d overdue | Pending | May 02, 2025 |
| 19196395 | OPERATION PROFILE SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR A COMPUTER-ASSISTED SURGICAL SYSTEM | KOLOSOWSKI-GAGER, KATHERINE | 3687 | §101DP | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | May 01, 2025 |
| 19176027 | ELONGATE DEVICE REFERENCES FOR IMAGE-GUIDED PROCEDURES | HOANG, PHI | 2619 | DP | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Apr 10, 2025 |
| 19175729 | SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR ARRANGING CHANNELS OF AN ELONGATE FLEXIBLE DEVICE | NGUYEN, TUAN VAN | — | §102§103 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Apr 10, 2025 |
| 19119536 | SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR CONTROL OF A SURGICAL SYSTEM | EL SAYAH, MOHAMAD O | 3658 | §103 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Apr 09, 2025 |
| 19098396 | SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR MASKING A RECOGNIZED OBJECT DURING AN APPLICATION OF A SYNTHETIC ELEMENT TO AN ORIGINAL IMAGE | WANG, YI | 2619 | §103Other | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Apr 02, 2025 |
| 19093820 | SYSTEM AND METHODS FOR IMPROVING TELEOPERATIONAL CONTROL | CAIN, AARON G | 3656 | §103 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Mar 28, 2025 |
| 19086832 | SURGICAL FIXATION DEVICES, AND RELATED DELIVERY SYSTEMS AND METHODS | DORNBUSCH, DIANNE | 3771 | §102 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Mar 21, 2025 |
| 19112395 | SURGICAL INSTRUMENT KINEMATICS PROCESSING, NAVIGATION, AND FEEDBACK | FANG, MICHAEL YIMING | 3798 | §101§103 | Final Rejection | 41d | Pending | Mar 17, 2025 |
| 19110701 | IMAGING SYSTEM WITH NEEDLE ALIGNED TO FIELD OF VIEW | STARKEY, OLIVIA GRACE | 3795 | §102§103§112 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Mar 11, 2025 |
| 19073796 | APPARATUSES, SYSTEMS, AND METHODS FOR MANAGING AUTO-EXPOSURE OF IMAGE FRAMES DEPICTING COLOR-BIASED CONTENT | ADAMS, EILEEN M | 2481 | §103§112 | Final Rejection | — | Pending | Mar 07, 2025 |
| 19070366 | Surgical Instruments Having Mechanisms For Identifying And/Or Deactivating Stapler Cartridges | CHUKWURAH, NATHANIEL C | 3731 | DP | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Mar 04, 2025 |
| 19068972 | AI-BASED INVENTORY PREDICTION AND OPTIMIZATION FOR MEDICAL PROCEDURES | MONTICELLO, WILLIAM THOMAS | 3682 | §101§103 | Final Rejection | 41d | Pending | Mar 03, 2025 |
| 19064448 | SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR NAVIGATING HIDDEN ANATOMIC PASSAGEWAYS | PEHLKE, CAROLYN A | 3799 | §102§103§112 | Final Rejection | 39d | Pending | Feb 26, 2025 |
| 19104576 | DETERMINATION OF A CONTOUR PHYSICAL DISTANCE WITHIN A SUBJECT BASED ON A DEFORMABLE THREE-DIMENSIONAL MODEL | GRAY, RYAN M | 2611 | §103 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Feb 18, 2025 |
| 19100030 | ADAPTER FOR MANUAL ACTUATION OF SURGICAL INSTRUMENT | JAFFRI, ZEHRA | 3771 | §102§103§112 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Jan 30, 2025 |
| 19025746 | ILLUMINATION CORRECTED NEAR-INFRARED (NIR) IMAGING FOR IMAGE GUIDED SURGERY | PENG, BO JOSEPH | 3797 | §103 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Jan 16, 2025 |
| 19025076 | SYSTEMS AND METHODS OF DEVICE CONTROL WITH OPERATOR AND MOTION SENSING | SHAH, PRIYANK J | 2626 | §103 | Non-Final OA | 84d | Pending | Jan 16, 2025 |
| 19025799 | SURGICAL SYSTEM WITH MULTI-MODALITY IMAGE DISPLAY | CATTUNGAL, SANJAY | 3798 | §103 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Jan 16, 2025 |
| 19025473 | GRAPHICAL USER INTERFACE FOR DISPLAYING GUIDANCE INFORMATION DURING AN IMAGE-GUIDED PROCEDURE | MCCULLEY, RYAN D | 2611 | §102§103§112Other | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Jan 16, 2025 |
| 19023906 | OPERATING SELF-ANTAGONISTIC DRIVES OF MEDICAL INSTRUMENTS | ROANE, AARON F | 3792 | §102 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Jan 16, 2025 |
| 19022288 | FLUX DISAMBIGUATION FOR TELEOPERATED SURGICAL SYSTEMS | OUYANG, BO | 3794 | §103§112 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Jan 15, 2025 |
| 19016565 | APPARATUS AND METHOD FOR MINIMALLY INVASIVE SUTURING | LYNCH, ROBERT A | 3771 | §102§103 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Jan 10, 2025 |
| 19015301 | CAMERA CONTROL SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR A COMPUTER-ASSISTED SURGICAL SYSTEM | LAU, MICHAEL J | 3796 | §103Other | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Jan 09, 2025 |
| 19014355 | COMPUTER-ASSISTED DISTANCE MEASUREMENT IN A SURGICAL SPACE | FARAG, AMAL ALY | 3798 | §101§102§103 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Jan 09, 2025 |
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Start Free TrialIntuitive Surgical Operations Inc. has 133 pending office actions as of October 2026, spread across 43 art units and 121 examiners.
Steven Maldonado has the most, with 2 of Intuitive Surgical Operations Inc.'s pending office actions.
Mostly Medical Devices & Mechanical Engineering (USPTO Tech Center 3700), based on where its pending office actions are examined.
