Prosecution Insights
Prosecution Insights
Technology areas: Semiconductors, Circuits & Optics • Medical Devices & Mechanical Engineering
34 pending office actions • 14 art units • 30 examiners • 0 of 34 (0%) have an AI response strategy ready • 31 patents granted in the last 365 days
Varian Inc. is managing a portfolio of 34 pending office actions within the Medical Devices & Mechanical Engineering technology area. These matters are distributed across 14 distinct art units, showing a broad technical reach within the medical device sector. The prosecution involves 30 distinct examiners, which indicates that the company's patent applications are being reviewed by a diverse group of individuals.
The busiest examiner, KAO, CHIH CHENG G, is currently handling 2 pending actions. This means that 30 distinct examiners are involved in the 34 pending office actions, requiring the prosecution team to manage a wide variety of individual preferences. With 34 pending office actions and 14 distinct art units, the administrative complexity of this portfolio is a factor. Practitioners should focus on maintaining consistency across the 14 distinct art units while navigating the individual requirements of KAO, CHIH CHENG G and the other 30 distinct examiners currently reviewing these Medical Devices & Mechanical Engineering applications.
Based on the USPTO statutory response window for each pending office action. 6 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. 6 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 | 4 (12%) |
| §103 only | 12 (35%) |
| §102 only | 2 (6%) |
| Multi-statute (no §101) | 16 (47%) |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| KAO, CHIH CHENG G | 2 | 82.6% | +9.5% |
| OUYANG, BO | 2 | 60.6% | +8.8% |
| PEFFLEY, MICHAEL F | 2 | 77.8% | +13.0% |
| SARCENO ROBLES, CHRISTIAN MANUEL | 2 | 50.0% | +100.0% |
| LEE, WILSON | 1 | 86.7% | +3.3% |
| PREMRAJ, CATHERINE C | 1 | 56.5% | +48.6% |
| NGUYEN, VI X | 1 | 85.8% | +13.4% |
| LIU, GORDON G | 1 | 82.9% | +14.8% |
| DOWNING, SAVANNAH STARR | 1 | 79.1% | +5.9% |
| TANINGCO, MARCUS H | 1 | 81.0% | +6.6% |
Cases in front of an examiner with an allow rate of 80%+ where the difficulty is Easy or Medium. The top 4 ordered by deadline are shown.
| App # | Title | Examiner | Due in |
|---|---|---|---|
| 19023737 | SYSTEMS, APPARATUSES, AND METHODS OF MANUFACTURING LINEAR ACCELERATORS | LEE, WILSON | — |
| 18999414 | THROMBECTOMY APPARATUS AND METHOD | NGUYEN, VI X | — |
| 18978177 | METHOD AND APPARATUS TO GENERATE IMAGERY REGARDING A PATIENT'S HEART | LIU, GORDON G | — |
| 18353260 | RADIATION TREATMENT PLANNING AND DELIVERY FOR MOVING TARGETS IN THE HEART | KAO, CHIH CHENG G | — |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 18673692 | SYSTEM AND METHOD TO GUIDE A NEEDLE | OKONAK, ELIZABETH LOUISE | 2d overdue |
| 18451174 | BIODEGRADABLE RADIOPAQUE MICROSPHERE | MOSHER, ERIC PARKER | 14d |
| 17204657 | USE OF MAGNETIC ELEMENTS TO SHAPE AND DEFOCUS CHARGED PARTICLE BEAMS | OSENBAUGH-STEWART, ELIZA W | 29d |
| 19006675 | CRYOABLATION PROBE WITH INTEGRATED VACUUM SLEEVE | PREMRAJ, CATHERINE C | — |
| 18946970 | RADIATION THERAPY SYSTEM WITH O-RING LINAC AND ROTATABLE TREATMENT COUCH | TANINGCO, MARCUS H | — |
| 18946979 | RADIATION THERAPY SYSTEM WITH O-RING LINAC AND MOVABLE COLLISION SHIELD | KAO, CHIH CHENG G | — |
| 18946984 | RADIATION THERAPY SYSTEM WITH O-RING LINAC AND CONICAL TRUSS | RIDDICK, BLAKE CUTLER | — |
| 18896958 | PATIENT MARKING AND POSITIONING IN A RADIATION THERAPY SYSTEM | ARTMAN, THOMAS R | — |
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 # | Title | Examiner | Due in |
|---|---|---|---|
| 19006675 | CRYOABLATION PROBE WITH INTEGRATED VACUUM SLEEVE | PREMRAJ, CATHERINE C | — |
| 18999414 | THROMBECTOMY APPARATUS AND METHOD | NGUYEN, VI X | — |
| 18978177 | METHOD AND APPARATUS TO GENERATE IMAGERY REGARDING A PATIENT'S HEART | LIU, GORDON G | — |
| 18778517 | MICROWAVE ABLATION PROBE TIP WITH CENTERING TUBE | PEFFLEY, MICHAEL F | — |
| 18778666 | MICROWAVE ABLATION PROBE WITH INTEGRATED TEMPERATURE SENSORS | SARCENO ROBLES, CHRISTIAN MANUEL | — |
| 18778462 | APPARATUSES AND METHODS FOR TEMPERATURE MEASUREMENT AT ABLATION PROBE HANDLE | SARCENO ROBLES, CHRISTIAN MANUEL | — |
| 18523762 | COOLANT STATUS MONITORING FOR MICROWAVE ABLATION PROBE | PEFFLEY, MICHAEL F | — |
| Art Unit | Apps |
|---|---|
| 3794 | 14 |
| 2884 | 7 |
| 2845 | 1 |
| 3771 | 1 |
| 2618 | 1 |
| 3792 | 1 |
| 2878 | 1 |
| 2682 | 1 |
| 1612 | 1 |
| 1618 | 1 |
| App # | Title | Examiner | Art Unit | Statutes | Status | Due in | AI | Filed |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 19023737 | SYSTEMS, APPARATUSES, AND METHODS OF MANUFACTURING LINEAR ACCELERATORS | LEE, WILSON | 2845 | §103 | Final Rejection | — | Pending | Jan 16, 2025 |
| 19006675 | CRYOABLATION PROBE WITH INTEGRATED VACUUM SLEEVE | PREMRAJ, CATHERINE C | 3794 | §102§103§112 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Dec 31, 2024 |
| 18999414 | THROMBECTOMY APPARATUS AND METHOD | NGUYEN, VI X | 3771 | §102 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Dec 23, 2024 |
| 18978177 | METHOD AND APPARATUS TO GENERATE IMAGERY REGARDING A PATIENT'S HEART | LIU, GORDON G | 2618 | §103 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Dec 12, 2024 |
| 18956194 | METAL WINDOW ION CHAMBERS AND RADIATION APPARATUSES INCLUDING THE SAME | DOWNING, SAVANNAH STARR | 2884 | §103 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Nov 22, 2024 |
| 18946970 | RADIATION THERAPY SYSTEM WITH O-RING LINAC AND ROTATABLE TREATMENT COUCH | TANINGCO, MARCUS H | 2884 | §102§103 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Nov 14, 2024 |
| 18946979 | RADIATION THERAPY SYSTEM WITH O-RING LINAC AND MOVABLE COLLISION SHIELD | KAO, CHIH CHENG G | 2884 | §102§103 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Nov 14, 2024 |
| 18946984 | RADIATION THERAPY SYSTEM WITH O-RING LINAC AND CONICAL TRUSS | RIDDICK, BLAKE CUTLER | 2884 | §103§112 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Nov 14, 2024 |
| 18904182 | METHOD AND APPARATUS IN SUPPORT OF ABLATING A TARGET VOLUME | OUYANG, BO | 3794 | §102 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Oct 02, 2024 |
| 18896958 | PATIENT MARKING AND POSITIONING IN A RADIATION THERAPY SYSTEM | ARTMAN, THOMAS R | 2884 | §102§103 | Final Rejection | — | Pending | Sep 26, 2024 |
| 18800871 | APPARATUSES AND METHODS FOR CRYO-BASED ANESTHESIA | OUYANG, BO | 3794 | §102§103 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Aug 12, 2024 |
| 18778517 | MICROWAVE ABLATION PROBE TIP WITH CENTERING TUBE | PEFFLEY, MICHAEL F | 3794 | §102§103 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Jul 19, 2024 |
| 18778579 | MICROWAVE ABLATION PROBE COOLANT CONDUIT | BOCK, ABIGAIL MARIE | 3794 | §103 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Jul 19, 2024 |
| 18778666 | MICROWAVE ABLATION PROBE WITH INTEGRATED TEMPERATURE SENSORS | SARCENO ROBLES, CHRISTIAN MANUEL | 3794 | §102§103 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Jul 19, 2024 |
| 18778462 | APPARATUSES AND METHODS FOR TEMPERATURE MEASUREMENT AT ABLATION PROBE HANDLE | SARCENO ROBLES, CHRISTIAN MANUEL | 3794 | §103 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Jul 19, 2024 |
| 18673692 | SYSTEM AND METHOD TO GUIDE A NEEDLE | OKONAK, ELIZABETH LOUISE | 3792 | §101§102§103§112 | Final Rejection | 2d overdue | Pending | May 24, 2024 |
| 18659419 | COMPACT MODE CONVERTER WAVEGUIDE | MASKELL, MICHAEL P | 2878 | §102§103 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | May 09, 2024 |
| 18694293 | METHODS AND APPARATUS FOR RADIOABLATION TREATMENT AREA TARGETING AND GUIDANCE | LAM, ANDREW H | 2682 | §103 | Final Rejection | 2d overdue | Pending | Mar 21, 2024 |
| 18583485 | TEMPERATURE VOLUME HISTOGRAM GENERATION APPARATUS AND METHOD | RHODES, NORA W | 3794 | §102§103§112 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Feb 21, 2024 |
| 18393789 | APPARATUSES AND METHODS FOR TARGETED VAPORIZATION OF CRYOGEN | SHOULDERS, ANNIE LEE | 3794 | §103 | Final Rejection | — | Pending | Dec 22, 2023 |
| 18523762 | COOLANT STATUS MONITORING FOR MICROWAVE ABLATION PROBE | PEFFLEY, MICHAEL F | 3794 | §102§103 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Nov 29, 2023 |
| 18511250 | MOTION COMPENSATION DURING RADIATION TREATMENT | KUDO, KEN | — | §101§102§103§112Other | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Nov 16, 2023 |
| 18376461 | MULTI-SYSTEM SYNCHRONIZATION FOR OPTICAL SURFACE MONITORING | SONG, HOON K | 2884 | §103 | Non-Final OA | 17d overdue | Pending | Oct 04, 2023 |
| 18477347 | CONSOLE ARCHITECTURE FOR MICROWAVE ABLATION UNIT | GIULIANI, THOMAS ANTHONY | 3794 | §102§103§112 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Sep 28, 2023 |
| 18477374 | MICROWAVE ABLATION PROBE ASSEMBLY AND CABLE STRUCTURE | HUPCZEY, JR, RONALD JAMES | 3794 | §103 | Final Rejection | 30d | Pending | Sep 28, 2023 |
| 18451174 | BIODEGRADABLE RADIOPAQUE MICROSPHERE | MOSHER, ERIC PARKER | 1612 | §103§112 | Final Rejection | 14d | Pending | Aug 17, 2023 |
| 18353260 | RADIATION TREATMENT PLANNING AND DELIVERY FOR MOVING TARGETS IN THE HEART | KAO, CHIH CHENG G | 2884 | §103 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Jul 17, 2023 |
| 18317696 | SYSTEM AND METHODS FOR QUANTIFICATION OF SUBSTANCE CONCENTRATION IN BODY STRUCTURES USING SPECTRAL COMPUTED TOMOGRAPHY | DICKINSON, PAUL W | 1618 | §102§112 | Final Rejection | — | Pending | May 15, 2023 |
| 17855257 | SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR RADIATION DOSE PLANNING FOR CARDIAC RADIATION THERAPY | NEGIN, RUSSELL SCOTT | 1686 | §101§103§112 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Jun 30, 2022 |
| 17655218 | APPARATUSES AND METHODS FOR MONITORING AND CONTROLLING BLEEDING DURING CRYOABLATION TREATMENTS | MOSSBROOK, WILLIAM ERIC | 3794 | §103 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Mar 17, 2022 |
| 17655204 | APPARATUSES AND METHODS FOR SEQUENTIAL HEATING OF CRYO-FLUID IN CRYOABLATION SYSTEMS | CHA, CASEY GEORGE | 3794 | §101§103 | Final Rejection | — | Pending | Mar 17, 2022 |
| 17204657 | USE OF MAGNETIC ELEMENTS TO SHAPE AND DEFOCUS CHARGED PARTICLE BEAMS | OSENBAUGH-STEWART, ELIZA W | 2881 | §102§103 | Final Rejection | 29d | Pending | Mar 17, 2021 |
| 17538563 | SEMICONDUCTOR MANUFACTURING DEVICE WITH EMBEDDED FLUID CONDUITS | KIM, ROBERT H | 2800 | §102§103 | Final Rejection | — | Pending | Nov 30, 2021 |
| 15885498 | FEEDBACK SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR TREATMENT PLANNING | HEFFINGTON, JOHN M | 2145 | §103 | Final Rejection | — | Pending | Jan 31, 2018 |
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