Prosecution Insights
Last updated: October 04, 2026

Jones Burke, Pllc (W/ Intuitive Surgical)

Technology area: Medical Devices & Mechanical Engineering

31 pending office actions • 5 clients • 28 examiners • 18 art units • 0 of 31 (0%) have an AI response strategy ready

Quality Metrics (n=404 apps, methodology: how we score firms)

85.2%
Allowance Rate
n=404
+0.71σ
Allowance Rate (norm)
n=404
3.6
OAs to Allowance
n=247
-0.17σ
OAs to Allow (norm)
n=247
1135 days
Time to Allowance
n=247
+4.1pp
Interview Lift
n=404
36.2%
RCE Rate
n=404
0.5%
Appeal Rate
n=404

Rejection Performance (% of received rejections ultimately overcome)

64.9%
§101 Overcome
n=37
80.2%
§102 Overcome
n=111
82.0%
§103 Overcome
n=194
75.0%
§112 Overcome
n=148

Specialization & Scale

A61B, A61K, G01N
Top CPC Subclasses
22%
Top-3 CPC Share
n=404
0
Practitioners
n=404
—
Apps / Practitioner
n=404 (min 20)

Portfolio Summary

31
Total Pending OAs
19
Non-Final OAs
9
Final Rejections
3
Advisory / Quayle

Response Deadline Pressure

Based on the USPTO statutory response window for each pending office action. 5 of the docket's apps have a known mailing date; the rest are excluded from the tile counts.

2
Overdue
0
Due this week
1
Due this month
1
Due in next 60 days
1
Due later

Deadline Fire Line

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. 5 of the docket's apps have a known mailing date.

-30dToday30d60d90d120d
Overdue (2)Due ≤ 30 days (1)Due ≤ 60 days (1)Due later (1)

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.

13
Hard (42%)
13
Medium (42%)
4
Easy (13%)
1
Unknown (3%)

Rejection Statute Mix

BucketCases
§101 only2 (6%)
§101 + other3 (10%)
§103 only8 (26%)
§102 only4 (13%)
§112 only3 (10%)
Double-patenting only1 (3%)
Double-patenting + other1 (3%)
Multi-statute (no §101)8 (26%)
No statute on record1 (3%)

Industry Mix

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

4
Life Sciences
13% of docket
2
Information Tech
6% of docket
0
Communications
0% of docket
1
Semiconductors
3% of docket
16
Mechanical / Eng
52% of docket
8
Business / Other
26% 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.

310 h
Manual time on pending OAs
62 h
Time saved (low, 20%)
108 h
Time saved (mid, 35%)
2.7 wks
FTE-weeks freed (mid)

Top Examiners on this docket

ExaminerApps on this docketAllow rateInterview lift
AKAR, SERKAN 4 66.0% +33.7%
ST CYR, DANIEL 1 81.3% +12.8%
LOPEZ, MICHELLE 1 81.9% +11.6%
HODGE, LINDA J 1 87.5% +27.3%
ELAHMADI, ZAKARIA 1 76.0% +11.9%
KING, ANITA M 1 79.7% +14.7%
OUYANG, BO 1 60.6% +8.8%
TALUKDER, MD K 1 80.0% +14.3%
HALL JR, TYRONE VINCENT 1 76.4% +23.7%
NEAL, TIMOTHY JAY 1 77.8% +13.5%

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
19428932 SURGICAL CANNULAS AND RELATED SYSTEMS AND METHODS OF IDENTIFYING SURGICAL CANNULAS ST CYR, DANIEL —
19402247 STAPLER CARTRIDGE ASSEMBLIES AND RELATED DEVICES, SYSTEMS, AND METHODS LOPEZ, MICHELLE —

Hard Cases (13)

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 #TitleExaminerDue in
18643081 DEVICES FOR INSTRUMENT USE RECORDING, DEVICES FOR RECORDING INSTRUMENT REPROCESSING EVENTS, AND RELATED SYSTEMS AND METHODS LONG, ROBERT FRANKLIN 16d overdue
19360199 STAPLER RELOAD ASSEMBLIES AND RELATED DEVICES, SYSTEMS, AND METHODS HODGE, LINDA J —
19022288 FLUX DISAMBIGUATION FOR TELEOPERATED SURGICAL SYSTEMS OUYANG, BO —
18943229 PROTECTIVE COVER INSTALLATION AND REMOVAL TOOL, SYSTEMS, AND METHODS HALL JR, TYRONE VINCENT —
18814847 SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR SAMPLE PREPARATION, PROCESSING AND ANALYSIS QIAN, SHIZHI —
18802290 ALIGNMENT AND ENGAGEMENT FOR TELEOPERATED ACTUATED SURGICAL INSTRUMENT MASINICK, JONATHAN PETER —
18715502 MULTI-FACETED BIOPSY NEEDLE TIPS AND NEEDLES, NEEDLE SETS, AND DEVICES INCORPORATING THE SAME YOON, CHANEL J —
18450468 SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR IDENTIFYING SEQUENCE VARIATION ASSOCIATED WITH GENETIC DISEASES MINCHELLA, KAITLYN L —

Interview Candidates (12)

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 #TitleExaminerDue in
19266405 ARTICULABLE MECHANISMS AND RELATED DEVICES AND METHODS ELAHMADI, ZAKARIA 9d overdue
19025446 PORTABLE IMAGING DEVICES, METHODS, AND SYSTEMS FOR WOUND IMAGING AND MONITORING AKAR, SERKAN 82d
19428932 SURGICAL CANNULAS AND RELATED SYSTEMS AND METHODS OF IDENTIFYING SURGICAL CANNULAS ST CYR, DANIEL —
19402247 STAPLER CARTRIDGE ASSEMBLIES AND RELATED DEVICES, SYSTEMS, AND METHODS LOPEZ, MICHELLE —
19360199 STAPLER RELOAD ASSEMBLIES AND RELATED DEVICES, SYSTEMS, AND METHODS HODGE, LINDA J —
19086808 MODULAR CLAMPS FOR MOUNTING SURGICAL MANIPULATORS KING, ANITA M —
19081680 METHOD AND SYSTEM FOR FLUORESCENCE IMAGING AND COLLECTION OF DATA FOR DIAGNOSTIC PURPOSES AKAR, SERKAN —
19025038 PORTABLE IMAGING DEVICES, METHODS, AND SYSTEMS FOR WOUND IMAGING AND MONITORING AKAR, SERKAN —

Client Portfolio (5 clients)

Top Art Units

Art UnitApps
37974
37313
28761
36181
36321
37951
17951
37911
37941
21461

Pending Office Actions

App #TitleClientExaminerArt UnitStatutesStatusDue inAIFiled
19428932 SURGICAL CANNULAS AND RELATED SYSTEMS AND METHODS OF IDENTIFYING SURGICAL CANNULAS Intuitive Surgical Operations, Inc. ST CYR, DANIEL 2876 §103DP Non-Final OA — Pending Dec 22, 2025
19402247 STAPLER CARTRIDGE ASSEMBLIES AND RELATED DEVICES, SYSTEMS, AND METHODS Intuitive Surgical Operations, Inc. LOPEZ, MICHELLE 3731 §102 Non-Final OA — Pending Nov 26, 2025
19360199 STAPLER RELOAD ASSEMBLIES AND RELATED DEVICES, SYSTEMS, AND METHODS Intuitive Surgical Operations, Inc. HODGE, LINDA J 3731 §102§103 Non-Final OA — Pending Oct 16, 2025
19266405 ARTICULABLE MECHANISMS AND RELATED DEVICES AND METHODS Intuitive Surgical Operations, Inc. ELAHMADI, ZAKARIA 3618 §103 Final Rejection 9d overdue Pending Jul 11, 2025
19086808 MODULAR CLAMPS FOR MOUNTING SURGICAL MANIPULATORS Intuitive Surgical Operations, Inc. KING, ANITA M 3632 §102 Non-Final OA — Pending Mar 21, 2025
19081680 METHOD AND SYSTEM FOR FLUORESCENCE IMAGING AND COLLECTION OF DATA FOR DIAGNOSTIC PURPOSES UNIVERSITY HEALTH NETWORK AKAR, SERKAN 3797 §103 Non-Final OA — Pending Mar 17, 2025
19025038 PORTABLE IMAGING DEVICES, METHODS, AND SYSTEMS FOR WOUND IMAGING AND MONITORING UNIVERSITY HEALTH NETWORK AKAR, SERKAN 3797 §112 Non-Final OA — Pending Jan 16, 2025
19025446 PORTABLE IMAGING DEVICES, METHODS, AND SYSTEMS FOR WOUND IMAGING AND MONITORING UNIVERSITY HEALTH NETWORK AKAR, SERKAN 3797 DP Final Rejection 82d Pending Jan 16, 2025
19022288 FLUX DISAMBIGUATION FOR TELEOPERATED SURGICAL SYSTEMS Intuitive Surgical Operations, Inc. OUYANG, BO §103§112 Non-Final OA — Pending Jan 15, 2025
18943247 SYSTEMS, METHODS, AND DEVICES FOR THREE-DIMENSIONAL IMAGING, MEASUREMENT, AND DISPLAY OF WOUNDS AND TISSUE SPECIMENS UNIVERSITY HEALTH NETWORK TALUKDER, MD K Other Non-Final OA — Pending Nov 11, 2024
18943229 PROTECTIVE COVER INSTALLATION AND REMOVAL TOOL, SYSTEMS, AND METHODS Intuitive Surgical Operations, Inc. HALL JR, TYRONE VINCENT §102§103 Non-Final OA — Pending Nov 11, 2024
18937259 CLEANING DEVICES FOR INSTRUMENTS, AND RELATED METHODS Intuitive Surgical Operations, Inc. NEAL, TIMOTHY JAY 3795 §102Other Non-Final OA — Pending Nov 05, 2024
18814847 SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR SAMPLE PREPARATION, PROCESSING AND ANALYSIS Integenx, Inc. QIAN, SHIZHI 1795 §102§103 Non-Final OA — Pending Aug 26, 2024
18802290 ALIGNMENT AND ENGAGEMENT FOR TELEOPERATED ACTUATED SURGICAL INSTRUMENT Intuitive Surgical Operations, Inc. MASINICK, JONATHAN PETER §102§103 Non-Final OA — Pending Aug 13, 2024
18776608 METHODS AND SYSTEMS FOR ALIGNING DISPENSING ARRAYS WITH MICROFLUIDIC SAMPLE ARRAYS Life Technologies Corporation BOYER, RANDY §103 Non-Final OA — Pending Jul 18, 2024
18724668 STERILE DRAPE FOR DRAPING EQUIPMENT, AND RELATED DEVICES, SYSTEMS AND METHODS Intuitive Surgical Operations, Inc. LAVARIAS, ARNEL C §102 Non-Final OA — Pending Jun 27, 2024
18715502 MULTI-FACETED BIOPSY NEEDLE TIPS AND NEEDLES, NEEDLE SETS, AND DEVICES INCORPORATING THE SAME Hologic, Inc. YOON, CHANEL J 3791 §103§112 Final Rejection — Pending May 31, 2024
18713064 CAPACITY MEASURING DEVICES FOR CRYOGEN VESSELS, AND RELATED SYSTEMS AND METHODS Hologic, Inc. KERN, ASHLEIGH LAUREN 3794 §103 Final Rejection — Pending May 23, 2024
18643081 DEVICES FOR INSTRUMENT USE RECORDING, DEVICES FOR RECORDING INSTRUMENT REPROCESSING EVENTS, AND RELATED SYSTEMS AND METHODS Intuitive Surgical Operations, Inc. LONG, ROBERT FRANKLIN 3731 §103§112 Non-Final OA 16d overdue Pending Apr 23, 2024
18431434 LATCH TO SECURE TELEOPERATED SURGICAL INSTRUMENT TO ACTUATOR Intuitive Surgical Operations, Inc. LANNU, JOSHUA DARYL DEANON §112Other Non-Final OA — Pending Feb 02, 2024
18450468 SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR IDENTIFYING SEQUENCE VARIATION ASSOCIATED WITH GENETIC DISEASES Life Technologies Corporation MINCHELLA, KAITLYN L §101§112DP Non-Final OA — Pending Aug 16, 2023
18326519 SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR LIVE HELP Integenx, Inc. SAX, STEVEN PAUL 2146 §101§103§112Other Final Rejection — Pending May 31, 2023
18130134 METHODS, SYSTEMS, AND COMPUTER READABLE MEDIA FOR EVALUATING VARIANT LIKELIHOOD Life Technologies Corporation WHALEY, PABLO S 1684 §101§102§112 Non-Final OA — Pending Apr 03, 2023
17947445 METHODS AND SYSTEMS FOR VISUALIZING DATA QUALITY Life Technologies Corporation DEWAN, KAMAL K 2163 §103 Final Rejection — Pending Sep 19, 2022
17705985 CUTTING DEVICES FOR SUTURING TOOLS AND RELATED SYSTEMS AND METHODS Intuitive Surgical Operations, Inc. HOLWERDA, KATHLEEN SONNETT 3771 §103 Non-Final OA — Pending Mar 28, 2022
17699439 SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR IDENTIFYING EXON JUNCTIONS FROM SINGLE READS Life Technologies Corporation KRIANGCHAIVECH, KETTIP 1686 §101 Final Rejection — Pending Mar 21, 2022
17509914 METHOD AND SYSTEM FOR IMAGING AND COLLECTION OF DATA FOR DIAGNOSTIC PURPOSES UNIVERSITY HEALTH NETWORK AKAR, SERKAN 3797 §112 Non-Final OA — Pending Oct 25, 2021
17311263 CONTROLLING DNA CONCENTRATION FOR STR ANALYSIS Integenx, Inc. GREENE, CAROLYN LEE 1681 §101 Non-Final OA — Pending Jun 04, 2021
17299452 CANNULAS WITH NON-CIRCULAR CROSS-SECTIONS, SYSTEMS, AND METHODS Intuitive Surgical Operations, Inc. ZAMORY, JUSTIN L 3783 §102§103 Non-Final OA — Pending Jun 03, 2021
17159764 SURGICAL SYSTEM INSTRUMENT MANIPULATOR Intuitive Surgical Operations, Inc. BAIG, RUMAISA RASHID 3796 §103 Final Rejection 33d Pending Jan 27, 2021
16966293 DEVICES, SYSTEMS, AND METHODS FOR TUMOR VISUALIZATION AND REMOVAL UNIVERSITY HEALTH NETWORK TRUONG, MILTON LARSON 3798 §103 Final Rejection 29d Pending Jul 30, 2020

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