Prosecution Insights
Prosecution Insights
Technology area: Medical Devices & Mechanical Engineering
345 pending office actions • 33 clients • 229 examiners • 47 art units • 0 of 345 (0%) have an AI response strategy ready
SEAGER, TUFTE & WICKHEM, LLP has a significant presence in Medical Devices & Mechanical Engineering, with 11645 career applications. The firm maintains a resolved allowance rate pct of 89.67, reflecting a high level of success in obtaining patent grants for its clients. This performance indicates a deep expertise in managing the technical and procedural requirements of medical device patenting on a large scale.
The firm currently manages 257 pending office actions. An avg office actions per allowance of 4.65 suggests a very persistent prosecution strategy, often requiring more than four rounds of interaction to reach an allowance. This high average indicates the firm's willingness to engage in extensive technical arguments and multiple rounds of claim refinement to secure patent rights, which can be essential in the competitive medical device landscape.
Based on the USPTO statutory response window for each pending office action. 77 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. 77 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 only | 2 (1%) |
| §101 + other | 12 (3%) |
| §103 only | 104 (30%) |
| §102 only | 21 (6%) |
| §112 only | 6 (2%) |
| Double-patenting only | 6 (2%) |
| Double-patenting + other | 23 (7%) |
| Multi-statute (no §101) | 168 (49%) |
| No statute on record | 3 (1%) |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| KHANDKER, RAIHAN R | 9 | 64.0% | +56.4% |
| JAFFRI, ZEHRA | 5 | 58.0% | +49.1% |
| HAN, SETH | 5 | 58.9% | +27.0% |
| NEMER, OSAMA MOHAMMAD | 5 | 66.3% | +51.3% |
| ALEMAN, SARAH WEBB | 5 | 62.1% | +23.7% |
| HODGE, LAURA NICOLE | 4 | 49.2% | +40.6% |
| HOLWERDA, KATHLEEN SONNETT | 4 | 68.7% | +17.7% |
| MILLER, SERENITY A | 4 | 68.0% | +36.9% |
| STARKEY, OLIVIA GRACE | 4 | 71.4% | -6.1% |
| MANNAN, MIKAIL A | 4 | 68.5% | +23.5% |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 18667955 | DUAL VIEW FOR MULTIPLE SERIES OF IVUS IMAGES | KLEIN, BROOKE L | 88d overdue |
| 17960812 | MEDICAL DEVICE SYSTEMS FOR AUTOMATIC LESION ASSESSMENT | SHAFQAT, AMY JEANETTE | 58d overdue |
| 18135943 | MULTIPLE FLARE AND SHOULDER ANTI MIGRATION STENT | WOZNICKI, JACQUELINE | 45d overdue |
| 18129676 | DEVICES, METHODS, AND SYSTEMS TO COLLECT, STORE, AND ANALYZE CHEMICAL SUBSTANCES | WESTFALL, SARAH ANN | 42d overdue |
| 17547480 | PACKAGING FOR MEDICAL DEVICES | POON, ROBERT | 31d overdue |
| 18219613 | SYSTEM FOR DETERMINING AN ESTIMATE OF BATTERY CAPACITY FOR AN IMPLANTABLE DEVICE | PORTER, JR, GARY A | 28d overdue |
| 18232084 | CATHETER WITH RAPID EXCHANGE GUIDEWIRE PORT AND METHOD OF MANUFACTURE | STIMPERT, PHILIP EARL | 24d overdue |
| 18470272 | SYRINGE DESIGN FOR CYCLING PARTICULATE SUSPENSIONS | CARPENTER, WILLIAM R | 23d 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 18618554 | PERCUTANEOUS CIRCULATORY SUPPORT DEVICE INCLUDING ANGLED PRESSURE SENSOR | HODGE, LAURA NICOLE | 28d overdue |
| 18074165 | EXTRACORPOREAL LIFE SUPPORT SYSTEM | HAN, SETH | 19d overdue |
| 18631575 | OCCLUSIVE IMPLANT SYSTEM | KHANDKER, RAIHAN R | 15d |
| 18619951 | Methods of Treating Metabolic Disorders with an Implanted Device | HODGE, LAURA NICOLE | 20d |
| 18461284 | MEDICAL DEVICE INCLUDING ATTACHABLE COMPONENTS | MANNAN, MIKAIL A | 23d |
| 17351868 | Prosthetic Heart Valve Having an Improved Tubular Seal | ALEMAN, SARAH WEBB | 26d |
| 17953748 | MEDICAL DEVICE FOR CUTTING A SUTURE DURING A MINIMALLY INVASIVE PROCEDURE | JAFFRI, ZEHRA | 28d |
| 18214054 | MEDICAL DEVICE RELEASE SYSTEM | NEMER, OSAMA MOHAMMAD | 29d |
| Art Unit | Apps |
|---|---|
| 3771 | 58 |
| 3774 | 27 |
| 3796 | 21 |
| 3783 | 21 |
| 3795 | 20 |
| 3792 | 16 |
| 3798 | 15 |
| 3781 | 14 |
| 3797 | 10 |
| 3794 | 9 |
| App # | Title | Client | Examiner | Art Unit | Statutes | Status | Due in | AI | Filed |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 19578541 | TRANSCUTANEOUS AURICULAR VAGAL NERVE STIMULATION FOR PERI-INTERVENTION INFLAMMATORY MODULATION | Aurenar, Inc. | JIAN, SHIRLEY XUEYING | 3792 | §103 | Final Rejection | — | Pending | Mar 25, 2026 |
| 19382492 | ULTRASOUND TRANSDUCER FOR IVUS CATHETERS | BOSTON SCIENTIFIC CORPORATION | SABOKTAKIN, MARJAN | 3797 | §103 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Nov 07, 2025 |
| 19357681 | ARCHITECTURE FOR INTEROPERABLE UROLOGY OPERATING ROOM | BOSTON SCIENTIFIC CORPORATION | HEIN, DEVIN C | 3686 | §102§103 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Oct 14, 2025 |
| 19338698 | FUNCTIONAL STENOSIS ASSESSMENT FROM VASCULAR IMAGING | BOSTON SCIENTIFIC CORPORATION | SHENG, CHAO | 3797 | §102 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Sep 24, 2025 |
| 19300807 | STEERABLE CROSSING CATHETER | BOSTON SCIENTIFIC CORPORATION | MENDEZ, KATHERINE H | §103§112DP | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Aug 15, 2025 | |
| 19274689 | ULTRASOUND TRANSDUCER AND USES THEREOF | Sonivie Ltd. | CATTUNGAL, SANJAY | §102§112Other | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Jul 21, 2025 | |
| 19265711 | STENT DELIVERY SYSTEMS WITH A RECONSTRAINING MEMBER | BOSTON SCIENTIFIC CORPORATION | LONG, SARAH A | §102§103 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Jul 10, 2025 | |
| 19264078 | DEVICES, SYSTEMS, AND METHODS FOR MEDICAL CLEANING VALVES | BOSTON SCIENTIFIC CORPORATION | WILLIAMS, PATRICK C | §102§103 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Jul 09, 2025 | |
| 19245900 | SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR ECCENTRIC NODULE TISSUE ACQUISITION | BOSTON SCIENTIFIC CORPORATION | FARAG, AMAL ALY | 3798 | §102§103 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Jun 23, 2025 |
| 19238932 | TRANSCAROTID NEUROVASCULAR CATHETER | BOSTON SCIENTIFIC CORPORATION | IGBOKO, CHIMA U | §102§103DP | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Jun 16, 2025 | |
| 19227571 | ASPIRATION LITHOTRIPSY DEVICE | BOSTON SCIENTIFIC CORPORATION | KNAUSS, CHRISTIAN D | §103§112 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Jun 04, 2025 | |
| 19224038 | MEDICAL DEVICES WITH ENHANCED ECHOGENICITY | BOSTON SCIENTIFIC CORPORATION | COOK, CHRISTOPHER L | 3797 | §102§103§112 | Final Rejection | — | Pending | May 30, 2025 |
| 19222544 | DEVICES AND METHODS FOR REDUCING PARASYMPATHETIC NERVE ACTIVITY IN PATIENTS WITH A RESPIRATORY SYNDROME | Sonivie Ltd. | BYKHOVSKI, ALEXEI | 3798 | DP | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | May 29, 2025 |
| 19215929 | LEFT ATRIAL APPENDAGE CLOSURE DEVICE | BOSTON SCIENTIFIC CORPORATION | RABAGLIA, BRIDGET ELIZABETH | §102§112 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | May 22, 2025 | |
| 19211803 | ASPIRATION MEDICAL DEVICE | BOSTON SCIENTIFIC CORPORATION | TANNER, JOCELIN C | §102Other | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | May 19, 2025 | |
| 19207884 | AUXILIARY CONNECTOR FOR ENDOSCOPE | BOSTON SCIENTIFIC CORPORATION | BOICE, JAMES EDWARD | §102§103§112 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | May 14, 2025 | |
| 19205109 | AIR AND WATER VALVE FOR AN ENDOSCOPE | BOSTON SCIENTIFIC CORPORATION | FAIRCHILD, AARON BENJAMIN | §102§112 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | May 12, 2025 | |
| 19202710 | BALLISTIC RESISTANT WALL STRUCTURES | Safewood Designs, Inc. | FREEMAN, JOSHUA E | 3641 | §102§103 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | May 08, 2025 |
| 19202651 | FACILITATE DELIVERY OF DEVICES WITH HIGH FRICTION - BRAID | BOSTON SCIENTIFIC CORPORATION | GHAND, JENNIFER LEIGH-STEWAR | §103§112 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | May 08, 2025 | |
| 19201511 | LEFT ATRIAL APPENDAGE IMPLANT | BOSTON SCIENTIFIC CORPORATION | POLAND, CHERIE MICHELLE | §103§112Other | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | May 07, 2025 | |
| 19189414 | PERFUSION BALLOON CATHETERS WITH THERAPEUTIC COATINGS | BOSTON SCIENTIFIC CORPORATION | LABRANCHE, BROOKE N | §102§103 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Apr 25, 2025 | |
| 19190365 | MEDICAL SYSTEMS, DEVICES, AND RELATED METHODS | BOSTON SCIENTIFIC CORPORATION | LOUIS, RICHARD G | §102§103Other | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Apr 25, 2025 | |
| 19187539 | LIGATOR DEVICES, SYSTEMS, AND METHODS | BOSTON SCIENTIFIC CORPORATION | JAFFRI, ZEHRA | §102§103 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Apr 23, 2025 | |
| 19187052 | SYSTEMS FOR OCCLUDING A LEFT ATRIAL APPENDAGE | BOSTON SCIENTIFIC CORPORATION | ORKIN, ALEXANDER J | §102 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Apr 23, 2025 | |
| 19185820 | SYSTEM FOR OCCLUDING A LEFT ATRIAL APPENDAGE | BOSTON SCIENTIFIC CORPORATION | MCGINNITY, JAMES RYAN | §102§103§112 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Apr 22, 2025 | |
| 19182937 | MEDICAL BALLOON | BOSTON SCIENTIFIC CORPORATION | CAILLOUET, CHRISTOPHER C | §103§112 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Apr 18, 2025 | |
| 19173041 | SUCTION VALVE ACTUATORS FOR ENDOSCOPES | BOSTON SCIENTIFIC CORPORATION | LUU, TIMOTHY TUAN | §102§103 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Apr 08, 2025 | |
| 19172989 | GRAPHICAL USER INTERFACE FOR VASCULAR STENT EXPANSION VISUALIZATION | BOSTON SCIENTIFIC CORPORATION | DAVIS, AMELIE R | 3798 | DP | Final Rejection | — | Pending | Apr 08, 2025 |
| 19169390 | METHODS FOR ASSESSING A VESSEL WITH SEQUENTIAL PHYSIOLOGICAL MEASUREMENTS | BOSTON SCIENTIFIC CORPORATION | BLOCH, MICHAEL RYAN | §112Other | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Apr 03, 2025 | |
| 19083555 | BALLOON SURFACE PHOTOACOUSTIC PRESSURE WAVE GENERATION TO DISRUPT VASCULAR LESIONS | BOSTON SCIENTIFIC CORPORATION | BYRD, BRIGID K | §102§103DP | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Mar 19, 2025 | |
| 19081753 | DISPOSABLE AIR/WATER AND SUCTION VALVES FOR AN ENDOSCOPE | Endochoice, Inc. | BOLER, RYNAE E | §102§103§112 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Mar 17, 2025 | |
| 19077171 | INTRAVASCULAR ULTRASOUND SYSTEMS, CATHETERS, AND METHODS WITH A MANUAL PULLBACK ARRANGEMENT | BOSTON SCIENTIFIC CORPORATION | TALTY, MARIA CHRISTINA | 3797 | §103§112 | Final Rejection | 3d overdue | Pending | Mar 12, 2025 |
| 19065247 | METHOD OF IMAGE ENHANCEMENT FOR DISTRACTION DEDUCTION | BOSTON SCIENTIFIC CORPORATION | AKINYEMI, AJIBOLA A | DP | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Feb 27, 2025 | |
| 19065523 | CIRCULATORY SUPPORT DEVICES, SYSTEMS, AND METHODS | BOSTON SCIENTIFIC CORPORATION | BERTRAM, ERIC D | §102 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Feb 27, 2025 | |
| 19065616 | CIRCULATORY SUPPORT DEVICES, SYSTEMS, AND METHODS | BOSTON SCIENTIFIC CORPORATION | HODGE, LAURA NICOLE | 3792 | §102§103§112 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Feb 27, 2025 |
| 19052771 | MEDICAL DEVICE FOR ACCESSING THE CENTRAL NERVOUS SYSTEM | Minnetronix Neuro, Inc. | HOLWERDA, KATHLEEN SONNETT | §103DP | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Feb 13, 2025 | |
| 19053074 | TISSUE ABLATION USING A MEDICAL DEVICE | BOSTON SCIENTIFIC CORPORATION | ZIEGLER, ABIGAIL M | §103§112 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Feb 13, 2025 | |
| 19041102 | ADAPTOR FOR CONNECTING A MEDICAL LASER TO A FLEXIBLE WAVEGUIDE OR AN ARTICULATED ARM | LUMENIS LTD. | SAHAND, SANA | §103§112Other | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Jan 30, 2025 | |
| 19040399 | SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR COMBINED PHOTOBIOMODULATION AND ELECTRICAL STIMULATION FOR EPILEPSY | Boston Scientific Neuromodulation Corporation | ANTHONY, MARIA CATHERINE | §102§103§112 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Jan 29, 2025 | |
| 19036664 | DEVICES AND METHODS FOR TREATING A STRICTURE ALONG THE BILIARY AND/OR PANCREATIC TRACT | BOSTON SCIENTIFIC CORPORATION | HENSON, DEVIN B | §103DP | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Jan 24, 2025 | |
| 19035444 | DEVICES, SYSTEMS, AND METHODS FOR REMOVING MATERIALS FROM A BODY | BOSTON SCIENTIFIC CORPORATION | DEMIE, TIGIST S | §102§103 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Jan 23, 2025 | |
| 19029718 | OPTIMIZATION OF BPH TREATMENT USING LEP (LASER ENUCLEATION OF PROSTATE) | LUMENIS LTD. | LUAN, SCOTT | §102DP | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Jan 17, 2025 | |
| 19029207 | ENDOSCOPIC SUTURING SYSTEM HAVING EXTERNAL INSTRUMENT CHANNEL | BOSTON SCIENTIFIC CORPORATION | BYRD, BRIGID K | 3771 | §102§103DP | Final Rejection | — | Pending | Jan 17, 2025 |
| 19030286 | ATTACHMENT DEVICES AND ASSOCIATED METHODS OF USE WITH A NERVE STIMULATION CHARGING DEVICE | Axonics, Inc. | LEE, ERICA SHENGKAI | §103§112Other | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Jan 17, 2025 | |
| 19029673 | APPARATUS AND METHOD FOR REDUCING LASER BEAM ATTENTUATION IN A LIQUID MEDIUM | LUMENIS LTD. | LUAN, SCOTT | 3792 | §103 | Final Rejection | — | Pending | Jan 17, 2025 |
| 19029543 | METHODS AND DEVICES FOR ACCESS ACROSS ADJACENT TISSUE LAYERS | BOSTON SCIENTIFIC CORPORATION | GIULIANI, THOMAS ANTHONY | §102Other | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Jan 17, 2025 | |
| 19020245 | HEART LUNG MACHINE HAVING CONTROL ASSEMBLY WITH SPACE-SAVING DISPLAY FEATURES | Livanova Deutschland GmbH | AMIN, JWALANT B | §103Other | Final Rejection | — | Pending | Jan 14, 2025 | |
| 19020118 | INTRAVASCULAR IMAGING CATHETER | BOSTON SCIENTIFIC CORPORATION | ROY, BAISAKHI | 3797 | §112 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Jan 14, 2025 |
| 19017178 | LEFT ATRIAL APPENDAGE CLOSURE DEVICE IMPLANTATION WITH VISUALIZATION | BOSTON SCIENTIFIC CORPORATION | HOLLM, JONATHAN ADAM | §102§103§112 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Jan 10, 2025 | |
| 18993415 | INTRODUCER LOCK APPARATUS | BOSTON SCIENTIFIC CORPORATION | IGBOKO, CHIMA U | 3771 | §102§103§112 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Jan 10, 2025 |
IP Author helps law firms respond to office actions faster with AI-generated responses, examiner analytics, and prosecution intelligence.
Start Free Trial89.7% of resolved applications prosecuted by Seager, Tufte & Wickhem, LLP were allowed, across 11,645 applications in USPTO records.
4.65 office actions per allowed application on average.
345 pending office actions as of October 2026, for 33 clients, before 229 examiners in 47 art units.