Ex Parte Schmidt et al

Patent Trial and Appeal Board

Mar 28, 2019

14110967 (P.T.A.B. Mar. 28, 2019)

UNITED STA TES p A TENT AND TRADEMARK OFFICE
APPLICATION NO. FILING DATE
14/110,967 12/17/2013
26710 7590 04/01/2019
QUARLES & BRADYLLP
Attn: IP Docket
411 E. WISCONSIN A VENUE
SUITE 2350
MILWAUKEE, WI 53202-4426
UNITED ST A TES OF AMERICA
FIRST NAMED INVENTOR
Ehud Schmidt
UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
United States Patent and Trademark Office
Address: COMMISSIONER FOR PATENTS
P.O. Box 1450
Alexandria, Virginia 22313-1450
www .uspto.gov
ATTORNEY DOCKET NO. CONFIRMATION NO.
129319.00202 1286
EXAMINER
TURCHEN, ROCHELLE DEANNA
ART UNIT PAPER NUMBER
3793
NOTIFICATION DATE DELIVERY MODE
04/01/2019 ELECTRONIC
Please find below and/or attached an Office communication concerning this application or proceeding.
The time period for reply, if any, is set in the attached communication.
Notice of the Office communication was sent electronically on above-indicated "Notification Date" to the
following e-mail address(es):
pat-dept@quarles.com
PTOL-90A (Rev. 04/07)
UNITED STATES PATENT AND TRADEMARK OFFICE
BEFORE THE PATENT TRIAL AND APPEAL BOARD
Ex parte EHUD SCHMIDT, TSZ-HO TSE, and
CHARLES DUMOULIN
Appeal2018-000960
Application 14/110,967
Technology Center 3700
Before: CHARLES N. GREENHUT, LEE L. STEPINA, and
SEAN P. O'HANLON, Administrative Patent Judges.
GREENHUT, Administrative Patent Judge.
DECISION ON APPEAL
STATEMENT OF THE CASE
Appellants appeal under 35 U.S.C. § 134 from a rejection of claims 1-
8, 10-17, 19, and 20. We have jurisdiction under 35 U.S.C. § 6(b).
We reverse.
Appeal2018-000960
Application 14/110,967
CLAIMED SUBJECT MATTER
The claims are directed to a system and method for acquiring patient
physiological information during an MRI scan. Claim 1, reproduced below,
with emphasis added, is illustrative of the claimed subject matter:
1 A magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) system comprising:
a magnet system configured to generate a polarizing
magnetic field about at least a portion of a patient arranged in the
MRI system;
a plurality of gradient coils configured to apply a gradient
field to the polarizing magnetic field;
a radio frequency (RF) system configured to apply an
excitation field to the subject and acquire MR image data
therefrom;
a patient monitoring system arranged to acquire a
physiological condition of the patient and to communicate
signals representative of the physiological condition;
a control circuit including a switching circuit, the control
circuit configured to coordinate acquisition of the signals
representative of the physiological condition by the patient
monitoring system with operation of at least one of the gradient
coils and the RF system, and the switching circuit configured to
disconnect acquisition of the signals representative of the
physiological condition by the patient monitoring system during
periods of at least one of gradient ramping and RF transmission.
REFERENCES
The prior art relied upon by the Examiner in rejecting the claims on
appeal is:
Schmidt
Tal
Timinger
US 2005/0215886 Al Sept. 29, 2005
US 2007 /0276226 Al Nov. 29, 2007
US 2010/0056378 Al Mar. 4, 2010
REJECTIONS
Claims 1-3, 7, 8, 10-12, 14, 15, 19, and 20 are rejected under 35
U.S.C. § 102(b) as being anticipated by Schmidt.
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Appeal2018-000960
Application 14/110,967
Claims 4---6 and 13 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. § 103(a) as being
unpatentable over Schmidt and Timinger.
Claims 16 and 17 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. § 103(a) as being
unpatentable over Schmidt and Tal.
OPINION
The Examiner cites paragraphs 21-23 of Schmidt as satisfying the
limitation emphasized above, a version of which is present in each of the
independent claims before us, claims 1, 11, and 20. Final Act. 3-5; Ans. 8-
9. On their face, the cited paragraphs do not make it apparent how the
argued limitation is satisfied. Appeal Br. 5-7. In the Answer, the
"Examiner's position is that the physiological acquisition controller only
receives signals prior to the scan and therefore is disconnected when the
scan is taking place." Ans. 9. However, the Examiner points to no evidence
of this operation sequence in the cited portion of Schmidt or anywhere else.
Figure 1 and the cited portion of Schmidt schematically depict and describe,
respectively, T/R switch 62 connected to the same pulse generator 38 as the
physiological acquisition controller 44. However, the Examiner points to no
specific discussion as to any particular management sequence of operation
among the pulse generator 38 as the physiological acquisition controller 44.
Accordingly, the Examiner has not established Schmidt includes the
switching structure or functional capabilities to satisfy the language of the
independent claims for purposes of anticipation. The remaining references
are not relied on by the Examiner to cure this deficiency.
DECISION
The Examiner's rejections are reversed.
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Appeal2018-000960
Application 14/110,967
REVERSED
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