Ex Parte Satin et al

Patent Trial and Appeal Board

Mar 18, 2013

11383381 (P.T.A.B. Mar. 18, 2013)

UNITED STATES PATENT AND TRADEMARK OFFICE
__________

BEFORE THE PATENT TRIAL AND APPEAL BOARD
__________

Ex parte SCOTT L. SATIN, ROBERT G. COCHRAN,
and NIRMAL R. PATEL
__________

Appeal 2011-001712
Application 11/383,381
Technology Center 3700
__________

Before ERIC GRIMES, LORA M. GREEN, and FRANCISCO C. PRATS,
Administrative Patent Judges.

GRIMES, Administrative Patent Judge.

DECISION ON APPEAL
This is an appeal under 35 U.S.C. § 134 involving claims to a method
of analyzing electrocardiogram (ECG) results, which have been rejected as
anticipated. We have jurisdiction under 35 U.S.C. § 6(b). We reverse.

STATEMENT OF THE CASE
Claims 1 and 4-8 are on appeal. Claim 1 is the only independent claim:
1. A method for analyzing a subject-visit group of ECG
waveforms, the method comprising:
Appeal 2011-001712
Application 11/383,381

2
selecting a subject-visit group for a particular patient from a plurality
of subject-visit groups;
analyzing each ECG waveform of the subject-visit group to determine
whether artifacts are present and annotating each ECG waveform containing
artifacts;
determining if measurement calipers are present in each ECG
waveform and adding measurement calipers to each ECG waveform lacking
measurement calipers;
assigning a grouping metric to each ECG waveform; and
segregating the ECG waveforms according to their grouping metric
for display and evaluation.

The Examiner has rejected claims 1 and 4-8 under 35 U.S.C. § 102(b)
as anticipated by Lerman
1
(Answer 3). The Examiner finds that Lerman
discloses all of the limitations of the claimed method, including the step
relating to measurement calipers: “The user then adds and utilizes
measurement calipers 32 and 34 with each waveform in order to properly
classify each waveform (Col. 4, lines 20-35)” (id.).
We agree with Appellants, however, that
[a]s explained in the present application, “[a] caliper
position marks a point on the ECG waveform, and the distance
between a set of two caliper positions on the waveform
corresponds to the distance between the corresponding two
points on the waveform.” See page 14, lines 13-15 of [the]
specification. Thus, the claimed measurement calipers can be
used, for example, to measure the length of the QT interval of a
waveform. Lerman provides no such disclosure of the
measurement calipers as claimed.
The pointers [32 and 34] disclosed by Lerman are not
used for measurement, i.e., they are not measurement calipers,
but rather are used only to identify an axis used to align
multiple overlaid waveforms. Thus, Lerman fails to disclose or

1
Lerman et al., U.S. 5,224,486, July 6, 1993.
Appeal 2011-001712
Application 11/383,381

3
suggest at least “determining if measurement calipers are
present in each ECG waveform and adding measurement
calipers to each ECG waveform lacking measurement calipers,”
as recited in claim 1.
(Appeal Br. 9.)
We therefore reverse the rejection of claims 1 and 4-8 under 35
U.S.C. § 102(b) as anticipated by Lerman.

REVERSED

cdc