Ex Parte Schmidt et al

Patent Trial and Appeal BoardMar 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. Â§ 134 from a rejection of claims 1- 8, 10-17, 19, and 20. We have jurisdiction under 35 U.S.C. Â§ 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. Â§ 102(b) as being anticipated by Schmidt. 2 Appeal2018-000960 Application 14/110,967 Claims 4---6 and 13 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. Â§ 103(a) as being unpatentable over Schmidt and Timinger. Claims 16 and 17 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. Â§ 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. 3 Appeal2018-000960 Application 14/110,967 REVERSED 4