Appeal No. 96-1963
Application 08/094,296
drawn from consideration as being directed to a nonelected
invention. 37 CFR 1.142(b).2
The subject at issue is defined by claim 1 as follows 3
(numbers in brackets added for convenience):
1. A system for thermolysis of dermatological tissue
in an area under the surface thereof with visualization
of said area which is sufficiently small to be hand
held, which comprises [i] a housing, [ii] a window in
said housing providing a port for illumination
emanating from within said housing and disposed and
[sic: in] proximity to the tissue surface above said
area, [iii] means for projecting a laser beam from said
housing through said window, [iv] means in said
projecting means for focusing said beam at selected
locations in said area at spots sufficiently small in
cross-section and of power and duration of said beam to
cause localized thermolysis of the tissue at each of
said spots, [v] said projecting means also including
means in said housing for deflecting said beam to
locate each of said spots at each of said selected
locations one at a time and stop said beam, and [vi]
means in said housing for visualizing said area while
said beam is deflected thereby verifying that each of
said spots is at each of said selected locations.
The references applied in the final rejection are:
Sutton 4,617,926 Oct. 21, 1986
Taboada et al. (Taboada) 5,112,328 May 12, 1992
2A rejection of claims 6 to 9, 11, 12, 26 and 27 under 35 USC § 112,
made in the final rejection, was, according to the advisory action mailed
January 27, 1995 (Paper No. 7), overcome by the amendment filed January 12,
1995.
3We note that in line 3 of claim 1, the expression “which is
sufficiently small to be hand held” is so positioned as to appear to modify
“area” rather than “housing”. The claim should be amended so that this
expression is positioned as it is in claim 30, i.e., following “housing”, and
we will interpret claim 1 as if it had been so amended.
2
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