Appeal No. 1999-0283 Page 3
Application No. 08/451,811
(16) and (34) can be reversed, as illustrated in Figure 7 and explained on page 23 of the
appellants' specification, so that the energy source is connected, via the fiber optic cable (34)
and energy guide (10), to the distal end of the endotracheal tube and the energy sensor (14) is
connected via the fiber optic cable (16) to a point external of the patient's neck to sense energy
emitted from the distal end of the endotracheal tube and thereby confirm the position of the
distal end of the endotracheal tube.
The prior art reference of record relied upon by the examiner in rejecting the appealed
claims is:
Heller 4,567,882 Feb. 4, 1986
The following rejection is before us for review.
Claims 17-19 stand rejected under 35 U.S.C. § 103 as being unpatentable over Heller.
Reference is made to the brief and reply brief (Papers No. 18 and 20) and the answer
(Paper No. 19) for the respective positions of the appellants and the examiner with regard to
the merits of this rejection.
OPINION
In reaching our decision in this appeal, we have given careful consideration to the
appellants' specification and claims, to the applied prior art reference, and to the respective
positions articulated by the appellants and the examiner. As a consequence of our review, we
cannot sustain the examiner's rejection.
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