Appeal No. 2000-0087 Page 4
Application No. 08/592,006
teachings with regard to the claimed invention which, in his view, are overcome only by the
use of hindsight on the part of the examiner. We find ourselves to be generally in
agreement with the positions advanced by the appellant in the Briefs.
Sagie is concerned with finding a laser that may be “efficiently employed in a variety
of uses” (column 6, lines 54 and 55), including gastro-enterology, general surgery, urology,
vascular surgery, gall stones, bronchoscopy, neurosurgery, cardiac surgery, and
gynecology (column 7, lines 3-5). While Sagie considers the Neodymium-YAG laser
proposed for use by the appellant, and other lasers, as effective in some respects, the
reference teaches that the holmium laser is best for all-around use in medical-surgical
applications (column 7, line 14 et seq.). In the discussion that follows of the various
procedures for which this selected laser is usable, Sagie provides the following
information at column 11, lines 42-53, which is the sole portion of the reference upon
which the examiner relies in the rejection (Paper No. 7, page 2):
8. Holmium Laser Application in Gynecology
In order to verify the holmium laser application in the field the following
studies were conducted: fallopian tube sterilization by tube shrinkage;
reversal of this sterilization procedure using a welding technique; and
intrauterine surgery of polyps, benign tumors and septum. On the basis of
these experiments, safe and effective ablation of endometrium for
memorhaghia can also be expected. Some of the work in this field is
disclosed in Lachman, E. et al. 7th Congress of the International Society for
Laser Surgery and Medicine, Munich, FRG, (1987), incorporated herein by
reference.
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