Appeal No. 2000-1682 Page 7
Application No. 08/845,503
Appellant quotes portions of the Gerstel disclosure which
appellant argues demonstrate that the Gerstel device does not
penetrate the stratum corneum (See brief at page 5).
Most of the language of Gerstel quoted in the brief is
directed to the puncturing of the stratum corneum but is
silent about the layers of skin underlying the stratum
corneum. In regard to the portion of Gerstel quoted in the
appellant’s brief which indicates that the interior layers of
the skin are not punctured, scraped or cut to a substantial
extent (col. 2, line 14), we note that by using the phrase “to
a substantial extent” Gerstel discloses that some non zero
puncturing, scraping and cutting of the interior skin may take
place when the Gerstel device is utilized.
Gerstel discloses that the height of the projections is
subject to variations that correspond to the natural thickness
of the skin (col. 7, line 54). Gerstel also discloses that
the microprojections are 5 microns to about 100 microns in
length which is within the range of lengths (50 microns to 175
microns) for the microprotrusions disclosed in appellant’s
specification.
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