Appeal No. 1999-0289
Application No. 08/336,690
DAT technology at that time related only to the storage of
digitized audio signals in the form of music. There is no prior
art to relate DAT technology to the storage of image information
of any kind at the time of the instant invention. Thus, it would
not have been obvious to store examination image history
information and examination images on a DAT at the time of the
instant invention.
We treat appellant’s arguments in the order presented.
1. It is our view that Ichikawa certainly does suggest a
“single storage medium” for storing medical information.
Ichikawa’s disclosed invention differs from the instant disclosed
invention in that the former stores case histories and clinical
histories and compares the two in order to aid in diagnosis of
illness while the latter is concerned with storing an
individual’s medical history on a DAT which is updated each time
the individual undergoes a medical exam.
However, Ichikawa does disclose, at column 5, lines 23-24,
that clinical information (image and index) may be stored on a
record medium which is separate from the case history
information. Thus, the clinical information may be stored on a
“single storage medium.”
2. While it is true that Ichikawa is interested in storing
5–
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