Appeal No. 2001-2004 Page 3
Application No. 08/956,715
Rather than reiterate the conflicting viewpoints advanced by the examiner and
the appellants regarding the above-noted rejections, we make reference to the Answer
(Paper No. 22) and the final rejection (Paper No. 12) for the examiner's complete
reasoning in support of the rejections, and to the Brief (Paper No. 19) for the appellants’
arguments thereagainst.
OPINION
In reaching our decision in this appeal, we have given careful consideration to
the appellants’ specification and claims, to the applied prior art references, and to the
respective positions articulated by the appellants and the examiner. As a consequence
of our review, we make the determinations which follow.
The appellants’ invention relates generally to implantable medical devices, and
more particularly to including silver coatings on such devices to prevent clot formation
or thrombosis at the site where the devices are installed, thereby precluding stenosis or
occlusion (Specification, pages 1 and 2).
Claim 1
An implantable medical device, comprising:
a structure adapted for introduction into a patient, the structure
being comprised of a base material and a layer of elemental silver having
a uniform thickness posited on said base material, the elemental silver
layer further having a specific surface energy density of about 20 to 30
dyne[s] per centimeter.
(1)
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