Appeal No. 2002-2187
Application 09/149,359
Accordingly, we shall not sustain the standing 35 U.S.C.
§ 112, first and second paragraph, rejections of claims 17
through 19.
III. The 35 U.S.C. § 102(b), 102(e) and 103(a) rejections of
claims 7 through 9 and 17 through 19
The references applied in support of these rejections
pertain to medical devices having flanges which can be deformed
or deflected to facilitate insertion of the devices into a
patient’s body.
Shikani discloses a middle meatal antrostomy ventilation
tube 10 comprising a central tubular section 12 having a
rectangular flange 22 fitted onto one end and a triangular flange
34 fitted onto the other end. As described in the reference,
[i]nsertion of the ventilation tube 10 is performed by
grasping the two long sides 30, 32 of the elongated
rectangular flange 22 and folding them over until they
lie in parallel relation 40, 42 to the side of the
central tubular section 12, whereupon they may be
securely grasped with a hemostat or forceps. . . .
With the visual assistance of an endoscope (not shown),
the hemostat or forceps can then be used to advance the
ventilation tube 10 up the nasal passage 50 to a site
where an antrostomy opening has been prepared in the
lateral nasal wall. The triangular flange 34 is
angularly urged through this antrostomy until fully
inserted within the nasal sinus 52, whereupon it comes
to rest against the lateral nasal wall 48 (i.e., the
medial wall of the maxillary sinus), with the middle
turbinate 46 free to bump against it. The elongated
rectangular flange 22 rests upon the opposite surface
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