Appeal No. 2005-1675 Page 4
Application No. 09/523,503
The anticipation rejection based on Whiteside
We sustain the rejection of claims 8 to 13, 15 and 16 under 35 U.S.C. § 102(b)
as being anticipated by Whiteside.
Claim 8 on appeal reads as follows:
A method of resecting a distal femur having prominent and non-prominent
condyles separated by a trochlear region, the method comprising the steps of:
a) installing a fixture onto the distal femur which references the
non-prominent condyle or trochlear region; and
b) resecting the femur in accordance with the reference made in (a).
Whiteside's invention relates to a method of shaping the distal surface of a
human femur using certain alignment guides and instruments to prepare that surface to
receive a distal femoral prosthesis and also relates to certain apparatus used in that
method. Figure 14 is a perspective view of a distal femoral surface showing entry point
148 for a reamer. Figure 14 depicts the distal femoral surface 140 of the right femur
showing medial condyle 141, the lateral condyle 142, the intercondylar groove 143, the
posterior condylar surface 144, the anterior condylar surface 145 and the patellar
surface 146. Circle 148 marks a typical entry point for the intramedullary reamer which
is later followed by the femoral alignment guide. Choosing a position lateral to circle
148 will result in slightly more valgus after a femoral prosthesis is implanted while
choice of a position medial to circle 148 results in decreased valgus positioning.
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