Appeal No. 2006-0981 Page 6
Application No. 10/036,618
Here, we find that White describes a "[n]on-invasive method of forming
prostheses of skeletal structures internal to a body for use in reconstructive surgery."
Abs., ll. 1-3. The appellants admit, "The White reference is capable of generating
three-dimensional data of a subject. . . ." (Reply Br. at 3.) The reference confirms the
correctness of this admission by teaching that an "internal structure is measured by
subjecting the body to radiant energy to produce radiant energy responses that are
detected to obtain represen[ta]tions delineating the internal structure three
dimensionally." Col. 2, ll. 5-9. Because White further discloses that "[a] set of three
dimensional coordinates defining a three dimensional representation of the selected
internal structure is generated from the obtained representations and is employed to
direct a sculpting tool to form a corporeal model of the selected structure," id. at ll. 9-14,
we find that the reference further teaches using the 3D data to prepare an implant.
The appellants argue, "The White reference is capable of generating three-
dimensional data of a subject, but not intra-operatively." (Reply Br. at 3.) Because a
surgeon implants the sculpted prostheses via "reconstructive surgery," abs., ll. 2-3, we
find that the aforementioned generating and using occur during a medical intervention
that culminates in a surgical operation and that the aforementioned generating and
using are performed intra-operatively.
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