Appeal 2006-1324
Application 09/882,127
suddenly switches polarity. This polarity switch is sometimes referred to as
the Barkhausen effect or Barkhausen jump. When a Wiegand effect device is
placed in a coil and switches polarity it causes a substantially uniform
voltage pulse. Thus, if a sensor is placed on a medical device, the position
of the medical device may be determined during a medical procedure.
Claim 21, reproduced below, is further illustrative of the claimed
subject matter.
21. A medical device and position sensor combination
comprising:
(a) a medical device having a body;
(b) a position sensor attached to a portion of the body,
the position sensor having a core made of a high
permeable material, the material being a
magnetic material that produces a magnetic field
that switches polarity and causes a substantially
uniform voltage pulse upon an application of an
external field, the position sensor being used for
determining position coordinates of the portion
of the body of the medical device, the position
sensor maintaining accuracy at <1 mm at
temperatures greater than 75°C.
The references of record relied upon by the examiner as evidence of
obviousness are:
Wiegand 4,247,601 Jan. 27, 1981
Yeoman 4,437,963 Mar. 20, 1984
Hinke 4,538,082 Aug. 27, 1985
Normann 4,639,670 Jan. 27, 1987
von der Heide 5,280,222 Jan. 18, 1994
Chiriac 6,270,591 Aug. 07, 2001
(effectively filed Jun. 25, 1998)
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