Prior art

Prior Art Analysis for US Patent 11872029

This analysis identifies and describes prior art references explicitly cited within the specification of US Patent 11872029, focusing on their potential to anticipate claims under pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. § 102. The priority date of US11872029 is November 4, 2005.

The patent text for US11872029 explicitly references two external U.S. patents/applications that are considered for prior art purposes:

1. U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/949,055
2. U.S. Pat. No. 5,424,942

Parent applications of US11872029, such as US Pat. Nos. 11,602,284; 11,375,921; 10,076,269; and 8,172,766, along with application Ser. Nos. 17/825,266; 16/057,963; 13/440,116; and 11/266,899, are continuation applications claiming priority to the same inventive subject matter and are therefore not considered prior art against US11872029 under 35 U.S.C. § 102.

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Identified Prior Art References:

1. Reference: U.S. Patent Application Publication No. US2002/0038133A1 (which corresponds to U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/949,055)

• Full Citation: US2002/0038133A1, "Physiological electrode and method for making same," by Fryer et al., published March 28, 2002. This application subsequently issued as U.S. Pat. No. 6,836,683 B2 on December 28, 2004.
• Publication/Filing Date:
  • Filing Date: September 7, 2001
  • Publication Date: March 28, 2002
• Brief Description: This patent application describes dry physiological recording electrodes that do not require conductive gel or skin abrasion for application. The electrodes provide advantages such as ease of application in hairy areas like the scalp and resistance to drying out, making them suitable for long-term physiological monitoring.
• Potential Anticipation (35 U.S.C. § 102):
  US2002/0038133A1 describes dry electrodes for measuring electro-physiological signals. US11872029 mentions these dry electrodes in the context of improving EEG signal detection.
  • Claims 2, 15: These claims specify the use of "at least two EEG electrodes for measuring electro-physiological signals." While US2002/0038133A1 teaches the type of electrode (dry electrode) that can be used for such measurements, it does not disclose the broader system or method of sleep disorder diagnosis and treatment, particularly the feedback loop with a CPAP device as defined in claim 1. However, the teaching of dry physiological electrodes could anticipate the type of electrodes mentioned in these dependent claims, if the novelty of claims 2 and 15 rested solely on the use of dry electrodes. The claim scope, however, is broader than just "dry" electrodes, referring to "EEG electrodes" generally. Therefore, this reference primarily anticipates the concept of using EEG electrodes (which could include dry electrodes) for electro-physiological measurements in a diagnostic context.

2. Reference: U.S. Pat. No. 5,424,942

• Full Citation: U.S. Pat. No. 5,424,942, "Method and apparatus for adaptive predictive control of a process," by P. W. Schmidt, issued June 13, 1995.
• Publication/Filing Date:
  • Filing Date: February 25, 1994
  • Publication Date: June 13, 1995
• Brief Description: This patent describes a method and apparatus for extended horizon, adaptive, predictive control, particularly an Auto-Regressive Moving Average (ARMA) model based controller. It is used for system identification and control, attempting to fit specific models to measured data.
• Potential Anticipation (35 U.S.C. § 102):
  US11872029 explicitly refers to U.S. Pat. No. 5,424,942 when discussing the ARMA model for signal processing.
  • Claims 7, 20: These claims refer to "determining the level of severity of the subject's sleep apnea using a recursively fit ARMAX system identification model." U.S. Pat. No. 5,424,942 clearly teaches a recursively identified system model, specifically an ARMA model (which is a subset of ARMAX, where X refers to exogenous inputs). The reference details how to fit such models to measured data and how they can be used in control strategies, noting that "the poles of the identified system model will move toward a condition of symptom onset, thereby indicating to the control system that certain critical symptoms are impending." This directly anticipates the use of an ARMAX model for determining the level of severity based on physiological data. The specific application to sleep apnea might not be explicitly disclosed, but the underlying mathematical method and its predictive control capabilities are clearly taught. If the novelty of claims 7 and 20 lies in the use of an ARMAX model for severity determination, then this reference is highly anticipatory of that specific element.