Most Relevant Prior Art for US Patent 11998262

Based on the patent text itself, US patent 11998262 explicitly identifies and discusses two key prior art references as foundational to its technical domain. These are:

1. U.S. Publication No. 2016/0331459 ("the '459 publication")

   • Full Citation: U.S. Publication No. 2016/0331459
   • Publication/Filing Date: Not explicitly stated in the provided text for the filing date, but the publication date is clearly 2016.
   • Brief Description: This publication describes "Additional features and functions of the nerve monitoring system 108, as well as other functions of the various components of the console 104, including the evaluation/feedback algorithms 110 for providing real-time feedback capabilities for ensuring optimal therapy for a given treatment is administered."
   • Potential Anticipated Claim(s) under 35 U.S.C. § 102: While the '262 patent incorporates aspects of this publication, it's not described as directly anticipating any specific claims in their entirety. Instead, it forms a part of the "neuromodulation system 100" that the '262 patent builds upon. Therefore, the '459 publication would likely be considered relevant to the general field of neuromodulation devices and methods, potentially impacting the novelty of broad system claims or method steps related to nerve monitoring and feedback, such as elements of claims 1, 10, and 17 that involve a console and feedback.

2. U.S. Publication No. 2018/0133460 ("the '460 publication")

   • Full Citation: U.S. Publication No. 2018/0133460
   • Publication/Filing Date: Not explicitly stated in the provided text for the filing date, but the publication date is clearly 2018.
   • Brief Description: Similar to the '459 publication, this reference also describes "Additional features and functions of the nerve monitoring system 108, as well as other functions of the various components of the console 104, including the evaluation/feedback algorithms 110 for providing real-time feedback capabilities for ensuring optimal therapy for a given treatment is administered."
   • Potential Anticipated Claim(s) under 35 U.S.C. § 102: As with the '459 publication, the '460 publication is incorporated by reference as foundational technology rather than a direct anticipatory reference. It contributes to the known aspects of neuromodulation systems, consoles, and feedback mechanisms. Thus, it would similarly be relevant to general system and method claims concerning nerve monitoring and treatment feedback within claims 1, 10, and 17.

The '262 patent itself indicates that "the devices described herein... may be included and incorporated in any of the treatment devices, systems, and methods illustrated and described in U.S. Publication No. 2016/0331459 and U.S. Publication No. 2018/0133460". This implies that the '262 patent considers these publications to be part of the existing knowledge base, providing the context for the "therapeutically neuromodulation system 100" and its components. While not explicitly cited as anticipating specific independent claims in the patent's own text, their fundamental description of nerve monitoring and feedback systems suggests their relevance to any claims broadly covering such aspects of the neuromodulation system.