Patents by Inventor Justina Franco

Justina Franco has filed for patents to protect the following inventions. This listing includes patent applications that are pending as well as patents that have already been granted by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).

  • Publication number: 20110071567
    Abstract: Devices, systems, and methods for suturing of body lumens allow the suturing of vascular puncture sites located at the distal end of a percutaneous tissue tract. An elongated articulated foot near a distal end of a shaft is inserted through the penetration and actuated so that the foot extends along the lumenal axis. The foot carries suturing attachment cuffs, and needles are advanced from the shaft through the vessel wall outside of the penetration and into engagement with the needle cuffs after the foot has been drawn proximally up against the endothelial surface of the blood vessel. The cross-section of the shaft within the tissue tract can be minimized by laterally deflecting the needles as they leave the shaft, while tapered depressions within the foot can guide the advancing needles into engagement with the cuffs. The cuffs lockingly engage the needles and can be withdrawn proximally along the needle paths and through the tissue tract so as to form a loop of suture across the puncture.
    Type: Application
    Filed: November 29, 2010
    Publication date: March 24, 2011
    Applicant: ABBOTT LABORATORIES
    Inventors: D. Bruce Modesitt, Justina A. Franco, T. Daniel Gross
  • Patent number: 7842047
    Abstract: Devices, systems, and methods for suturing of body lumens allow the suturing of vascular puncture sites located at the distal end of a percutaneous tissue tract. An elongated articulated foot near a distal end of a shaft is inserted through the penetration and actuated so that the foot extends along the lumenal axis. The foot carries suturing attachment cuffs, and needles are advanced from the shaft through the vessel wall outside of the penetration and into engagement with the needle cuffs after the foot has been drawn proximally up against the endothelial surface of the blood vessel. The cross-section of the shaft within the tissue tract can be minimized by laterally deflecting the needles as they leave the shaft, while tapered depressions within the foot can guide the advancing needles into engagement with the cuffs. The cuffs lockingly engage the needles and can be withdrawn proximally along the needle paths and through the tissue tract so as to form a loop of suture across the puncture.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 27, 2006
    Date of Patent: November 30, 2010
    Assignee: Abbott Laboratories
    Inventors: D. Bruce Modesitt, Justina A. Franco, T. Daniel Gross
  • Publication number: 20060142785
    Abstract: Devices, systems, and methods for suturing of body lumens allow the suturing of vascular puncture sites located at the distal end of a percutaneous tissue tract. An elongated articulated foot near a distal end of a shaft is inserted through the penetration and actuated so that the foot extends along the lumenal axis. The foot carries suturing attachment cuffs, and needles are advanced from the shaft through the vessel wall outside of the penetration and into engagement with the needle cuffs after the foot has been drawn proximally up against the endothelial surface of the blood vessel. The cross-section of the shaft within the tissue tract can be minimized by laterally deflecting the needles as they leave the shaft, while tapered depressions within the foot can guide the advancing needles into engagement with the cuffs. The cuffs lockingly engage the needles and can be withdrawn proximally along the needle paths and through the tissue tract so as to form a loop of suture across the puncture.
    Type: Application
    Filed: February 27, 2006
    Publication date: June 29, 2006
    Inventors: D. Modesitt, Justina Franco, T. Gross
  • Publication number: 20040092964
    Abstract: Devices, systems, and methods for suturing of body lumens allow the suturing of vascular puncture sites located at the distal end of a percutaneous tissue tract. An elongated articulated foot near a distal end of a shaft is inserted through the penetration and actuated so that the foot extends along the lumenal axis. The foot carries suturing attachment cuffs, and needles are advanced from the shaft through the vessel wall outside of the penetration and into engagement with the needle cuffs after the foot has been drawn proximally up against the endothelial surface of the blood vessel. The cross-section of the shaft within the tissue tract can be minimized by laterally deflecting the needles as they leave the shaft, while tapered depressions within the foot can guide the advancing needles into engagement with the cuffs. The cuffs lockingly engage the needles and can be withdrawn proximally along the needle paths and through the tissue tract so as to form a loop of suture across the puncture.
    Type: Application
    Filed: February 4, 2003
    Publication date: May 13, 2004
    Inventors: D. Bruce Modesitt, Justina A. Franco, T. Daniel Gross
  • Patent number: 6171317
    Abstract: A knot tying device comprises a knotting guide which carries a pair of snare cords. Each snare cord comprises a suture capture end and a pull end. The snare cords are carried within the knotting guide in a loose, knotted configuration. By capturing a pair of free suture ends in the suture capture ends of the snare cords, the knotted configuration originally embodied in the snare cords can be transferred to the free suture ends by pulling those ends through the knotting guide.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 14, 1999
    Date of Patent: January 9, 2001
    Assignee: Perclose, Inc.
    Inventors: Jasper Jackson, Justina A. Franco, Erik K. Walberg