Soft robots go right to the site of kidney stones
A research team led byDr.Veronika Magdanz, a professor of systems design engineering, is developing technology to dissolve painful kidney stones in the urinary tract using tiny robots.
The new technique, tested in a life-size, 3D-printed model, features thin, spaghetti-like strips fitted with magnets that can be moved into place near uric acid kidney stones with a robotic arm operated by doctors (see right video clip).
The soft, flexible robot strips are about a centimetre long and contain an enzyme called urease. Once in place, the urease reduces the acidity of the surrounding urine, thereby dissolving stones until they are small enough to pass naturally in just a few days.
“There is currently no good treatment method available for this type of kidney stone,” said Magdanz.
“Patients are typically prescribed painkillers and oral dissolving medication that provides slow relief over the course of weeks or months. And in urgent cases, when stones block the urine flow, they must be surgically removed.”
A paper on the work, Kidney Stone Dissolution By Tetherless, Enzyme-Loaded, Soft Magnetic Miniature Robots, recently appeared in.
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