New soft 'robot’ may offer pain-free way to treat kidney stones

Researchers at the University of Waterloo, led by Dr. Veronika Magdanz, have developed a novel soft-bodied miniature robot designed to treat kidney stones in a less invasive and potentially pain-free way. The device is a tiny, 1 x 1 x 12 mm filament made from a hydrogel and elastomer blend, embedded with urease enzyme and a small magnet. It is inserted into the bladder via catheter and navigated through the urinary tract using an external robotic arm with a rotating magnet. Once positioned at the kidney stone, the filament releases urease, which raises the pH of the surrounding urine, dissolving the stone and facilitating its natural passage with reduced pain. In laboratory tests using a 3D-printed urinary tract model filled with synthetic urine, the device successfully increased the urine pH from 6 to 7, resulting in about a 30% reduction in stone weight over five days—enough to ease stone passage. The pH elevation effect lasted up