How University of Waterloo researchers are attacking kidney stones with a tiny robot army

CTV’s Spencer Turcotte finds out how research at the University of Waterloo could offer a less painful option for people suffering from kidney stones.

Anyone who has had kidney stones knows the pain can be intense, and the treatment is neither quick nor painless.

But University of Waterloo (UW) researchers are developing a new minimally invasive procedure that could change all that.

“A lot of the therapies involve oral medication. So people go on oral medication, have to take pills and maybe a couple of times a day for several months,” said Veronika Magdanz, an assistant engineering professor from UW overlooking the work.

That’s not always effective or efficient. Surgery is another route.

“When it gets really acute and these stones are, for example, blocking the ureter, the surgeons will have to go in and remove those stones,” said Magdanz, who is also the director of the Medical Microrobotics Lab at UW.

A lot of times once people get kidney stones, they’re more susceptible to getting them again. So the UW researchers were approached by a urologist in Barcelona, who was looking to get patients relief in a less invasive way.

“He said, ‘hey, you guys are doing these wireless microbots. Is there maybe a way that you could locally trigger the dissolution of stones by bringing medication or a reaction close to the stones in the urinary tract, causing the dissolution and then thereby avoiding longtime medication or even surgery,’” said Magdanz, recalling the question from the urologist.

It may seem like an obscure request but it wasn’t for the UW researchers. The answer from them was: “Yes, there is a way.”

Afarin Khabbazian, who was a master’s students when she worked on the project, showed CTV News their method.

“We set up a rotating magnetic field using a permanent magnet, which is attached to a motor. We control the position of the magnets using a robot arm,” said Khabbazian. “When I move [the arm], the [microbot] will move with it.”

The microbots are made up of thin spaghetti-like strips fitted with magnets, which are moved into place near uric acid kidney stones with the robotic arm.

The soft strips contain an enzyme called urease, and once in place, it reduces the acidity of the surrounding urine, which then dissolves the stones until they are small enough to pass naturally in a few days.

“This is definitely the first of its kind for kidney stones,” said Magdanz.

The medical breakthrough is extra special for Khabbazian because she has suffered from kidney stones.

“The first time I saw the robots move was one of the best days of my life,” Khabbazian said.

The technology is still in the testing phase and needs more work before moving on to human clinical trials.

Still, it’s not a small feat for a very small robot.