Technology Spotlight
"Stonemag" Magnetic Kidney Stone Retrieval System
The “StoneMag System”, a technology under development jointly at UT Dallas and UT Southwestern Medical Center, is expected to enable the retrieval of kidney stones more efficiently, safely, rapidly, and, cost -effectively. This system consists of 1) a proprietary chemical solution that magnetically coats calcium-based stones (80% of stones formed) in the kidney and 2) a novel, magnetically-tipped, stone retrieval instrument that attracts and retrieves magnetized stones.
Approximately 13% of men and 7% of women in the U.S. will be diagnosed with a kidney stone at some time in their lives. Large kidney stones (> 6 mm) are generally unable to spontaneously pass through the urinary tract, necessitating surgical fragmentation (e.g., by ultrasonic fragmentation--lithotripsy, for example) and either extraction of fragments or reliance on spontaneous passage of fragments by the patient. However, retrieval of all individual stone fragments is almost impossible, and reliance on spontaneous passage is inconsistent.
Unfortunately, over half the people that develop kidney stones experience a recurrence of kidney stones due to the small fragments that remain in the kidney and act as “seeds”, which grow into new, larger stones .
The StoneMag System is expected to enable, for the first time, a surgeon to effectively and rapidly retrieve ALL stone fragments from a kidney, significantly reducing operative time, treatment costs, and the morbidity of stone recurrences. Furthermore, this technology will facilitate attraction of fragments from difficult-to-access locations in the collecting system.
In August 2008, the StoneMag System was awarded a $50,000 Texas Ignition Fund (TIF) grant from the UT System to support further research and commercialization. Principal Investigators for the project are Bruce Gnade, Ph.D. from UTD, and Jeffery Cadeddu, M.D, and Margaret Pearle, M.D., Ph.D. from UTSMCD.
Updated: November 13, 2008
