Scientists Have Proposed A New Way To Get Rid Of Kidney Stones

Scientists have proposed a new way to get rid of kidney stones

Doctors have learned to grab kidney stones in the ultrasound "ring" and move them. They hope that experimental treatments will help people in the foreseeable future.

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In a new study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, scientists have demonstrated a new technology that allows urinary stones to be moved using ultrasound. The experiment was carried out on animals, but the authors are confident that soon it will be possible to remove stones from people in this way.

Kidney stones can pass from the body on their own and with the help of doctors. Their independent movement through the ureters can be painful: they can stop and block the path of urine.

There are several ways to crush kidney stones using ultrasound. Small stones (up to 2 centimeters) can be crushed using a non-invasive method - extracorporeal shock wave therapy. Larger ones require insertion of a catheter into the kidney or surgery. It is known that with all approaches to crushing stones, their particles can remain in the kidneys or ureters and give rise to the growth of new ones. Removing them would improve the treatment outcome.

Scientists at the University of Washington are exploring the possibility of using softer ultrasonic waves to remove kidney stones from the body. Previously, they conducted a small study on humans, in which, using ultrasound, they moved small stones from the "dead center", helping them to get out of the urine stream. But their study was not placebo-controlled, that is, it did not compare with how stones come out in people who did not receive such treatment. Scientists point out that even a slight movement of the kidney stone can significantly help its excretion in the urine.

Now this same group of scientists has developed a more accurate method of moving kidney stones. Ultrasonic waves form a "ring" around the stones. Moving this "ring" allows you to push stones. The improved treatment has been tested in pigs.

The experiments were carried out on three pigs, which were under anesthesia. Instead of real kidney stones, glass beads were inserted into the bladder. The accuracy of the movement of the balls was 90%, which indicates a high level of control.

Scientists note that moving glass beads through the relatively large space of the bladder can be much easier than passing real stones through the ureter. But they are confident that this technology will develop, and in the foreseeable future it will be successfully used in humans.