Project Description:

Bladder stones develop when the bladder consistently fails to empty completely, causing residual urine to crystallize into concrete masses. Stones larger than 4cm require surgical intervention. Open surgery is highly invasive, as a large abdominal incision is made to extract intact stones. Urologists prefer minimally invasive endoscopic approaches, specifically cystolitholopaxy, which requires urethral insertion to access and fragment urinary calculi.

However, surgeons face a critical trade-off between procedural efficiency and patient safety. Due to a lack of active suction, unpredictable fragment migration, and clogging against the bladder wall, many doctors revert to highly invasive methods in the interest of time. Our solution is a multi-functional instrument that seamlessly enters through a nephroscope and selectively aspirates all stone fragments while actively protecting the bladder wall from trauma. By addressing these surgical bottlenecks, our medical device optimizes procedure time without compromising patient safety, ensuring successful removal of large, highly problematic bladder stones.

Project Photo:

Our project, Evaculase, is a new system for removing bladder stones endoscopically.