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11.12.2018 08:41:49
1.2 million Germans develop urolithiasis every year. It is necessary to perform 200,000 surgeries on the kidneys per year, since the stones are too large and do not leave the natural urinary tract. In this case, the stones are in most cases smashed by a laser. Often, small fragments remain in the kidney, because they cannot be removed with a special claw device. It is with these stones that the work of the young Bremen company Purenum, abbreviated from Purum Renum (“Clean Kidneys”), is connected.
According to the most recent studies there is a suspicion that such small fragments of kidney stones are the basis for the formation of new kidney stones. A probable explanation for this is that in Germany about 50 percent of patients need kidney surgery again.
The company Purenum was founded this year in the Technology Park at the University of Bremen by the biologist Ingo Grunwald (50 years old) and the engineer Manfred Peschka (61 years old). For many years both scientists have worked at the Fraunhofer Institute for Manufacturing Technology and Advanced Materials (IFAM) in Bremen. Their solution is the mediNiK adhesive. The name stands for “Medizinischer Nierenstein-Klebstoff”, which means medical adhesive for kidney stones.
How are kidney stones removed? Through the urinary tract the endoscope penetrates into the pelvis, hollow spaces in the kidneys. Since the endoscope is equipped with a video camera, the doctor can track on the screen in real time where exactly the stone is in the kidney. Then he places the laser fibre directly in front of the stone and smashes it with the laser beam. After that, the doctor captures the fragments with a kind of a claw and pulls them out. But, unfortunately, it is not always possible, because some fragments are just too small for this.
This is when the mediNiK adhesive comes into play. The adhesive consists of two liquids. By using an endoscope, they are in turn supplied to the area where the fragments of the kidney stones are located. Intermixing for a second, they form a bluish transparent gel in which the fragments are clearly visible.
The structure of the gel is stable, but at the same time plastic enough to be captured with a claw device and removed together with the remains of the stone adhered to it. “The special feature of the adhesive is selective adhesion. It does not stick to the kidney and medical devices,” says Peschka. “In addition, it glues in water. It is important because kidney stones are surrounded by water.”
Grunwald shows a Petri dish with a small artificial kidney stone in water. He applies both substances. A blue gel is formed. It is jelly-like to the touch and glows faintly blue. Grunwald takes it out of the Petri dish with fine tongs. “Usually people cannot glue anything under water. Glue and water are natural enemies in a sense. An adhesive specialist would definitely not ask for such glue,” says Peschka, an engineer with extensive experience in applying adhesives in an industrial scope. But just such a request doctors sent to IFAM in 2012.
The gel is 99% water and various long-chain sugars. However, patients with urolithiasis need to wait a little more for the use of the adhesive. As a medical product, the new adhesive is to pass a large number of tests for harmlessness. Peschka suggests that in two years thousands of patients will be able to appreciate the benefits of the new product.
