Jayender Jagadeesan, PhD
Jayender Jagadeesan, PhD, of the Department of Radiology, was awarded a National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK) R01 grant for his project, “Image-registered, Hand-held, Concentric Tube Robot for Percutaneous Treatment of Calculi.”
Percutaneous nephrolithotomy (PCNL) is a technique for removing kidney stones through an incision on the patient’s back and the use of a nephroscope, an instrument for examining the inside of the kidneys. It can be difficult for surgeons to manipulate the scope sufficiently to access large or complex stones through a single incision—often resulting in the need for multiple incisions or several procedures to treat the entire stone. In turn, this increases a patient’s risk of complications and health care costs. Jagadeesan and his team plan to develop a novel robotic surgical tool with a navigation system that will enable a urologist to safely access and remove the stone through a single point of entry. The team expects this technology, if successful, could have other applications, such as biopsy and laser therapy for liver and kidney tumors.
The NIDDK, a division of the National Institutes of Health, supports medical research and research training and to disseminate science-based information on diabetes and other endocrine and metabolic diseases; digestive diseases, nutritional disorders and obesity; and kidney, urologic and hematologic diseases, to improve people’s health and quality of life.
