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Medical devices

Boosting precision and confidence in percutaneous nephrolithotomy

Nature Reviews Bioengineering volume 3, page 626 (2025)Cite this article

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Percutaneous nephrolithotomy (PCNL) is a minimally invasive procedure considered the gold standard for treating large renal stones. Despite its effectiveness, the complexity of the procedure and the expertise required limit its widespread adoption. Now, writing in Communications Engineering, Stefano Bazzani and team present a new system that integrates robotic assistance, ultrasound navigation and augmented reality to improve the precision and accessibility of PCNL, particularly for less-experienced surgeons.

The system’s architecture features a collaborative robot equipped with a custom-designed handle that aligns an ultrasound probe with the PCNL needle, optimizing the trajectory for renal access. “Although several systems allow pre-operative trajectory planning (typically using CT) and intraoperative alignment, most, especially those based on ultrasound navigation, do not provide physical support to ensure the needle follows the planned path,” adds Bazzani. The system also includes a human–machine interface for real-time visualization and needle tracking.

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References

Original article

  • Bazzani, S. et al. Ultrasonographic-guided robotic-assisted percutaneous nephrolithotomy. Commun. Eng. 4, 120 (2025)

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  1. Nature Reviews Bioengineering https://www.nature.com/natrevbioeng/

    Sadra Bakhshandeh

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  1. Sadra Bakhshandeh
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Correspondence to Sadra Bakhshandeh.

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This text on an editorially selected paper was initially drafted using artificial intelligence, then revised and fact-checked by an editor to meet Nature Portfolio publication standards.

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Bakhshandeh, S. Boosting precision and confidence in percutaneous nephrolithotomy. Nat Rev Bioeng 3, 626 (2025). https://doi.org/10.1038/s44222-025-00351-0

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s44222-025-00351-0

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