The novel hydrogel mediNiK® increases the effectiveness of endoscopic kidney stone removal (URS). After the fragmentation of the kidney stone(s), fragments of different sizes are present. If these have a diameter of less than one millimeter, they cannot be effectively grasped with a conventional grasping instrument until now.
The use of mediNiK® significantly improves stone retrieval: The two components of the hydrogel are applied one after the other via a catheter, which is inserted into the working channel of the endoscope. mediNiK® encloses even the smallest fragments and forms a soft gel a few seconds after the application of the second component. This gel is stable enough, on the one hand, to hold the fragments inside and, on the other hand, to be gripped securely by a grasping instrument. In this way, even small and minute kidney stone fragments, also known as stone dust, can be removed from the kidney.

Animation how mediNiK works:

The video shows how stones are first enclosed by the blue component and how the addition of the yellow component creates the hydrogel. In the animation, it can be seen how a large kidney stone is shattered into different sized stone debris. The large debris can be removed with conventional graspers used in surgery, but the very small debris cannot be grasped. With the help of the mediNiK hydrogel, the non-grippable debris can be combined into a larger, elastic conglomerate and removed with the gripper. Due to the different colors of the gel components or the formed hydrogel, the urologist can easily see where how much hydrogel has been applied or whether there are still residues. As shown in the film, it is not necessary to encompass the entire hydrogel, but the gel with the stone residues can be "grasped at the tip" and then pulled out through the urethral access sheet , for example as shown here. For further analysis of the stone composition, the hydrogel can be dissolved again quickly and easily.