Novel At-Home Risk Detector for Kidney Stones

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Design Award

Tong Biomedical Design Award Winner

Project Overview

Kidney stones are formed from an imbalance of substances -- including calcium, oxalate, uric acid, and citrate -- built up in the kidney that are then excreted in the form of urine. Stones formed in the urinary tract are often small enough to be excreted without pain, but the development of larger stones can lodge in the ureters, blocking urine flow and causing severe pain. The current assessment of kidney stone risk is a 24-hour urinalysis, generally performed once or twice a year. In addition to this procedure’s inconvenience (patients often choose to negate their entire day and stay at home so they can more easily collect their daily urinary movements) these tests are inherently biased; patients, knowing that their dietary patterns will be monitored by the urine collection, will commonly change what they eat and drink, creating an inaccurate portrayal of their urinary concentrations. The purpose of this project’s device is to provide a convenient, at-home alternative to 24-hour urine tests. Patients should be able to use the product weekly or even daily, then send the results remotely to their medical provider. It should allow both doctors and patients to more closely monitor concentration levels of key solutes, specifically calcium and oxalate (substances whose concentrations can be used as warning signs for risk of nephrolithiasis), serving as a way to track progress after dietary or medication changes.

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Team members from left to right: Carl Parent, Tyler Bambrough, Will Olson, Jack O'Keefe

BME Design Projects
Better Health by Design

Novel At-Home Risk Detector for Kidney Stones

Design Award

Project Overview

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Team Members

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