Endoscopic in-situ recognition of urinary stones during LASER-induced stone fragmentation: a modern, effective and essential approach in the diagnostic process in urolithiasis

Abstract

Examination of stone morphologies shows a great potential for the etiological diagnosis of stone disease. Endoscopic Stone Recognition (ESR) can thereby provide essential morphoconstitutional analysis of stones in-situ, and becomes a method of choice for an effective management of patients with kidney stones. Here, we show that both visual and automatic ESR can be performed within a LASER-induced spraying session. ESR may therefore be beneficial to still apply an etiological approach in lithiasis. We discuss the added value of Artificial Intelligence in the entire patient care process. Prospects and requirements for widespread applications of ESR in a clinical practice are evaluated.