Can Engineering Solve the World’s Leading Cause of Death?

Surgeons have developed a new technique to safely perform kidney transplants on patients whose leg arteries are heavily hardened by calcium and disease, a common problem that can make standard procedures risky or impossible. This innovative method may pave the way for more successful transplants among people with severe arterial disease.

When an artificial blood vessel (aortic endograft) fails, removing it is often risky and sometimes life-threatening, because traditional techniques can damage artery walls and cause severe bleeding. Doctors and engineers have designed a new tool—shaped with a special taper and gentle rolling beads— that slips around the implant and protects the artery during removal. With this promising invention, major aortic surgeries may soon become much safer for patients who need life-saving medical intervention.

Training surgeons to manage ruptured aortic aneurysms—a life-threatening emergency—is challenging because the rapid, unpredictable nature of the condition limits opportunities for hands-on training, and current educational tools often fail to provide adequate preparation. Now, researchers have developed a lifelike model using preserved human cadavers and synthetic tissue, even recreating a beating, blood-flowing aorta. The hope is that this breakthrough will help future surgeons gain vital hands-on skills safely, leading to better outcomes for patients in emergencies.