Roen Surgical partners with UC San Diego to advance robotic kidney stone surgery

Roen Surgical, a surgical robotics platform company, said Wednesday that it has signed a joint research agreement with the University of California, San Diego to develop next-generation surgical robotics technology.

This agreement was launched under the Scale-up TIPS Global program, a private-sector-led R&D support initiative overseen by the Ministry of SMEs and Startups, following Roen Surgical's selection for the program in July.

Under the agreement, Roen Surgical will work with UC San Diego until 2028 to develop and clinically test Zamenix-based kidney stone surgery robot technology. The collaboration will cover both engineering development and clinical research through partnerships with hospitals.

Notably, Professor Roger Sur of the UC San Diego School of Medicine, a world authority in kidney stone treatment, and Professor Michael Yip of the UC San Diego Jacobs School of Engineering, a leading expert in medical robotics and AI, will serve as principal investigators. With their leadership, the impact and visibility of robotic surgery research are expected to grow significantly.

By partnering with UC San Diego, Roen Surgical aims to advance its robotic flexible endoscopy technology and achieve global competitiveness, the Korean company said.

Ahead of the contract signing, Roen Surgical also participated in the World Congress of Endourology (WCET25) in Arizona, where it conducted the first semi-live surgery demonstration in the U.S. using its Zamenix robot for endoscopic stone removal, receiving strong positive feedback.

“This semi-live surgery at the U.S. conference allowed us to showcase the excellence of our domestically developed Zamenix technology to the global urology community,” Roen Surgical CEO Kwon Dong-soo said. “Through our collaboration with UC San Diego, we expect to further advance surgical robot technology with world-renowned experts.”

Zamenix is an advanced surgical robot that assists medical teams throughout the surgical process. A micro-flexible endoscope passes through the urethra and ureter without incisions, enabling repeated stone removal inside the kidney and enhancing safety for both patients and medical staff, according to Roen Surgical.

Zamenix also improves stone removal rates with AI-powered functions. Its respiratory compensation feature automatically corrects the position of moving stones in sync with a patient’s breathing, improving laser accuracy and reducing surgery time. Other functions include AI-assisted stone size analysis to lower the risk of ureteral damage and a “pathway recall function,” which enables the endoscope to remember and retrace its entry path, streamlining repetitive procedures and minimizing patient trauma.