APL-UW Website - Profile

John Kucewicz

Senior Engineer

kucewicz@uw.edu

Phone

206-221-3283

Department Affiliation

Center for Industrial & Medical Ultrasound

Education

B.S. Computer Engineering, Texas A&M University, 1995

Ph.D. Bioengineering, University of Washington, 2004

Projects

Ultrasonic Detection and Propulsion of Kidney Stones

An ultrasound-based system assembled from commercial components and customized software control locates kidney stones, applies an acoustic radiative force, and repositions the stones so they are more likely to pass naturally. Watch urologist test the system.

1 Feb 2019

Videos

Ultrasonic Propulsion of Residual Kidney Stone Fragments

Ultrasonic propulsion, an investigational kidney stone treatment for awake un-anesthetized patients, sweeps stone fragments toward the ureter to facilitate their natural passage through the urine.

More Info

9 Sep 2024

Ultrasonic propulsion, an investigational kidney stone treatment for awake un-anesthetized patients, sweeps stone fragments toward the ureter to facilitate their natural passage through the urine.

Nearly half of patients with small residual fragments following kidney stone surgery, relapse within five years.

Repositioning the fragments results in a 70% lower incidence of relapse -- urgent medical visit or a subsequent surgery. Time to relapse was also longer by nearly 1.5 year in the treatment group.

This study, led by University of Washington and Puget Sound VA investigators, was funded by the NIH.

Sorensen, M.D., et al., "Randomized controlled trial of ultrasonic propulsion-facilitated clearance of residual kidney stone fragments versus observation," J. Urol., doi:10.1097/JU.0000000000004186, 2024.
https://www.auajournals.org/doi/10.10...

Publications

2000-present and while at APL-UW

Chemically welded, capillary-printed ion-selective membranes for durable solid-state chloride sensors in dynamic marine environments

Taylor, Z., S. Soelberg, C. Lee, E. Firth, J. Kucewicz, M. Steele, A. Nawaz, and J.-H. Chung, "Chemically welded, capillary-printed ion-selective membranes for durable solid-state chloride sensors in dynamic marine environments," Adv. Sens. Res., 5, doi:10.1002/adsr.70210, 2026.

More Info

22 Sep 2026

Salinity is a critical environmental parameter governing ocean circulation, biogeochemical processes, and ecosystem health, yet existing conductivity-based sensors remain costly and sensitive to variations in ionic composition. Here, we present a low-cost, scalable potentiometric chloride (Cl^–)-sensing platform for salinity monitoring in dynamic marine environments. The system integrates a chemically welded ion-selective membrane (ISM) fabricated via capillary-bridge printing using controlled meniscus deposition and a miniaturized Ag/AgCl reference electrode. This printing process is modeled as a function of contact angle, tip speed, and viscosity, enabling precise control of membrane thickness and interfacial bonding. The meniscus-driven deposition is coupled with polymer–substrate interpenetration, ensuring strong adhesion and structural uniformity. The resulting ISM suppresses the formation of an interfacial water layer and exhibits enhanced resistance to delamination under prolonged aqueous exposure. The Cl^–-selective electrodes exhibit a stable response at environmentally relevant concentrations, with low variability and reduced drift, while the custom reference electrode achieves stable performance with minimal concentration dependence. Ocean deployment demonstrates robust performance under strong salinity gradients and tidal dynamics. Differences between Cl^–-derived and conductivity-derived salinity measurements are analyzed in relation to ionic composition, demonstrating the complementary roles of selective and non-selective sensing.

Facilitated clearance of small, asymptomatic renal stones with burst wave lithotripsy and ultrasonic propulsion

Harper, J.D., and 18 others including B. Dunmire, J. Thiel, Y.-N. Wang, S. Totten, J.C. Kucewicz, and M.R. Bailey, "Facilitated clearance of small, asymptomatic renal stones with burst wave lithotripsy and ultrasonic propulsion," J. Urol., 214, 41-47, doi:10.1097/JU.0000000000004533, 2025.

More Info

1 Jul 2025

We tested feasibility of burst wave lithotripsy (BWL) and ultrasonic propulsion to noninvasively fragment and expel small, asymptomatic renal stones in awake participants.

Adult patients suspected of having 2- to 7-mm stones were consented and screened for eligibility. BWL and ultrasonic propulsion were applied to up to 3 stones in 1 kidney of qualifying participants for a 30-minute total exposure. Participants completed a CT scan and the Wisconsin Stone Quality-of-Life (WISQOL) questionnaire within 90 days before and 120 days after the procedure. Participants were contacted weekly for 3 weeks after the procedure to assess adverse events (AEs). Outcomes included (1) no fragment > 2 mm, (2) unanticipated health care visits, (3) change in stone volume, (4) reported AEs, and (5) WISQOL score.

Forty-one participants were enrolled between April 2023 and October 2024. Twenty-one participants failed screening because no stones were seen, stones were too large or small, stone visibility was too deep or obstructed, or they declined to participate. Twenty participants with 31 stones received the research procedure with 7 undergoing a single repeat procedure. Twenty-two of 31 stones (71%) met the primary effectiveness outcome of no fragment > 2 mm, with 17 of 31 stones (55%) reported as stone free. Median stone volume reduction (IQR) was 100% (88%–100%). No participants returned unexpectedly for care related to the procedure. AEs were all Grade I by modified Clavien classification. WISQOL scores improved on 10 of 15 completed questionnaires.

Small, asymptomatic renal stones were effectively and safely removed in awake participants in a clinic setting.

Randomized controlled trial of ultrasonic propulsion-facilitated clearance of residual kidney stone fragments vs. observation

Sorensen, M.D., and 16 others including B. Dunmire, J. Thiel, B.W. Cunitz, J.C. Kucewicz, and M.R. Bailey, "Randomized controlled trial of ultrasonic propulsion-facilitated clearance of residual kidney stone fragments vs. observation," J. Urol., 212, 811-820, doi:10.1097/JU.0000000000004186, 2024.

More Info

1 Dec 2024

Ultrasonic propulsion is an investigational procedure for awake patients. Our purpose was to evaluate whether ultrasonic propulsion to facilitate residual kidney stone fragment clearance reduced relapse.

This multicenter, prospective, open-label, randomized, controlled trial used single block randomization (1:1) without masking. Adults with residual fragments (individually 5 mm or smaller) were enrolled. Primary outcome was relapse as measured by stone growth, a stone-related urgent medical visit, or surgery by 5 years or study end. Secondary outcomes were fragment passage within 3 weeks and adverse events within 90 days. Cumulative incidence of relapse was estimated using the Kaplan-Meier method. Log-rank test was used to compare the treatment (ultrasonic propulsion) and control (observation) groups.

The trial was conducted from May 9, 2015, through April 6, 2024. Median follow-up (interquartile range) was 3.0 (1.8–3.2) years. The treatment group (n = 40) had longer time to relapse than the control group (n = 42; P < .003). The restricted mean time-to-relapse was 52% longer in the treatment group than in the control group (1530 ± 92 days vs 1009 ± 118 days), and the risk of relapse was lower (hazard ratio 0.30, 95% CI 0.13–0.68) with 8 of 40 and 21 of 42 participants, respectively, experiencing relapse. Omitting 3 participants not asked about passage, 24 treatment (63%) and 2 control (5%) participants passed fragments within 3 weeks of treatment. Adverse events were mild, transient, and self-resolving, and were reported in 25 treated participants (63%) and 17 controls (40%).

More Publications

Inventions

System and Method of Noninvasive Blood Flow Measurement During Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation Using Signal Gating

Patent Number: 12,208,057

Pierre Mourad, John Kucewicz

Patent

28 Jan 2025

Filtering Systems and Methods for Suppression of Non-Stationary Reverberation in Ultrasound Images

The present technology is generally directed to filtering systems and methods for suppression of reverberation artifacts in ultrasound images. In some embodiments, a method of obtaining a filtered ultrasound image includes taking a first ultrasound image of a target tissue using an applicator. At least a portion of the applicator is moved such that the reverberation artifact ultrasound path length changes relative to the first position of the applicator. A second ultrasound image of the target tissue is then taken. The first and second ultrasound images are synthesized using at least one filtering method. The filtering method attenuates or removes reverberation artifacts in the synthesized ultrasound image.

Patent Number: 10,713,758

John Kucewicz

Patent

7 Jul 2020

Ultrasound Based Method and Apparatus for Stone Detection and to Facilitate Clearance Thereof

Patent Number: 9,597,103

Mike Bailey, John Kucewicz, Barbrina Dunmire, Neil Owen, Bryan Cunitz

More Info

Patent

21 Mar 2017

Described herein are methods and apparatus for detecting stones by ultrasound, in which the ultrasound reflections from a stone are preferentially selected and accentuated relative to the ultrasound reflections from blood or tissue. Also described herein are methods and apparatus for applying pushing ultrasound to in vivo stones or other objects, to facilitate the removal of such in vivo objects.

More Inventions