Cook Urological reports that Maurice Stephan Michel has been awarded the Arthur Smith Endourology Lectureship by the Endourological Awards Committee chaired by Jens Rassweiler
The Endourological Society established the award in 2004 with a grant from Cook to recognise creativity and dynamic innovation in the field of endourology.
Professor Michel was awarded the 'Arthur' at the 24th World Congress of Endourology (WCE) in Cleveland, Ohio for his innovation, creativity and contributions in the field of endourology.
In announcing the 2006 Arthur Award recipient, Prof Rassweiler said: "The society is proud to present the Arthur Smith Award to this talented and active young member of our organisation".
In the first ten years of his career, Michel has made many significant contributions to the endourology field.
In 1996, he published experimental studies of the Rotoresect device in the Journal of Endourology.
The device, for which he assembled the first prototype, uniquely combined mechanical and electrical ablation of prostatic tissue and has since been cleared for clinical use.
Michel has also been actively involved in the improvement of ureteroscopes by introducing a breakthrough design of the device this year.
In addition, Michel has been a major participant in studies on the impact of virtual reality simulators in the training of endourological procedures.
Professor Michel, who is currently the chief attending of the department of urology at the University Hospital Mannheim in Germany, has focused primarily on endourology, publishing more than 100 articles on the topic.
During his practice, Michel has obtained over 1.4m euro in grant money, which has enabled him to conduct his groundbreaking research in the endourology field.
Michel has presented his extraordinary research and medical developments in over 220 abstracts during his career and contributed to nearly 100 peer-reviewed recorded journal publications.
In addition to endourology, Michel also lends his expertise to the study of surgical and conservative management in uro-oncology and reconstructive urology.
He is a member of the Endourological Society and is on the editorial board of the Journal of Endourology.
"Professor Michel has spent the majority of the past ten years researching and developing major breakthroughs in the field of endourology," said Jerry French, senior vice president and global strategic business unit leader for Cook Urological.
"We are extremely pleased to recognise him for his outstanding work and significant contributions to our field and we look forward to seeing where he takes his research next".
"I am honoured to receive this award from Cook and the Endourological Society," said Professor Michel.
"Endourology has been my deep passion throughout my career and I am committed to the future advancement of the field, which ultimately benefits patients.
"It is extremely rewarding to be recognised for these efforts and I look forward to taking part in continued developments".
The initial Arthur award was given as a lifetime achievement award to Dr Arthur Smith on the occasion of his departure as Endourological Society President in 2004 at the WCE in Mumbai, India.
Throughout his career, Dr Smith remained one of the leading innovators in the field of endourology, pioneering several new operative techniques used in percutaneous nephrolithotomy treatment of kidney stones, percutaneous treatment of Transitional Cell Carcinoma and Endopyelotomy.
The award was named for Dr Smith to recognise his extraordinary contributions to the field throughout his impressive career.
Urologists are eligible for the award within the first ten years of practice after completion of a urology residency or fellowship.
