Biological effects and physical characterization of shock waves by an XL-1 experimental lithotripter

Extracorporeal shock wave lithotripsy (ESWL) has become the clinical standard method for non-invasive disintegration not only of concrements in kidney and urinary tract but also of gallstones. Despite the widespread clinical use of ESWL, the mechanism of stone destruction is not yet really understood, but several possibilities (cavitation, shock wave reflection) are discussed. The final cause of various side effects is still under discussion. Nevertheless, during the last few years much effort was put into possible extensions of ESWL applications On the other hand , physical characterizations of shock waves are rarely reported and combined measurements of biological effects in vitro and physical characterization of the applied shock waves are not available. We, therefore, examined the influence of water temperature and gas content on the shock wave efficency in biological systems and determined several physical characteristics (pressure amplitudes, rise time etc.) of the shock waves under the same experimental conditions.