Dynamics of Shock Wave Destruction of Kidney Stones

摘要

The objective is to demonstrate an electric-arc-driven sector shock beamingsystem for destroying kidney stones. A water-filled brass conical shock tube was designed to beam underwater cap shocks of appropriate amplitude and duration for in situ stone destruction. An exploratory design was constructed; an electric arc system for generating underwater shocks was built; pressure histories were recorded at underwater positions corresponding to real stone locations with three kinds of gauges, only one of which appeared to be able to measure with fidelity the pressure of a broad-faced shock front. This technology is expected to reduce patient injury and pain ancillary to existing commercial systems, and provide a less costly alternative.