In vitro comparison of 4 ultrasound lithotripsy devices.

PURPOSE

Endoscopic lithotripsy is still the method of choice for a number of stones, especially large renal stones. Various disintegration techniques exist. Ultrasound is widely used because it is the only method that allows disintegration and active suction of stone debris at the same time. We evaluated 4 ultrasound lithotriptors in vitro.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

We used a newly developed experimental setup and compared 4 ultrasound devices, namely the 27085 K (Karl Storz Endoscopy, Tuttlingen, Germany), 2167.01 (Wolf, Knittlingen, Germany), USL 2000 (Circon Corp., Santa Barbara, California) and an ultrasound prototype lithotriptor (EMS, Nyon, Switzerland). RESULTS All ultrasound lithotriptors achieved stone disintegration, which depended on the pressure used to apply ultrasound. Newer devices with modified technology provided better disintegration.

CONCLUSIONS

All ultrasound devices are effective for lithotripsy. Changes in the ultrasound setup and integration of modern technical knowledge into ultrasound devices increase efficacy.