Electronic device to improve the efficiency of extracorporeal lithotripters

The design and construction of autonomous electronic instrumentation to generate fast high voltage discharges (6to 10 kV) on a piezoelectric crystal array, in order to produce underwater shock waves, is described. If properlyfocused, hundreds of these shock waves are capable of destroying renal and...

Descripción completa

Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores: Francisco Fernández Escobar, Achim Max Loske Mehling, J. van Cauwelaert, F. E. Prieto
Tipo de recurso: artículo
Estado:Versión publicada
Fecha de publicación:2004
País:México
Institución:Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México
Repositorio:Redalyc-UNAM
OAI Identifier:oai:redalyc.org:47420208
Acceso en línea:https://www.redalyc.org/articulo.oa?id=47420208
Access Level:acceso abierto
Palabra clave:Ingeniería
ESWL
Cavitation
Tandem shock waves
Piezoelectric shock wave generation
Descripción
Sumario:The design and construction of autonomous electronic instrumentation to generate fast high voltage discharges (6to 10 kV) on a piezoelectric crystal array, in order to produce underwater shock waves, is described. If properlyfocused, hundreds of these shock waves are capable of destroying renal and ureteral calculi. This clinicaltreatment, developed more than 20 years ago, is known as extracorporeal shock wave lithotripsy (ESWL). Incontrast to standard devices, our system produces two, rather than just one, shock waves with an adjustable delaybetween 50 and 950 µsec. The objective is to enhance cavitation-induced damage to the kidney stone withoutincreasing tissue trauma. Kidney-stone model fragmentation tests, obtained with the novel system, were comparedto those achieved with a conventional piezoelectric shock wave generator, showing a 20% increase infragmentation efficiency. Initial in vivo studies with animals have shown reduced tissue trauma.