Shockwaves have been used inmedicine formany years, particularly
in extracorporeal lithotripsy (ESWL),which uses focused shockwaves to
non-invasively treat patients with stone diseases (mostly, urinary
stones) [1–3]. The treatment involves focusing shock waves generated
by the ESWL device (lithotripter) outside of the patient's body to disintegrate
the stone at a depth in tissue. In electrohydraulic lithotripters –
the most common clinical type – an underwater high-current spark
discharge between a pair of electrodes is generated at the focus of the
ellipsoidal reflector, and the emerging spherical shock wave produced
by the plasma at the spark gap is concentrated on the kidney stone located
at the second focus of the ellipsoid. After this urinary stone treatment,
the stone debris passes through the urinary tract