New lens design improves kidney stone treatment

After decades of research, all it took was cutting a groove near the perimeter of the shock wave-focusing lens and changing its curvature. “I’ve spent more than 20 years investigating the physics and engineering aspects of shock wave lithotripsy,” said. Prof. Pei Zhong, “And now, thanks to the willingness of Siemens (a leading lithotripter manufacturer) […]

After decades of research, all it took was cutting a groove near the perimeter of the shock wave-focusing lens and changing its curvature. “I’ve spent more than 20 years investigating the physics and engineering aspects of shock wave lithotripsy,” said. Prof. Pei Zhong, “And now, thanks to the willingness of Siemens (a leading lithotripter manufacturer) to collaborate, we’ve developed a solution that is simple, cost-effective and reliable that can be quickly implemented on their machines.” The solution was to cut a groove near the perimeter of the backside of the lens and change its geometry.