Kidney Stones Can Be Treated With Non-Invasive Sound Wave

May, 2022 - By SMI

The new study treated first 19 humans with new approach of non-invasive burst wave lithotripsy (BWL) bursting kidney stones, a common condition all over the globe

Kidney stones is a common condition all around the globe. Many people are affected with this condition every year. The condition can be treated with medicines, however, when there are large kidney stones, patients may require surgical procedure to take them out. Now a research published in the Journal of Urology on March 21, 2022 demonstrated a new technique called as burst wave lithotripsy (BWL) can be a new and more accessible alternative for non-invasive approach for treating kidney stones, as the scientists using this new method successfully fragmented majority of kidney stones in first 19 human patients.

Until now surgeons used sound waves in a technique known as extracorporeal shock wave lithotripsy (ESWL). In this method acoustic pulses with high intensity are used and it requires patients to be anesthetized or sedated. The new method is different than ESWL, as it can be used in more casual settings with the use of a handheld device without requiring any sedation. In the new method burst wave lithotripsy cyclic pulses of ultrasound are used for breaking down kidney stones into fragments of 2mm or even smaller than that. The new study is considered to be the largest study involving 19 patients. The scientists administered BWL during the surgical procedure to burst up to three large stones bigger than 12 mm in every patient for 10 minutes on each stone.

As per the study, the team successfully broken down 90% of the entire stone volume, with 39% of stones entirely fragmented into 2mm pieces and pieces smaller than that. According to the team, these fragments should pass naturally without requiring medical intervention. The BWL treatment also caused only manageable and mild peripheral tissue damages. However, the research need more work before deploying it in clinics.