After the kidney stone crushing machine was invented, the world met an almost painless method that can be used in the treatment of kidney stones. Research on space shuttles and shock waves in the 1970s led to the birth of this technology.
Founded by German engineer Claude Dornier, the Dornier research center focused on space shuttle technology. Dornier scientists noted the tingling effect that occurs as the shuttles approach the speed of sound. The team stated that this effect is caused by shock waves that occur on the obverse face of the moisture droplets. In 1974, this finding was the beginning of the collaboration of Dornier engineers and hospitals, and as a result of these studies, the extracorporeal shock wave lithotripsy (ESWL) method was invented.
In 1980, this new technology was first tested on a patient with the Dornier HM1 kidney stone crusher. The treatment of kidney stones begins with the location of the stone using X-ray. ESWL's high-frequency shock waves then break these stones into dust. This whole process takes about 40 minutes. The power used by the machine is slowly increased, allowing the patient to become accustomed to this sensation, and the maximum power level varies according to how resistant the patient is to pain. The patient then expels the dust accumulated in his kidneys through the urine, and this process takes about three weeks. The first-time success rate of the ESWL procedure is approximately 95%.
Dornier was founded by Claude Dornier. Born in Bavaria in 1884, Dornier graduated from the Technical University in Munich in 1907. Soon employed as a scientific adviser, Dornier began fundamental research and design. His early findings laid the cornerstone for the evolution of metal aircraft. As part of the Dornier team’s on-going research in aerospace technology, they discovered a previously unexplained phenomenon. Pitting was taking place on the surface of an aircraft as it approached the sound barrier – a unique occurrence caused by the shock wave created in front of a droplet of moisture. This finding, coupled with close collaboration among hospitals and Dornier’s development laboratories, resulted in the company’s invention of extracorporeal shock wave lithotripsy (ESWL®). To date, millions of people around the globe have been successfully treated using Dornier’s break-through discovery.
Kidney stone crusher can be used to break all the stones accumulated in the urinary tract. Shock waves are also used in the treatment of heel spurs, tennis elbow and tissue calcification diseases. This machine allows doctors to treat their patients in a safe, efficient and non-disturbing way. It is believed that millions of people have benefited from this technology since its invention.