Technological innovations in shock wave lithotripsy

Since 1980, extracorporeal shock wave lithotripsy (SWL) has been employed in the treatment of urolithiasis, offering noninvasive alternatives to surgical techniques. In addition to being limited by the size and location of the stones, its efficacy is influenced by several factors. Despite the advancement of other surgical techniques, SWL could maintain its position with new improvements. Our objective is to review the existing literature on the latest advances in the extracorporeal treatment of lithiasis. A non-systematic literature review was carried out from 2017 to 2023 to obtain 26 articles on three different emerging technologies in extracorporeal lithotripsy: Burst Wave Lithotripsy (BWL), Histotripsy, and Microbubble Lithotripsy (ML). The BWL uses sinusoidal bursts of US waves delivered at lower and higher frequencies than conventional SWL. Its mechanism of action generates a higher quality fragmentation (fine fragments) instead of generating tensile stresses for stone fracture resulting in larger fragments, as in traditional SWL. Studies in pigs and humans have shown effective fragmentation with a good safety profile. Based on High Intensity Focused Ultrasound (HIFU) technology, histotripsy fragments tissue through cavitation. Good in vitro results have been shown, but the formation of microbubbles between the stone and ultrasound waves hinders the progress of this technique. Microbubble Lithotripsy (ML) combines microbubbles and ultrasound for safe and effective stone fragmentation. In vitro and pig results are promising. This technique can help optimize treatments and reduce energy levels. Technological innovation is not only being applied to endourological techniques, but also to ESWL. New techniques such as BWL, histotripsy and ML are promising, with good results in the research phase. Desde 1980, la litotricia extracorpórea por ondas de choque (SWL) ha sido empleada en el tratamiento de litiasis urinarias, ofreciendo alternativas no invasivas a las técnicas quirúrgicas. Aunque limitada por tamaño y ubicación de las piedras, su efectividad se ve afectada por varios factores. A pesar de la evolución de técnicas quirúrgicas, la SWL podría mantener su relevancia con nuevos avances. Nuestro objetivo es revisar la bibliografía existente para recopilar los mayores avances hasta la fecha en el tratamiento extracorpóreo de la litiasis. Se ha realizado una revisión bibliográfica no sistemática, entre los años 2017 a 2023 para obtener 26 artículos sobre t