|  What
is Shock Wave?
Shock waves are acoustic pulse waves.
 ˇ@ˇ@ˇ@
Shock waves are acoustic pulse waves which present
in nature during thunder and lightning and it is applied
in atmosphere for supersonic aircraft.
Medical
use of Shock waves:
Shock waves for medical use are acoustic pulse
waves similar to ultrasound featuring extremely high
pressure (up to 100 MPa), short rise time (several nanoseconds),
falls again within several microseconds, followed by
low tensile wave components. Shock waves generate transient
forces at acoustic interfaces and may cause cavitation
which creates strong impulse forces by an asymmetric
collapse of cavitation bubbles.
- Time/pressure profile of a shock wave:ˇ@
ˇ@
- The pressure increase to peak pressure takes
place within a few nanoseconds.
- The peak pressures are up to 100 MPa.
Urology:
Extracorporeal generated shock waves have been introduced
for medical therapy approximately 20 years ago to disintegrate
kidney stones. High energy shock waves provide the power
to fragment kidney stones (ESWL - extracorporeal shock
wave lithotripsy) while soft tissue is passed basically
without lesions. These features qualify shock waves
as an ideal instrument for non-invasive agitation on
selected tissue areas. Since this time shock waves have
changed the treatment of urolithiasis substantially.
Today shock waves are the first choice to treat kidney
and ureteral stones. A new indication in Urology is
the shock wave treatment of IPP (Induratio Penis Plastica
or Peyronieˇ¦s Disease) and CPPS (Chronic Pelvic Pain
Syndrome) .
Extracorporeal
shock wave therapy (ESWT):
Urology is not the only medical field for shock waves
in medicine. Meanwhile lower energy shock waves have
used in Orthopedics and Traumatology to treat insertion
tendinitis, non- or delayed unions, avascular necrosis
of the head of femur and other necrotic bone alteration
(ESWT - Extracorporeal shock wave therapy). Another
field of shock wave application is the treatment of
tendons, ligaments and bones on horses in veterinary
medicine. The idea of the shock wave therapy for orthopedic
diseases is the stimulation of healing processes in
tendons, surrounding tissue and bones. This is a completely
different approach compared to urology where shock waves
were used for disintegration.
CARDIAC
SHOCK WAVE THERAPY (CSWT):
Today, non-invasive cardiac revascularization is an
exciting new indication for CARDIAC SHOCK WAVE THERAPY
(CSWT) invented and introduced into clinical practice
by STORZ MEDICAL in 1997.
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