Abstract :
Objective To determine if an innovative extracorporeal electrohydraulic shock wave (SW) device (sparker array [SPA]) can effectively fracture artificial stones in vitro and in vivo, and if SPA treatment produces a renal lesion in our pig model of lithotripsy injury. Results of these experiments will be used to help evaluate the suitability of this device as a clinical lithotripter. Materials and Methods Ultracal-30 artificial stones were placed in a holder at the focus of the SPA and treated with 600 SWs (21.6 kV, 60 shocks/min). Stone fragments were collected, dried, and weighed to determine stone breakage. In vivo stone breakage entailed implanting stones into pigs. These stones were treated with 600 or 1200 SWs and the fragments were collected for analysis. Lesion analysis consisted of treating the left kidney of pigs with 1200 or 2400 SWs and quantitating the hemorrhagic lesion. Results In vitro, 71% [plus or minus] 2% of each artificial stone was fractured to Conclusion The SPA consistently comminuted artificial stones demonstrating its ability to fracture stones like other lithotripters. Also, the SPA caused little to no renal injury at the settings used in this study. These findings suggest further research is warranted to determine the potential of this device as a clinical lithotripter. Author Affiliation: (a) Department of Anatomy and Cell Biology, Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis, IN (b) Phoenix Science and Technology, Goffstown, NH (c) School of Physics, Northeast Normal University, Changchun, China * Address correspondence to: Bret A. Connors, Ph.D., Department of Anatomy and Cell Biology, Indiana University School of Medicine, Medical Science Building, Room 0051, 635 Barnhill Drive, Indianapolis, IN 46202. Article History: Received 8 January 2018; Accepted 15 March 2018 (footnote) Financial Disclosure: Ray B. Schaefer and John J. Gallagher have a patent interest in sparker array technology. The remaining authors declare that they have no relevant financial interests. (footnote) Funding Support: This project was supported by National Institutes of Health grants R44 DK-089703 ( Small Business Innovation Research ) and P01 DK-43881 . (footnote) Some of the data reported in this article have been previously published in abstract form (J Urol 2017; 197(4) supplement:e83). Byline: Bret A. Connors [bconnors@iupui.edu] (a), Ray B. Schaefer (b), John J. Gallagher (b), Cynthia D. Johnson (a), Guangyan Li (c), Rajash K. Handa (a), Andrew P. Evan (a)