Local doctors share experience of lithotripter usages in France

This article was published by the Taiwan Headlines on April 10, 2006. It reports that Taiwan-made extracoporeal shock wave lithotripters were recently featured at the annual congress of the European Association of Urology. The lithotripters function to break up kidney stones with high-energy waves, without injuring the patient.

Two urologists from Taiwan's Hsinchu Hospital shared their experience of using the lithotripters in a report presented at the conference. According to them, Taiwan-made lithotripters combine an X-ray machine (which locates the stones in the urinary tract) with an ultra-sound device that breaks the stones into small pieces, so that they can be passed by the patient. The machines are nearly 100 percent precise. They have integrated the technology of computers, imaging, automation and machinery.

The two urologists have used the lithotripters to treat 514 patients aged between 21 and 76. According to them, no change in blood pressure during the process has ever been detected. Less than 20 percent of these patients had traces of blood in their urine, which is a sign that their urinary tracts were injured by the process.

The annual congress of the European Association of Urology took place in France and was attended by more than 16,000 of its members.