Histotripsy erosion of model urinary calculi

Histotripsy is a pulsed focused ultrasound technology in which initiation and control of acoustic cavitation allow for precise mechanical fractionation of tissues. The present study examines the feasibility of using histotripsy for erosion of urinary calculi.

Histotripsy treatment was delivered from a 750-kHz transducer in the form of 5-cycle acoustic pulses at a 1-kHz pulse repetition frequency. Model stones were sonicated for 5 minutes at peak negative pressures (p-) of 10, 15, 19, 22, and 24-MPa. Resulting fragment sizes and comminution rates were assessed and compared with those achieved with a piezoelectric lithotripter (Wolf Piezolith 3000) operated at 2-Hz pulse repetition frequency and power level 17 (p- = 14-MPa).

Histotripsy eroded the surface of stones producing fine (< 100 μm) particulate debris in contrast to the progressive and incomplete subdivision of stones achieved with piezoelectric lithotripsy. The histotripsy erosion rate increased with increasing peak negative pressure from 10 to 19 MPa and then saturated, yielding an average rate of 87.9 ± 12.8 mg/min at maximum treatment intensity. Piezoelectric lithotripsy achieved an average treatment rate of 110.7 ± 27.4 mg/min.

Histotripsy comminution of urinary calculi is a surface erosion phenomenon that is mechanistically distinct from conventional shockwave lithotripsy (SWL), producing only fine debris as opposed to coarse fragments. These characteristics suggest that histotripsy offers a potential adjunct to traditional SWL procedures, and synergistic interplay of the two modalities may lead to possible increases in both rate and degree of stone fragmentation.