In which process kidney stones are crushed with shock waves?

Lithotripsy is a process in which kidney stones are crushed with shock waves. Extracorporeal shock wave lithotripsy (ESWL) is the non-invasive treatment of kidney stones and biliary calculi using an acoustic pulse. Lithotripsy and the lithotriptor were developed in the early 1980s in Germany by Dornier Medizintechnik GmbH and came into widespread use with the introduction of the HM-3 lithotriptor in 1983. Within a few years, ESWL became a standard treatment of calculosis.