Chapter 12 - Applications of Shock Waves in Medicine

Abstract

This chapter describes the physical principles of the various applications of weak shock waves in medicine and in new research areas, such as food preservation. The increased interest in shock waves is motivated by the success of the techniques developed to use shock waves for the noninvasive treatment of nephrolithiasis, known as extracorporeal shock wave lithotripsy (ESWL). The goal of ESWL is to provide efficient fragmentation of calculi with the least amount of tissue damage. Since its introduction, more than 40 different variations of lithotripters are available, but only four basic methods of shock wave generation are used: electrohydraulic, piezoelectric, electromagnetic, and, to a much lesser extent, microexplosive. Extracorporeal shock wave therapy (ESWT), also called extracorporeal shock wave application (ESWA) refers to the clinical use of shock waves for orthopedic applications. However, in the food industry, heat treatments are commonly used to inactivate pathogenic microorganisms. Nevertheless, because heat may affect the organoleptic and nutritional characteristics of foods, there is great interest in nonthermal processes.