Apparatus and method for generating shockwaves for the destruction of targets, particularly in extracorporeal lithotripsy
US5233980A · kind A · utility
Assignees
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | May 15, 1990 |
| Grant date | Aug 10, 1993 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | May 15, 2010 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC G)Physics
- CPC primaryG10K11/28
- WIPO fieldOther consumer goods
- WIPO sectorOther fields
Abstract
The invention relates to a process for manufacturing a device generating shockwaves which are only slightly, if at all, felt be the patients. This shockwave generating device comprises a truncated ellipsoidal reflector (12) which has a ratio (b)/(a) greater than 0.69, and preferably between 0.60 and 0.85 and a connection (14) supplying electric current to the electrodes (6, 8), which connection comprises a capacitor (18) having a capacitance less than or equal to 500 nanofarads. The result is a reduction of the energy density at skin level of the emitted shockwaves which are only slightly, if at all, felt by the patients, thus permitting a treatment without anaesthesia.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.