Prior to the introduction of lithotripsy, kidney stones were removed by surgical intervention. With the advent of ESWL, 90% of the patient population can be effectively treated without the trauma of surgery. Physical size and/or certain pre-existing medical conditions may preclude the use of ESWL in some patients.

Inspiration for the Lithotripter can be attributed to Dornier’s seventy years of experience with the physics of flight. Scientists researching the cause of material pitting on aircraft during supersonic flight, found that shockwaves produced by collisions with water droplets were causing stresses upon the metal. It was found that as a shockwave passes from a fluid to a solid, that a compression force is created in the solid. If this force is greater than the strength of the solid, mechanical breakdown will occur along the surface. Exposure to repeated to repeated shockwaves produces alternating pressures that can result in progressive crumbling.