New lens design drastically improves kidney stone treatment

Engineers have reversed a decades-long trend of decreasing efficiency in lithotripsy machines by designing simple modifications to shock wave lenses. The incidence of kidney stones in the United States has more than doubled during the past two decades, due at least in part to the expanding waistlines of its citizens. The condition has also been linked to hot, humid climates and high levels of stress -- a combination of living environments that seems to have led to a rise in kidney stone rates of...