On May 25, 2026, Virginia Tech researchers announced they have received Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval for a new approach to lithotripsy that’s even safer, causes less damage to the kidney, and can be administered without anesthesia and in an office setting. For the one in 10 people who suffer from kidney stones, a noninvasive treatment called shock-wave lithotripsy can provide much-needed relief.

Burst wave lithotripsy uses sound to break kidney stones into tiny, passable fragments without damaging surrounding tissue. Adam Maxwell, research associate professor in the Department of Biomedical Engineering, developed this next-generation ultrasound technology along with a multi-institutional team of researchers.

When it was first introduced in the 1980s, lithotripsy was considered revolutionary. However, traditional lithotripsy uses high-intensity shock waves that can injure the kidney, and it’s successful only 60 to 70 percent of the time, often leaving large chunks of stone after the procedure. Early systems were cumbersome and physically demanding for patients.

Burst wave lithotripsy uses lower-amplitude, oscillating ultrasound bursts to break apart the stones gradually and methodically into tiny uniform particles that can be passed more easily.

Founded in 2014, California-based medical technology company SonoMotion has developed two burst wave technology medical devices, Break Wave and Stone Clear, that recently received FDA 510(k) clearance. The Break Wave breaks up the kidney stone, while the Stone Clear helps clear the kidney of residual fragments post-lithotripsy.