Extracorporeal shock wave lithotripsy (ESWL), once known as extracorporeal shock wave lithotripsy, is the use of focused extracorporeal shock waves to break up stones in the body and eliminate them from the body with urine. Since the introduction of the first extracorporeal lithotripter by Dornier in Germany in the early 1980s, extracorporeal lithotripsy has been performed in millions of cases abroad and has become the conventional method of choice for the treatment of urolithiasis. China has also accumulated a lot of treatment experience. This technology has the advantages of accurate stone localization system, appropriate and reasonable treatment energy release, which not only ensures the lithotripsy effect, but also achieves the maximum human protection, with the advantages of safety, less side effects, less pain, and reliable lithotripsy effect. The treatment principle of extracorporeal shock wave lithotripsy is to focus on the stone and break it into sand, which is discharged out of the body with urine through the urethra to achieve the treatment purpose. There are many wave sources that can generate shock waves, such as electromagnetic type, liquid electric type, etc. The shock waves generated by them can be gathered on the stones in the body through acoustic lenses, reflecting mirrors, etc. The principle diagram is shown in the figure. When the shock wave encounters a medium with a large difference in density in propagation, such as from soft tissue to the stone, the resistance suddenly increases, producing a huge pressure on the waveward side of the stone; when the shock wave runs out from the back wave face of the stone, a huge pulling force is produced because of the sudden decrease in resistance. The stone will be broken into fine particles after repeatedly pulling and pressing in this way. However, when the shock wave passes through the muscular viscera, which is about the same density as water, this effect does not occur. Shock waves also cause some damage to the kidneys, but it is mild and reversible, and most of them recover after two weeks. As long as the indications are well chosen and the operation is standardized, the damage will be minimal. There are two types of extracorporeal shock wave lithotripsy equipment: X-ray lithotripter and ultrasound lithotripter. X-ray positioning lithotripter uses X-ray positioning, which is suitable for positive stones in kidney and ureter, with high energy of lithotripsy and high success rate. However, it cannot be used as lithotripsy localization for negative stones because negative stones cannot be seen by X-ray. The B-ultrasonic localization lithotripter uses B-ultrasonic localization for all types of negative and positive stones in the kidney. Nowadays, lithotripsy is performed under the monitor, which can accurately break the stones, and the one-time treatment only takes 30 minutes, usually without hospitalization and does not affect work and life. For stones with diameter over 0.5 cm, taking lithotripsy followed by medication can promote stone discharge. The effect of extracorporeal shock wave lithotripsy is less obvious for stubborn stones and huge stones. In addition, when kidney stones fall down, many times they are stuck in the ureter, and it is difficult to locate all kinds of stones in the ureter using ultrasound, and it is impossible to talk about successful lithotripsy if the stones are stuck in the ureter for a long time, causing ureteral inflammation, edema, hyperplasia, and adhesions. The indications for extracorporeal lithotripsy are: stones within 2 cm in the kidney and ureter, with a short disease duration of about 1~2 weeks, and the expected number of lithotripsy is not more than 3 times. The interval between each of these lithotripsy should be 10~14 days to allow an adequate recovery period for the damage caused by the shock wave to the organism.