title: A test of the hypothesis that cavitation at the focal area of an extracorporeal shock wave lithotripter produces far ultraviolet and soft x-ray emissions.
abstract: Church hypothesized that the violent collapse of microbubbles in water in the focal area of an extra-corporeal shock wave lithotripter (ESWL) can generate biologically damaging far uv and soft x-ray photons. Two techniques were used to test this hypothesis. Gassy water (10 ml) was exposed to ten piezoelectric lithotripter shocks (P+ = 43 MPa, P- = 9 MPa). The resultant sonoluminescence was filtered by optical band-pass filters and measured using a photomultiplier tube (PMT). Next, a commercially available scintillation cocktail (Ecoscint A), which is formulated to convert high energy photons to visible light, was exposed to varying numbers of lithotripter shocks and the relative luminescence intensity measured and compared to background and distilled water luminescence readings. Results showed support for the hypothesized presence of near uv emissions (approximately 250 nm) and marginal support for the production of higher energy photons, possibly including far uv and soft x-ray emissions.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biophysics, School of Medicine and Dentistry, University of Rochester, New York 14642, USA.
authors.forename: D F
authors.initials: DF
authors.lastname: Vona
authors.forename: M W
authors.initials: MW
authors.lastname: Miller
authors.forename: H D
authors.initials: HD
authors.lastname: Maillie
authors.forename: C H
authors.initials: CH
authors.lastname: Raeman
mesh_terms: D004867:Equipment Design; D006801:Humans; D006861:Hydrogen Peroxide; D008096:Lithotripsy; D011827:Radiation; D014466:Ultraviolet Rays
chemical_list: D006861:Hydrogen Peroxide