A projectile, guided within precision tolerance measured in micrometers, is accelerated to high speed by means of a precisely controlled burst of compressed air. When the projectile hits the probe, installed in the handpiece, the impact energy is partially transformed into shock-wave energy which is transmitted through the probe and coupled out at the probe tip. The transmission of energy within the probe occurs as a result of the flexible deformation of the probe itself. By comparison, renal, ureteral and bladder stones are much less flexible in nature. When energy is transmitted from the LithoClast probe to the calculus, this difference in flexibility results in the disintegration of the calculus.
Extreme precision produces extreme effectiveness.