Bubble interactions in clouds produced during shock wave lithotripsy

Abstract

A theoretical model accounting for bubble-bubble interaction is proposed for cavitation clouds produced during kidney stone treatment with shock wave lithotripsy (SWL). The associated bubble collapse contributes to stone comminution, but the cloud itself may reduce the effectiveness of subsequent shock wave pulses. Since the bubbles in the cloud are close to one another, their interactions can be important. Here we present a model and simulation for the growth, coalescence, and collapse of bubbles in a cluster near a rigid surface, subjected to a shock wave. Bubble translation due to Bjerknes forces is illustrated for the case of a single bubble near a rigid surface.