Dornier MedTech honors Methodist Hospital of Indiana during the 20 th anniversary of ESWL

ATLANTA, GEORGIA – FEBRUARY 23, 2004 – In celebration of a medical milestone, German-based Dornier MedTech, the inventor of extracorporeal shock wave lithotripsy (ESWL), recently honored Methodist Hospital of Indiana as the first health-care institution in the United States to perform ESWL on a patient 20 years ago.

ESWL is a non-invasive procedure that disintegrates kidney and ureter stones using high intensity shock waves delivered outside the human body. To date, millions of people around the globe have been successfully treated using this break-through discovery.

The procedure was invented by Bavarian-born Claude Dornier, a German-educated engineer and scientist. During his research performed in aerospace technology, Dornier discovered that actual pitting was occurring on the surface of an aircraft as it approached the sound barrier – a unique phenomenon caused by the shock wave created in front of a droplet of water.

This observation is what led to Dornier’s invention of ESWL, using the same principle to accurately target and break up stones using shock waves. Once the stones are broken up into tiny particles, they are then passed naturally through the urinary tract.

Prior to ESWL, patients were required to undergo invasive surgical procedures – procedures that required anesthesia, major incisions, lengthy hospital stays and long recoveries once discharged from the hospital. Today, patients with stone disease are able to get better quicker and more comfortably, while reducing risks and costs.

“Dornier is pleased to recognize and honor Methodist Hospital of Indiana – and its distinguished medical staff – as the first hospital in the U.S. to perform ESWL 20 years ago,” said Brian Walsh, president of Dornier MedTech America. “Having now performed over 20,000 ESWL procedures, Methodist Hospital continues to be celebrated as a pioneering leader in the lithotripsy arena – and is commended for its exemplary role in stone disease management,” he added.

Dornier representatives presented an honorary plaque to Methodist Hospital’s CEO Dan Evans during a special ceremony, which included some of the first patients to undergo an ESWL procedure two decades ago. Dornier has the largest installed base of over 1,000 lithotripters worldwide.

Dornier MedTech (www.dornier.com) is a privately held company headquartered in Munich, Germany. Specializing in lithotripters, urotables, orthopedic shock wave devices and medical-aesthetic lasers, Dornier has operating units and service partners throughout the world. For more information, call 1-770-426-1315.