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Laser Ablation Efficiency, Laser Ablation Speed, and Laser Energy Consumption During Lithotripsy: What Are They and How Are They Defined? A Systematic Review and Proposal for a Standardized Terminology - Beyond the Abstract

The idea of the study was born during the preparation of another manuscript on pulsed Thulium:YAG ablation efficiency.1 In reporting our laser performance results, we realized that a common metric used for laser performance – "Joules/mm3" (Energy required to ablate 1mm3 of stone volume) needs to be interpreted correctly as "the lower, the better".

A quick search led us to find that some studies had termed “J/mm3” as “ablation efficacy” or “ablation efficiency”, while astonishingly and mistakenly interpreting their data as “the higher, the better”, when in fact this is the exact opposite.

This was a call to action on our end, to review existing terminology used for laser performance volume metrics. We surprisingly found no current consensus, with a wide range of terminology used for the same laser performance stone volume metrics. Hence, we proposed a standardized terminology for future laser performance studies.

Through the study, we wish to highlight the need for a clear interpretation of performance values by the scientific community. In addition, we hope to form a solid foundation for future research in laser performance assessment with a proposed standardized terminology. Standardization of terminology is extremely important, as this allows correct interpretation and comparison between laser technologies.

We look forward to you accessing our open access article, and thinking about these concepts the next time you use a laser.

Written by: Jia-Lun Kwok, MBBS, FRCS1,2 & Etienne Xavier Keller, MD, FEBU1

  1. Department of Urology, University Hospital Zurich, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
  2. Department of Urology, Tan Tock Seng Hospital, Singapore, Singapore
References:

  1. Kwok JL, Ventimiglia E, De Coninck V, Panthier F, Barghouthy Y, Danilovic A, et al. Pulsed Thulium:YAG laser – What is the lithotripsy ablation efficiency for stone dust from human urinary stones? Results from an in vitro PEARLS study. World Journal of Urology. 2023.
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