Pioneering relief
August 22, 2024
Kitty, Lecie, and Sox all lead separate lives in different parts of the United States, but two things unite them. They are cats that have experienced painful ureteral stone blockages, and they have seen improvements in their health after participating in a clinical trial testing a new treatment.
Researchers at the University of Minnesota (UMN) College of Veterinary Medicine (CVM) and the University of Washington have adapted technology used in people to cats in hopes it will help treat these stones without invasive surgery. A clinical trial testing the safety and effectiveness of the technology, known as burst wave lithotripsy (BWL), has wrapped up at CVM, under the direction of Drs. Eva Furrow and Jody Lulich, co-directors of the Minnesota Urolith Center, and small animal internal medicine resident Dr. Adam Hunt.
