Camera-Assisted ultrasound could cut kidney stone procedure time by Two-Thirds in kids

Copied word for word from the study's registry entry, so the wording is the study team's rather than ours.

Inclusion Criteria: * Pediatric patients aged 0 to 14 years with a confirmed diagnosis of upper urinary tract stones. * Diagnosis confirmed by ultrasound or low-dose CT; stone long diameter ≤ 20 mm (for upper ureteral stones, diameter ≤ 15 mm); absence of urinary tract structural malformations. * Meeting the indications for ESWL with no absolute contraindications, and scheduled to undergo ESWL treatment. * Guardians provide informed consent and voluntarily sign the written informed consent form; willing and able to cooperate with the 4-week postoperative follow-up and related examinations. * Preoperative assessment reveals no contraindications to ESWL, such as uncontrolled infection, severe coagulation disorders, or severe impairment of cardiopulmonary, hepatic, or renal function. Exclusion Criteria: * Presence of absolute contraindications for ESWL: Uncontrolled severe urinary tract infection or sepsis; severe uncorrected coagulopathy or current use of anticoagulant/antiplatelet medications; severe renal impairment (significantly decreased GFR); active severe cardiopulmonary disease rendering the patient unable to tolerate anesthesia or shock wave therapy; or absence of an anatomically safe shock wave path (e.g., due to severe skeletal deformities). * Stones suspected to be extremely hard or complex: Refractory stones indicated by excessively high CT Hounsfield Units (HU) or ultrasound Shear Wave Elastography (SWE) values \> 13.7 kPa; or cystine stones in children \> 2 years of age (associated with significantly low ESWL success rates). * Anatomical or physiological challenges: Severe obesity that compromises ultrasound localization; or patients with a solitary kidney or poor contralateral renal function accompanied by a large stone burden. * Prior intervention: History of prior ESWL or other lithotripsy procedures at the target site, which may confound the evaluation of therapeutic efficacy. * Underlying systemic conditions: Comorbid severe metabolic diseases or hereditary stone diseases (e.g., cystinuria) requiring priority comprehensive management. * Compliance issues: Guardians unable to cooperate with the complete follow-up process, or patients with a high anticipated risk of being lost to follow-up.