Future directions

Abstract

As we have seen from the history of the treatment of ureteral stones to our current management, many of our advances have occurred because we have truly ’stood on the shoulder of giants. We have progressed from cutting for stone to the era of endourology due to advances in numerous fields including radiology, the development of SWL, improvements in optics and the ureteroscope and the utilization of the laser for lithotripsy. In this chapter, we will look to the future and hope to scour the horizonfor the technological advances that will continue to revolutionize our field.