The sound field of different focusing piezoelectric transducers designed for lithotripsy was investigated. The shock wave parameters according to proposed standards, e.g., FDA Draft 1991, were determined. The parameters achieved are based on measurements using a fiber‐optical probe hydrophone. In contrast to PVDF‐based hydrophones, this hydrophone is able to give a correct representation also of the tensile components of a complete signal and provides a higher spatial resolution. Thus some shock wave parameters like beam energy can be calculated more precisely. The different lithotripter pulses were applied to model stonesinvitro, recording the amounts of removed material. Fragmentation results were compared with the different parameters. Attempts were made to arrange these parameters according to their relevance to disintegration. The evaluation of these experiments revealed up to now that there is no significant relation between some of the shock wave parameters and fragmentation efficiency. It is concluded that most of the proposed parameters do not describe well the efficacy of different lithotripter sources on concrements.