Humans are afflicted by the urinary stone disease since the dawn of time. Today this ailment is considered as the third most frequent urological pathological condition after infections and prostatic diseases, and statistics show a worldwide increase in its incidence and prevalence. In 1994 data from the US National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) estimated the prevalence of stone disease at 5.2% of the American population, marking a significant increase compared to the year 1980 when a prevalence of only 3.2% has been observed . A more recent study performed in 2010 suggested a further increase reaching 8.8% prevalence, roughly equivalent to 1 in 11 people . The same trends have been observed all over the world and the highest prevalence of urinary stones was reported in Saudi Arabia with an estimated value of 20% . Inexorably, urolithiasis treatment costs have dramatically increased and constitute a heavy economic burden today. In the United States alone, urinary stones have caused two million outpatient visits in the year 2000, corresponding to a 40% increase compared to 1994 .