The Zimmer enPuls is a portable radial shockwave machine using silicone covers to provide ‘soft shock’ 

Excellent build quality, very light (smallest and lightest we have seen) easy to move around, massive power, highly recommended.

The Zimmer enPuls supplied in an aluminium case with overall dimensions of:

Length: 57.5cm (22.5inches)

Height: 39.5cm (15.5inches)

Depth: 17.5cm (7inches)

In total the machine weighs 11.7kgs (25.8lbs)

The case is made of aluminium and is very sturdy. It is another highly finished case and this does mean it is slippery when placed down. In the car it will slide around in the boot and even on the back seats. It is very easily scratched (just see the case in our videos) but does a very good job of protecting the contents. The case closes with 2 latches on the front and locks – it is supplied with 2 keys. The latches are not the easiest to close we keep missing one side. In fact they seem to only have a couple of millimetres of give before they latch shut this can be difficult to deal with. The handle is not a small handle at 8.5cm (3.3/8inches) in circumference (a standard dumbbell is a 9cm grip). The handle is large for smaller hands. 

The case is the smallest we have seen so far but it is still larger than a carry on bag and about double the size of a medium backpack. The case offers great protection to the machine and should withstand most impacts (it certainly has been as it has rattled around the boot of my car).

Our full review video can be seen here:

Included with the Zimmer enPuls are: 

• Aluminium case
• Shockwave machine
• Shockwave gun
• 1 gun cover (yellow)
• 4 heads: 1x 30mm, 2 x 15mm (convex), 1 x 6mm
• 1 power lead
• 10 Silicone covers
• 1 strike plate gauge
• 2 keys
• 1 bottle of oil
• 1 Footplate
• 1 Gun stand

Inside the case there is the shockwave control unit:

The unit measures:

Length: 32.5cm (12.3/4inches)

Height: 13cm (5inches)

Depth: 23cm (9inches)

Weight: 2.5kg (5lbs11oz)

It is a solid unit made with good plastics and a brushed aluminium front plate. It has a large touch screen which is responsive and two round selection wheels to alter the settings. On the rear there is the power switch, a power lead socket, a socket for the footswitch, a socket for the shockwave gun, and a small fan.

The power lead is a standard kettle lead with a positive feel. The power switch is small but is likley to be left on most of the time anyway. The foot switch and shockwave gun use a positive lock lead each with clearly labelled ports. These leads are well built and push into place easily. Each lead is different so they can not be mixed up. The leads require the sleeve to be pulled back before they will release which means you will never accidentally detach either the footplate or the gun.

The unit can provide shockwave from 60mj to 185mj in 10mj increments (5mj from 180 to 185) and a shock rate from 1 up to 22hz. The shock rate and power output are linked so you can only have certain combinations.

Power mj	Speed Hz	Noise db
60	1-22	82
70	1-22	82
80	1-22	82
90	1-22	83
100	1-16	83
110	1-16	83
120	1-16	83
130	1-10	83
140	1-10	83
150	1-10	83
160	1-10	83
170	1-10	83
180	1-10	83
185	1-10	83

The shockwave gun (a radial head with a choice of convex ends which require silicone rubber covers)

The gun is brushed and turned aluminium:

Length: 23cm (9inches)

Width: 5cm (1.9inches)

Weight: 0.9kg (2lbs5oz) (including cable)

The Zimmer gun is solid and it’s weight is reassuring and means you don’t have to apply pressure to make good contact. This must be the single most powerful gun we have tested – even at 60mj it feels much more! A patient commented it felt like a ‘jack hammer’ on his leg. If you were planning on using this gun everyday for say cellulite treatments it would be heavy. 

It comes with great silicone rubber coatings to cover the shock plates (this softens the shock very well). The adaptors screw into the gun and have rubber seals to prevent fluid ingress.

Gun and 30mm end plate with no rubber cover

There is a fan in the end of the gun to cool the unit and this often runs after the treatment. The fan is loud and can often be intrusive if you are sat chatting to patients after their treatment. The fan can run on for many minutes. The gun develops heat (hence the silicone covers) so the gel might evaporate during the session. The reverberation is higher than other electro magnet machines but not painfully so, gloves are not a necessity.

The gun is made from turned and brushed aluminium and comes with it’s own cover. This may be because brushed aluminium is easily marked (of note one of our therapists found, purely by accident, baby oil cleans the gun really well) the cover is easy to apply and rolls off well but it is another step in packing away and getting out.

The Zimmer gun generates a standard amount of noise for a shockwave machine. We measured it ourselves at it’s lowest (60mj 10hz) at 82db and at it’s highest (90mj 22hz) 83 db. This is louder than normal talking volume and you will have to speak up to talk to your patients. 

The gun has a claimed duty cycle of 2,000,000 (two million) shocks but we have been told on lower intensities machines are getting 3,000,000 (three million) shocks. At 2 million that would be enough for 1,000 treatments or 167 patients at 6 treatments each. Check your local cost to replace a head as this will happen at some point. Of note the Zimmer gun is return to base only for a rebuild.

The footplate triggers the shockwave machine and is a solid metal unit with a 360 degree switch (you can press it from any side). It suffers the same problem as our Enraf footplate it can be tempromental (they appear to be the same footplate). Often I press the plate and part way through a treatment it switches back off (as if I haven’t pressed it right). This can be seen on our hand video where the machine stops mid treatment. 

A foot switch or a hand switch? That is still the question. In a clinic with clean floors and a treatment couch a foot switch is great. It allows for angles that a hand switch would be impossible to reach at. Out ‘in the field’ I have had my patients press the switch with their hands to run the treatment as you may be treating them on the floor. You could also hold the switch and press it if you were a vet, for instance. On a portable machine after having used both I personally prefer a hand switch.

The Zimmer EnPuls comes with four treatment strike plates:

• 2 x 15mm (convex)
• 1 x 6mm (convex acupuncture)
• 1 x 30mm (convex)

The three sizes are shown here:

These strike plates are excellent quality but do need replacing periodically. They should provide a minimum of 150,000 strikes (normally they do many more than that) and can be checked for their longevity using the provided tool in the kit. Simply apply the tool to the back of the plate and as long as there is a gap your good to go.

Because this is an electro magnetic device it generates heat and you will almost always be using the supplied silicone rubber covers for the strike plates. These covers are a great fit and slide on and off easily. 10 are provided with the machine. I have noted if cleaning these heads after use with gel a paper towel is not appropriate. The silicone covers get ‘bits’ on them from the paper towel so they end up with white specks of ‘fluff’ on them. This was not noted on the Enraf 811 but this may only have been as the ends on the Enraf are white and hence you just don’t notice them as much rather than they aren’t there.

The debate over the use of oil or gel continues (see our page on this site) but Zimmer have decided to provide a bottle of oil (paraffin oil) with this machine. Of interest a standard ultrasound bottle also fits in the provided space.

There is a gun stand in the case which I have not used. It actually weighs nearly 2kg or 4.5lbs so if left out of the case really decreases the weight. The gun stands shock plate down into the stand (this allows the fan to cool the head).

Overall:

A very compact machine, the lightest and smallest overall we have seen. The case is well laid out, and is easy to set up, starts almost instantly, light and portable with lots of power (I defy anyone to go up to 185mj on a real patient) and plenty of speed (22 really is impressive). Great portable machine.