Clavica, F;
Zhao, X;
ElMahdy, M;
Drake, MJ;
Zhang, X;
Carugo, D;
(2014)
Investigating the Flow Dynamics in the Obstructed and Stented Ureter by Means of a Biomimetic Artificial Model.
PLOS ONE
, 9
(2)
, Article e87433. 10.1371/journal.pone.0087433.
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Investigating the flow dynamics in the obstructed and stented ureter by means of a biomimetic artificial model.pdf - Published Version Download (2MB) | Preview |
Abstract
Double-J stenting is the most common clinical method employed to restore the upper urinary tract drainage, in the presence of a ureteric obstruction. After implant, stents provide an immediate pain relief by decreasing the pressure in the renal pelvis (P). However, their long-term usage can cause infections and encrustations, due to bacterial colonization and crystal deposition on the stent surface, respectively. The performance of double-J stents - and in general of all ureteric stents - is thought to depend significantly on urine flow field within the stented ureter. However very little fundamental research about the role played by fluid dynamic parameters on stent functionality has been conducted so far. These parameters are often difficult to assess in-vivo, requiring the implementation of laborious and expensive experimental protocols. The aim of the present work was therefore to develop an artificial model of the ureter (i.e. ureter model, UM) to mimic the fluid dynamic environment in a stented ureter. The UM was designed to reflect the geometry of pig ureters, and to investigate the values of fluid dynamic viscosity (μ), volumetric flow rate (Q) and severity of ureteric obstruction (OB%) which may cause critical pressures in the renal pelvis. The distributed obstruction derived by the sole stent insertion was also quantified. In addition, flow visualisation experiments and computational simulations were performed in order to further characterise the flow field in the UM. Unique characteristics of the flow dynamics in the obstructed and stented ureter have been revealed with using the developed UM.
| Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| Title: | Investigating the Flow Dynamics in the Obstructed and Stented Ureter by Means of a Biomimetic Artificial Model |
| Open access status: | An open access version is available from UCL Discovery |
| DOI: | 10.1371/journal.pone.0087433 |
| Publisher version: | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0087433 |
| Language: | English |
| Additional information: | Copyright © 2014 Clavica et al. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited. |
| Keywords: | Ureter, Urine, Fluid flow, Fluid dynamics, Viscosity, Flow rate, Pelvis, Kidneys |
| UCL classification: | UCL UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Life Sciences UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Life Sciences > UCL School of Pharmacy UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Life Sciences > UCL School of Pharmacy > Pharmaceutics |
| URI: | https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10109413 |
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