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Determination of Stent Load Conditions in New Zealand White Rabbit Urethra
Agnieszka G Mackiewicz1, Tomasz Klekiel1, Jagoda Kurowiak1
1Department of Biomedical Engineering, Institute of Material and Biomedical Engineering, University of Zielona Gora, Licealna 9 Street, 65-417 Zielona Gora, Poland.
Background:
Frequency of urethral stenosis makes it necessary to develop new innovative methods of treating this disease. This pathology most often occurs in men and manifests itself in painful urination, reduced urine flow, or total urinary retention. This is a condition that requires immediate medical intervention.
Methods:
Experimental tests were carried out on a rabbit in order to determine the changes of pressure in the urethra system and to estimate the velocity of urine flow. For this purpose, a measuring system was proposed to measure the pressure of a fluid-filled urethra. A fluoroscope was used to observe the deformability of the bladder and urethra canal.
Results:
Based on these tests, the range of changes in the urethra tube diameter, the pressures inside the system, and the flow velocity during micturition were determined.
Conclusions:
The presented studies allowed determining the behavior of the urethra under the conditions of urinary filling. The fluid-filled bladder and urethra increased their dimensions significantly. Such large changes require that the stents used for the treatment of urethral stenosis should not have a fixed diameter but should adapt to changing urethral dimensions.
