Particle Accumulation in Ureteral Stents Is Governed by Fluid Dynamics: In Vitro Study Using a "Stent-on-Chip" Model.

Objective: To investigate the correlation between fluid dynamic processes and deposition of encrusting particles in ureteral stents.

Materials And Methods: Microfluidic models (referred to as "stent-on-chip" or SOC) were developed to replicate relevant hydrodynamic regions of a stented ureter, including drainage holes and the cavity formed by a ureteral obstruction. Computational fluid dynamic simulations were performed to determine the wall shear stress (WSS) field over the solid surfaces of the model, and the computational flow field was validated experimentally.