Fig. 6.

(Color online) Efficiency of printed conduits as ureteral stent in the porcine model. (a) Implantation sites of stents. (b) Radiographs before and after four days of implantation of conduits as ureteral stent (blue arrows). Iohexol was injected to visualize urine drainage through stents and after 3 and 30 min of iohexol injection, radiographs show urine accumulation in urinary bladder (yellow arrow) and clearance of renal pelvises and calyces (red arrow). After the stent implantation, clearance of iohexol was prolonged to 60 min. (c) Number of CFUs per cm of zein conduits printed in supporting bath CB75 and CB40 after four days of implantation in pigs as ureteral stent. (d) Number of CFUs per cm of polyurethane stent before and after four days of implantation. *p < 0.05, results of conduits printed in CB75 and CB40 were compared using Student's t-test.