Ureteric strictures result from fibrosis in the wall of the ureter, resulting in narrowing of the utereric lumen which could in turn lead to significant morbidity and loss of a functioning kidney. Treatment (and prevention) involves placing a ureteric stent within the ureter for up to 6 weeks, which is then removed.
Current stents serve only as passive internal scaffolds and do not address any pathology e.g. fibrosis, infection, tumours. The team has developed a novel swellable hydrogel coating which can be applied to commercially available stents, which allows drug elution of mitomycin C (MMC) to prevent fibrosis.
Project Deliverables
A MMC-loaded stent coating which has been tested for the following: i) safety and feasibility of insertion/removal of the stent in a pig model, ii) quantification of the drug concentration of MMC delivered by the coated stent in ureteric tissue, and iii) efficacy of MMC in preventing stricture formation.
Principal Investigator: Dr CHONG Tsung Wen
Institution: Singapore General Hospital
NHIC Ref: NHIC-I2D-1506051
