# US 9,750,621 B2 · Ureteral stent for placement in a kidney and bladder > Agents: this data is available as JSON from the patentgrep API and MCP server — see https://patentgrep.com/llms.txt - Number: US 9,750,621 B2 - Document ID: US9750621B2 - Status: Granted - Kind: B2 - Application number: 14/406,392 - Filed: 2013-06-10 - Published: 2015-05-21 - Granted: 2017-09-05 - Earliest claimed: 2012-06-08 - Assignees: University Hospitals Cleveland Medical Center - Applicants: University Hospitals Health System, INC. - Inventors: Lee E. Ponsky; Dean Secrest - Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US9750621B2 ## CPC - A61F 2/82: Devices providing patency to, or preventing collapsing of, tubular structures of the body, e.g. stents (stent-grafts for tubular structures of the body other than blood vessels A61F2/04; stent-grafts for blood vessels A61F2/07) - A61M 27/008: {pre-shaped, for use in the urethral or ureteral tract} - A61F 2002/047: {Urethrae} - A61F 2002/048: {Ureters} - A61F 2220/0008: Fixation appliances for connecting prostheses to the body - A61F 2220/005: using adhesives - A61F 2220/0075: sutured, ligatured or stitched, retained or tied with a rope, string, thread, wire or cable - A61F 2230/0006: circular - A61F 2230/0013: Horseshoe-shaped, e.g. crescent-shaped, C-shaped, U-shaped - A61F 2230/0041: J-shaped - A61F 2230/0069: cylindrical - A61F 2250/0006: for adjusting angular orientation - A61F 2250/0014: having different values of a given property or geometrical feature, e.g. mechanical property or material property, at different locations within the same prosthesis - A61F 2250/0018: differing in elasticity, stiffness or compressibility - A61F 2250/0019: differing in hardness, e.g. Vickers, Shore, Brinell - A61F 2250/0029: differing in bending or flexure capacity - A61F 2250/0036: differing in thickness - A61F 2250/0039: differing in diameter - A61F 2250/006: modular - A61F 2250/0098: radio-opaque, e.g. radio-opaque markers - A61F: FILTERS IMPLANTABLE INTO BLOOD VESSELS; PROSTHESES; DEVICES PROVIDING PATENCY TO, OR PREVENTING COLLAPSING OF, TUBULAR STRUCTURES OF THE BODY, e.g. STENTS; ORTHOPAEDIC, NURSING OR CONTRACEPTIVE DEVICES; FOMENTATION; TREATMENT OR PROTECTION OF EYES OR EARS; BANDAGES, DRESSINGS OR ABSORBENT PADS; FIRST-AID KITS (dental prosthetics A61C) - A61M: DEVICES FOR INTRODUCING MEDIA INTO, OR ONTO, THE BODY (introducing media into or onto the bodies of animals A61D7/00; means for inserting tampons A61F13/26; devices for administering food or medicines orally A61J; containers for collecting, storing or administering blood or medical fluids A61J1/05); DEVICES FOR TRANSDUCING BODY MEDIA OR FOR TAKING MEDIA FROM THE BODY (surgery A61B; chemical aspects of surgical articles A61L); DEVICES FOR PRODUCING OR ENDING SLEEP OR STUPOR {(Electrotherapy, e.g. producing anaesthesia by the use of alternating or intermittent currents A61N1/36021)} ## Abstract Provided is a ureteral stent (=50) including a bladder portion (=52) positioned in a bladder of a patient, a kidney portion (=54) positioned in a kidney and ureteral passageway of the patient, and one or more tethers (=56) coupling the bladder portion to the kidney portion. The ureteral stent allows urine to pass around a blockage, and allows a ureter orifice connecting the ureteral passageway to the bladder to move between a compressed state and an uncompressed state to prevent or minimize urinary reflux, flank pain, blood in the urine, etc., while allowing the bladder portion to move freely in the bladder to prevent the bladder portion from irritating the trigone muscle. ## Claims ### Claim 1 A ureteral stent for placement in a bladder, a kidney and a ureteral passageway connecting the bladder and the kidney, the ureteral stent including: a bladder portion configured to be positioned in the bladder, the bladder portion being resilient and biased in an unrestrained position to prevent the bladder portion from migrating into the ureteral passageway when positioned in the bladder; a kidney portion configured to be positioned in the kidney and the ureteral passageway, the kidney portion being tubular and defining a tubular ureter portion configured to be positioned in the kidney and the ureteral passageway to place the ureteral passageway in an open state and a tubular resilient fixing portion biased in an unrestrained position to secure the resilient fixing portion in the kidney when positioned in the kidney; a tether connecting the bladder portion and the ureter portion to allow the bladder portion to float in the bladder and to allow a ureter orifice connecting the ureteral passageway to the bladder to move between a compressed state and an uncompressed state, wherein the tether has first and second ends knotted together outside the bladder and kidney portions forming a knotted portion; and a sleeve coupled to a wall of the ureter portion that covers the knotted portion to prevent the knotted portion from irritating the ureter, the sleeve having a length less than a length of the ureter portion. ### Claim 2 (depends on 1) The ureteral stent according to claim 1, wherein the bladder portion and the fixing portion are movable between respective restrained positions when being positioned in the bladder and kidney, respectively, and the respective unrestrained positions when positioned in the bladder and kidney, respectively. ### Claim 3 (depends on 2) The ureteral stent according to claim 2, wherein the bladder portion and kidney portion are substantially straight when in the respective restrained positions and curved when in the respective unrestrained positions. ### Claim 4 (depends on 1) The ureteral stent according to claim 1, wherein the bladder portion and kidney portion each include at least one radiopaque element on outer surfaces thereof to assist an operator in positioning the stent. ### Claim 5 (depends on 4) The ureteral stent according to claim 4, wherein the bladder portion and kidney portion have first and second ends, respectively, each end having at least one radiopaque element. ### Claim 6 (depends on 1) The ureteral stent according to claim 1, wherein the bladder portion includes a tip at a first end opposite a second end coupled to the tether, the tip having a stiffness greater than a stiffness of a remaining portion of the bladder portion. ### Claim 7 (depends on 1) The ureteral stent according to claim 1, wherein the bladder portion and ureter portion of the kidney portion each include a least one opening in a wall thereof providing a passage between an outside of the bladder and kidney portions and an inside of the bladder and kidney portions for receiving the tether, wherein the tether extends from the inside of the bladder and kidney portions to the outside of the bladder and kidney portions, and wherein the tether has a first end and a second end coupled together outside the bladder and kidney portions forming a coupled tether portion. ### Claim 8 (depends on 1) The ureteral stent according to claim 1, wherein the tether is a suture. ### Claim 9 (depends on 1) The ureteral stent according to claim 1, wherein the bladder portion and the fixing portion are a flexible loop when in their unrestrained positions. ### Claim 10 (depends on 1) The ureteral stent according to claim 1, wherein the bladder portion and the fixing portion are J-shaped when in their unrestrained positions. ### Claim 11 (depends on 1) The ureteral stent according to claim 1, wherein the bladder portion and the fixing portion are helical when in their unrestrained positions. ### Claim 12 (depends on 1) The ureteral stent according to claim 1, wherein the kidney portion has a durometer between 50 shore A and 80 shore A. ### Claim 13 (depends on 1) The ureteral stent according to claim 1, wherein the resilient fixing portion has a durometer greater than a durometer of the ureter portion. ### Claim 14 (depends on 1) The ureteral stent according to claim 1, wherein the bladder portion has a durometer between 25 shore A and 50 shore A. ### Claim 15 (depends on 1) The ureteral stent according to claim 1, wherein the kidney portion has transition zones along its length going from a harder durometer at the resilient fixing portion to a softer durometer at an end of the ureter portion connected to the tether. ### Claim 16 A ureteral stent for placement in a bladder, a kidney and a ureteral passageway connecting the bladder and kidney, the ureteral stent including: a bladder portion configured to be positioned in the bladder, the bladder portion being resilient and biased in an unrestrained position to prevent the bladder portion from migrating into the ureteral passageway when positioned in the bladder; a kidney portion configured to be positioned in the kidney and the ureteral passageway, the kidney portion having a ureter portion configured to be positioned in the kidney and the ureteral passageway to place the ureteral passageway in an open state and a resilient fixing portion biased in an unrestrained position to secure the resilient fixing portion in the kidney when positioned in the kidney; at least one tether connected to the bladder portion and the ureter portion to allow the bladder portion to float in the bladder and to allow a ureter orifice connecting the ureteral passageway to the bladder to move between a compressed state and an uncompressed state, wherein the tether has a length and first and second ends at opposite ends of the length from one another, and wherein the first and second ends are knotted together outside the bladder and kidney portions forming a knotted portion; and a sleeve coupled to the wall of the ureter portion that covers the knotted portion to hold down the knotted portion and part of the tether to prevent the knotted portion from irritating a patient and to allow the tether to lie down to reduce a thickness of the ureter portion, the sleeve having a length less than a length of the ureter portion.