Model fe221

Urodynamic testing was performed as previously described.[44 (link)] After exposure of the bladder, a 27 gauge needle was placed intravesically through the dome. The needle was then connected to an Elite Syringe Pump (Harvard Apparatus, MA, USA), a physiological pressure transducer (SP844, MEMSCAP, NC, USA), and a bridge amplifier (Model FE221; AD Instruments, Dunedin, New Zealand). Continuous readings of the intravesical pressure were obtained with LabChart 7.3 Software (AD Instruments). The fill rate for each study ranged from 150–200 μL/min.

Urodynamic assessment and bladder capacity measurements were performed prior to bladder augmentation and euthanization as described^{31 (link)}. The bladders of anesthetized athymic nude rats were exposed through a lower abdominal incision. A 20 gauge cannula (Becton Dickinson, Franklin Lakes, NJ) was inserted into the bladder dome and connected to the Pump 11 Elite Syringe Pump (Harvard Apparatus, Holliston, MA) and to a physiological pressure transducer (SP844, MEMSCAP). The pressure transducer was connected to a bridge amplifier (Model FE221; AD Instruments, Colorado Springs, CO), which record and plotted continuous readings of the transvesical pressures using LabChart 7.3 Software (AD Instruments). Prior to filling, the bladder was manually decompressed to ensure that it was empty. The bladder was then filled at 150 µl/min. Bladder capacity was estimated by the product of flow rate and time to urethral leakage. Voiding pressure was the maximum pressure during the terminal contraction. Intravesical urodynamic measurements could not be performed at other timepoints of this study due to the highly invasive nature of the testing procedure.