First results of stepwise straining of the human urinary bladder and human bladder strips.

A new method of cystometry called stepwise cystometry, based on a viscoelastic model of the urinary bladder wall, is proposed. This cystometry technique yields objective parameters, which provide information on the mechanical condition of the bladder wall. The method was tested on 21 patients. It was technically simple to perform. The parameters obtained were in good agreement with those derived from 105 measurements on 13 human bladder wall strips, provided that a correction was applied for the lower strain rates involved.