Kidney stones · Guide
Kidney stones explorer: guide
Show the kidneys, ureters and bladder within the body, enter the stone’s side, place, size and number and any swelling of the kidney from the report, explain the treatment and share a matching picture sheet.
For patients and families
Look at the picture together
The picture opens with the whole body. Choose Kidneys and bladder to see both kidneys at the back of the tummy, with the ureters running down to the bladder, then Close-up to move close to the stone. Drag to turn it and scroll or pinch to zoom.
Show what your team has found
Your clinician can enter which side the stone is on, whether it is in the kidney or in the ureter and where, its size, whether there is more than one, and whether the kidney is swollen because urine cannot drain freely. The diagram in the corner shows the kidneys, ureters and bladder from the front. The stone’s shape is schematic, not a copy of your scan.
Things you could ask
“Can you show me where my stone is?”
“Is it likely to pass on its own, and what happens if it doesn’t?”
“What can I do to stop new stones forming?”
Take it home
Ask for a picture sheet with the views you discussed, your team’s explanation, what the kidneys do and where to find help. A QR code reopens the same model settings on your phone. Names, notes and contact details are never included in that code or saved online.
For clinicians
Start with orientation
The explorer uses the kidneys, ureters, bladder, aorta, vena cava, renal vessels, spine and lower ribs used across the site’s kidney pictures, adds a schematic collecting system (renal pelvis, three major and two minor calyces) and the sacrum from the bladder explorer, on the shared body, digestive tract, renderer and labels. It opens at normal anatomy with no stone or treatment.
Set up from the report
| Control | What to set |
|---|---|
| Stones on the model | Add the stone. Changing a stone setting also adds it, and opens a coronal cut through both kidneys (turn it off under Show / hide). |
| Side | Right or left, as on the CT KUB report. |
| Where the stone is | In the kidney: upper, middle or lower pole calyx, or the renal pelvis. In the ureter: upper (proximal), middle, lower (distal) or the vesico-ureteric junction (VUJ). Positions along the ureter are schematic. |
| Stone size | 1–40 mm, the longest diameter in the report. It is drawn as an irregular stone with that height. Kidney stones over 20 mm and ureteric stones over 12 mm are drawn approximately, and the summary says so. |
| Number | One, or more than one. Further stones are drawn smaller in the same kidney as examples; the summary says so. Stone burden and composition are not modelled. |
| Kidney swelling (hydronephrosis) | None, mild, moderate or severe, as written in the report. The collecting system on that side is drawn wider (and the ureter above a ureteric stone). The amount drawn is illustrative, not measured. |
Explain a selected plan
Waiting for the stone to pass (analgesia, with or without medical expulsive therapy) draws nothing. Shock-wave lithotripsy marks the treated focus around the stone teal (area treated). Ureteroscopy with laser marks the stone teal (removed); After treatment shows the stone gone and a JJ stent in place. PCNL marks the stone teal and draws the tract from the skin of the back (shown for stones in the kidney or upper ureter). Stent and nephrostomy to drain the kidney draw the tube in blue and say that the stone itself is not removed. The team selects the plan; the model does not judge the chance of spontaneous passage or the best treatment. Open and laparoscopic surgery, chemolysis and preventive medicines are not shown.
Picture sheet and QR code
Capture up to four views with Snapshot, then use Picture sheet (PDF). The sheet can include a help page with life after the treatment chosen. The QR link stores validated model settings only. Changing any model setting clears older snapshots.
Limits
- One main stone is illustrated at the entered size; further stones are examples. Staghorn stones, stone density (Hounsfield units), composition and skin-to-stone distance are not shown.
- The collecting system, the ureter’s course and the degree of swelling are schematic. Duplex systems and other anatomical variants are not shown.
Sources and review
- NHS: kidney stones
- NICE NG118: renal and ureteric stones, assessment and management
- BAUS patient information
Practising urologist review is still needed for clinical teaching use. Please send corrections through feedback.