Wearable Artificial Kidney Passes Preliminary Tests
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Scientists say that the breakthrough device will revolutionise patient care.
Scientists have revealed that plans are advanced for the development of an “artifical kidney’ that can be worn on a patient’s belt, ScienceDaily has reported.
A paper soon to be published in the Clinical Journal of the American Society of Nephrology (CJASN) says that the breakthrough device would act as a portable dialysis machine. It would weigh just 10 pounds and would derive its power from two ordinary nine-volt batteries.
Victor Gura MD, of UCLA’s David Geffen School of Medicine, said: “Our vision of a technological breakthrough has materialized in the form of a wearable artificial kidney, which provides continuous dialysis 24 hours a day, seven days a week.”
The major benefit of such an invention is the freedom that kidney patients would gain. Instead of spending their days hooked up to a normal-size dialysis machine, they would be able to move around and work normally. The dialysis they receive would also be more gentle and continuous, and therefore more akin to the action of a real kidney.
Dr Gura argued that the device would cause a “paradigm change” in the life and treatment of kidney patients. Currently, dialysis patients have to spend much of their time in hospital and still suffer high rates of death.
The artifical kidney has passed its preliminary tests with flying colours, but he stressed that “the long-term effect of this technology on the well-being of dialysis patients must be demonstrated in much-needed clinical trials”. He said, “Although successful, this is but one additional step on a long road still ahead of us to bring about a much-needed change in the lives of this population.”
Photo credit: © 2009 University of Maryland Medical Center (UMMC)
India is a hub of kidney failure.
Where is technology this available and when will it be implemented probably?
Has anyone gotten an answer to any of their questions?
I doubt it.
Can someone tell me when this technology would be available?
Is there still a need for the patient to change the bag every 3-4 hours?
Anyone know where in India this is available?