Artificial kidney invented, to go through series of trials
Posted on: 27/Jan/2017 11:54:12 AM
Researchers from the University of California San Francisco have invented a a fist-sized artificial kidney. The device will go through a series of safety and efficacy trials on hundreds of patients in that country before it is approved by the FDA.
Speaking at an event, the researchers said, The device that can be implanted in the abdomen and will be powered by the heart is designed to filter the blood and perform other kidney functions, including production of hormones, and help assist in blood pressure control. Unlike conventional haemodialysis, which merely filters toxins from the blood, the artificial kidney has a membrane that filters the blood and a bio-reactor comprising living kidney cells that are exposed to the blood during dialysis. It performs the job of a kidney more holistically than just conventional dialysis.
At least 2.5 lakh people in India die due to kidney diseases every year. Diabetes and high blood pressure are the two most common causes and account for most cases. The cost of treating end-stage kidney disease through dialysis or a kidney transplant is enormous.
According to a city based nephrologist, At least 3,000 people in the state have been waitlisted for kidney transplant with the state cadaver transplant registry. Getting an organ is still not easy. So patients with end-stage renal diseases will have to be on regular dialysis and medicines.
