Video: portable artificial kidney

Currently, the best treatment for severe renal failure is a kidney transplant. But due to the shortage of organ donors, a large number of kidney patients are dependent on dialysis. A major drawback is that dialysis function of the kidneys limited and takes over with peaks and troughs. A kidney patient would feel much fitter if the blood is continuously purified 24 hours a day.

Implantable Artificial Kidney

The development of an implantable artificial kidney – which continuously mimics all the functions of a healthy kidney within the body – is therefore the ultimate dream of the Kidney Foundation. But such a process is complex and takes many years.

Portable Artificial Kidney

The first step on this long road is the development of a portable variant of dialysis: the portable artificial kidney. Like your own kidneys, this device can the blood continuous purification. If successful, it will already be a huge step forward in the lives of countless kidney patients. The patient then no longer has to spend many hours three times a week in a dialysis center. This gives more freedom and probably also leads to fewer complications.

The portable artificial kidney should be made possible by the development of a new type of membrane in which absorbent materials are processed. This makes it possible to remove more waste products from the blood.

Special filters

Unlike the current forms of dialysis – hemodialysis and abdominal lavage – this portable artificial kidney will not require large amounts of water needed. This means that the artificial kidney can become much lighter and more compact. Instead of flushing the waste products from the blood, they are collected by special filters. These filters are so effective that you don’t need much of them to remove the daily amount of waste. In addition, the continuous filter function ensures that the blood is purified very evenly, comparable to abdominal lavage.

What does the wearable artificial kidney look like?

The portable artificial kidney can best be imagined as a box the size of a milk carton containing the filters and sensors. The box has an entrance and exit for the blood that is led to and from the body via a permanent catheter. The box is also connected to a collection bag for the produced urine.

Smartphone

The sensors of the artificial kidney have a wireless connection with a so-called ‘smartphone’, a small portable computer the size of a mobile phone that the patient carries with him. The entire system is expected to weigh several kilograms. The best way to wear an artificial kidney is still being researched.

Benefits of a portable artificial kidney

The main advantage of a portable artificial kidney is that it becomes possible to purify the blood much longer and much more gradually. Several studies have shown that a gradual effect is much healthier and is experienced as more pleasant, because there are fewer large blood pressure fluctuations occur and waste does not accumulate. This can help to relieve symptoms such as dizziness, fatigue and itch to be drastically reduced.

more active

Due to the gradual effect, there is also a chance of less cardiovascular disease such as hemodialysis. Another important advantage is that the wearable artificial kidney gives patients the freedom to continue to participate more actively in society.

Both the portable and the biological artificial kidney are expected to provide major benefits for improving current forms of dialysis, and thus the quality of life of many kidney patients. Unfortunately, a lot of research is still needed before the first copy can be put on the market.