In current hemodialysis machines about 120 liter of dialysate is needed for blood cleansing. This a major showstopper for miniaturisation. Our wearable artificial kidney is based on so-callled fractionated plasma separation adsorption (FPSA). Instead of using a dialysate fluid, plasma is being separated from the blood and this plasma is being detoxified with nanosorbents. Thanks to the eficiency of the nanosorbents, the sorbent cartridge can be quite small allowing a wearable system.
Concept of blood purification
- a high flux filter separates plasma (ultrafiltrate) from the blood
- the separated plasma is purified with nanostructured sorbents
- cleansed plasma is returned to the blood
- no dialysate fluid needed
- small and lightweight device (1-2 kg)
Features of the wearable artificial kidney
- continuous hemofiltration, 24 hours per day, no blood peaks
- blood cleansing while being mobile, at home, at work, everywhere
- sorption materials removing small, middle molecules and protein bound toxins
- better blood clearance leading to a better health condition
- increased life expectancy with 10-15 years compared to standard 3/week hemodialysis
- small sized, wearable unit, improved quality of life
- remote monitoring of patient and device via sensors and wireless network system
- less nursing and medical care needed
- reduction in healthcare costs upto 10.000 €/year/patient
NEW: Presentation – Nanodialysis – October 2011
The wearable artificial kidney: Presentation Nanodialysis
Concept of blood purification
Prototype Artificial Kidney
Engineering model