A prosthetic kidney instead of hemodialysis?
A prototype of an implantable artificial kidney has been developed
Dmitry Tselikov, CompulentaResearchers from the University of California, San Francisco (USA) have developed a prototype of the first ever implanted artificial kidney, which may someday replace hemodialysis.
The device consists of several thousand microscopic hemofilters and a bioreactor that simulates the metabolic and water-balance functions of the kidney. Renal tubule cells have been grown in accordance with the latest advances in tissue engineering. The whole process depends on blood pressure, so it doesn't need pumps and electricity.
Nanofilters remove toxins from the blood, and biocartridge from living cells is responsible for the metabolism and water balance of the body.
(UCFS image.)
The tests of the room-sized model were completed successfully. In the future, a scientific group led by Shuvo Roy will create an artificial kidney the size of a coffee cup based on the same technology. The device will be implanted into the body without the need to suppress the immune system, which will allow the patient to lead a normal lifestyle. The feasibility of such a model has already been proven in animals, so its clinical trials should begin within five to seven years.
Every year, chronic kidney failure affects more than 500 thousand people in the United States alone. The indicator is growing by 5-7% per year due to the spread of diabetes and hypertension. It is possible to completely get rid of the disease only with the help of a kidney transplant, but this is a real problem: last year only 17 thousand transplants were donated, and the number of patients in the queue exceeds 85 thousand.
Approximately 350 thousand Americans depend on kidney dialysis, which is associated with huge costs. The Medicare system spends $25 billion annually on the treatment of kidney failure – more than 6% of the total budget, although the disease affects only 1% of the clients of this insurance service. On average, almost $75 thousand a year is spent per patient.
And dialysis is far from a panacea. Usually it should be done three times a week for 3-5 hours. This is not only tedious, but also ineffective, because the procedure replaces the kidneys by only 13% of the function. As a result, only 35% of patients live on dialysis for more than five years.
Prepared based on the materials of the University of California, San Francisco: UCSF unveils a model for implantable artificial kidney to replace dialysis.
Portal "Eternal youth" http://vechnayamolodost.ru07.09.2010