First US Clinical Trial For Wearable Artificial Kidney
The FDA authorized trials of the prototype; seven patients from the University of Washington Medical Center in Seattle volunteered to help test the devices during late 2015. Each patient was provided with treatment for as long as 24 hours. Trials were conducted in order to determine both the safety and efficiency of the new device.
(First US Clinical Trial For Wearable Artificial Kidney)
The device was shown to effectively clear the blood of all waste products, such as urea, creatinine and phosphorus and also got rid of excess amounts of both water and salt. While the diet for those being treated by dialysis are very restricted, when using the Wearable Artificial Kidney, no limitations are required in order to keep patients’ blood electrolytes and blood fluid volume in perfect balance.
Patients during the study reported a much higher satisfaction rating when being treated using the wearable kidney in comparison to ratings given when using conventional dialysis treatments. It is well known that patients as well as their families are much more prone to reach for treatments that can give them more time at home and the freedom to continue on with their normal lives with fewer visits to the hospital.
Chuck Lee, a patient in the trial said he was amazed at how well the treatment worked for him. It was heavy and cumbersome but he says if he could start wearing it today, he would. He said it gave him so much more freedom.
Science fiction fans have longed for artif-orgs from Philip K. Dick's 1964 novel Cantata 140; the wearable artificial kidney gets us that much closer:
George Walt's corporate existence proved the workability of wholly mechanical organs...
Scroll down for more stories in the same category. (Story submitted 6/4/2016)
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