The National Kidney Foundation reports that about two in every 1,000 people in the U.S. are on kidney dialysis or awaiting a kidney transplant. Each year, more people die of kidney disease than of breast cancer and prostate cancer combined. Most patients with kidney disease undergo dialysis three or four times per week. Each session is about four hours long, during which the buildup of urea and other toxins is reduced to near-zero levels. Dialysis evokes severe swings in bloodborne toxins, from the high levels prior to dialysis to abnormally low levels afterward. As a result, many kidney dialysis patients experience poor quality of life, oftentimes accompanied by depression.
Continuous and portable dialysis has been a long-sought goal for treating patients suffering from kidney disease. Continuous dialysis avoids the large swings in urea and other toxins, just as a healthy kidney does. The Center for Dialysis Innovation, a joint program of the Northwest Kidney Centers and the Univ. of Washington, has embarked on a major effort to develop a wearable artificial kidney. The task is daunting, as the kidney is much more than a filtration device.
Urea is the most prevalent compound in the bloodstream; a typical person produces 15 g of urea per day. A typical urea...
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