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Wearable Artificial Kidney Safety Test Receives Go-Ahead

posted by n1 on Wednesday September 24 2014, @11:12PM   Printer-friendly
from the better-living-through-chemistry dept.

AnonTechie writes:

Medical researchers have received approval to begin safety and performance testing of the Wearable Artificial Kidney. The federal Food and Drug Administration and the University of Washington Institutional Review Board accepted the protocol for the clinical trial. Expected to start this autumn in Seattle, it will be the first human study in the United States to be conducted on the device.

The Wearable Artificial Kidney, also known as the WAK, is a miniaturized dialysis machine that can be worn on the body. The carrier resembles a tool belt; the device connects to a patient via a catheter. Like conventional dialysis machines, it is designed to filter the blood of people whose kidneys have stopped working. Unlike current portable or stationary dialysis machines, it can run continuously on batteries and is not plugged into an electrical outlet or attached to a water pipe. The present version weighs about 10 pounds, but future modifications could make it lighter and more streamlined.

 
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  • (Score: 2) by aristarchus on Thursday September 25 2014, @07:04AM

    by aristarchus (2645) on Thursday September 25 2014, @07:04AM (#98121) Journal

    the device connects to a patient via a catheter.

    Are we sure about this? I am pretty sure that it should be hooked up to the circulatory system, not the renal. Because it _is_ the renal system?

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  • (Score: 3, Informative) by TK on Thursday September 25 2014, @04:15PM

    by TK (2760) on Thursday September 25 2014, @04:15PM (#98290)

    It's one of those words that technically means one thing, but colloquially means another.

    From Wikipedia: [wikipedia.org]

    In medicine, a catheter /ˈkæθɪtər/ is a thin tube extruded from medical grade materials serving a broad range of functions. Catheters are medical devices that can be inserted in the body to treat diseases or perform a surgical procedure. By modifying the material or adjusting the way catheters are manufactured, it is possible to tailor catheters for cardiovascular, urological, gastrointestinal, neurovascular, and ophthalmic applications.

    Off-topic bonus: the Greek characters I copy-pasted into the comment box display correctly in the preview (and presumably after I hit submit, too). Yay progress!

    --
    The fleas have smaller fleas, upon their backs to bite them, and those fleas have lesser fleas, and so ad infinitum