Johns Hopkins University students create novel device to reduce dialysis risk

Every year around 1.5 million people across the world experience kidney failure and 350,000 people in the United States alone are probably subjected to regular hemodialysis. This procedure is believed to avert a deadly accumulation of toxins in the bloodstream. However, dialysis access options appear not only expensive, but also difficult to achieve. In an attempt to diminish the chances of infection while undergoing dialysis, Johns Hopkins University graduate students have now crafted a device that decreases the threat of infection, clotting and narrowing of the blood vessels among kidney failure patients. Termed as the Hemova device, it can be of immense assistance for technicians involved in conducting dialysis in kidney failure patients.

The Hemova Port

This intelligently carved device has to be implanted just under the skin in a patient's leg. It can offer a technician easy access to the patient's bloodstream. Also the device can be seamlessly opened and closed at the beginning and end of a dialysis procedure. Although the prototype is yet to be tested in humans, experiments in animals have begun. The newly developed Hemova Port's two valves can be opened only by a dialysis technician with a syringe from outside the skin. Similarly, the technician can close the valves once the procedure is complete. Such an approach may help avoid infection as well as clotting.

The Hemova Port

The Hemova device invented by the group of Johns Hopkins University students has to be joined together with the leg's femoral vein. This aids in preventing the unnaturally high blood flows that can allegedly trigger vessel narrowing when dialysis machines are connected to veins and arteries in the arm. This device has been fabricated under the guidance of the Johns Hopkins Technology Transfer staff. Apart from that the Hemova team has also applied for a $50,000 grant to undertake animal testing in the forthcoming months. Also clinical trials on human patients are due to begin by the year 2013.

The Hemova Port

The invented port has already been awarded the first prize of $10,000 for Johns Hopkins graduate students in the 2011 ASME Innovation Showcase. This competition was conducted in Texas earlier this month and included 10 collegiate teams. "Winning first-place in the ASME competition is a great honor. The award and the recognition will go a long way toward helping to continue further research, and we hope it will bring us closer to the day when our device is available to help dialysis patients," Sherri Hall, Peter Li added.

Via eScienceNews