A national research project is under way to develop an implantable bioartificial kidney using the latest advances in science and technology with the goal of both improving the health and lives of patients with end stage renal disease and saving health care dollars.
source/image: My Healthy Feed
The Kidney Project team includes members from academia, health care, and industry and is led by Shuvo Roy, PhD, in the Department of Bioengineering and Therapeutic Sciences, Schools of Pharmacy and Medicine, at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF).
source/image: ucsfpharmacy
This bio-hybrid uses living kidney cells along with a series of specialized microchips powered by the human heart to filter waste from the blood-stream. The artificial kidney can bypass the complication of matching donors and tissue rejection.
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The microchips work as artificial microchannels that clean the blood. This is why the microchips are not connected to the brain but to the heart circulatory system (nerve cells and heart). In summary, the microchips in the bionic kidney are actually filters that clean the blood.This video covers the need for such a device, how it works, and its potential impact on patients.
First, the bionic kidney is inserted into the body by a simple operation (this is an internal prosthesis, ie an implant). The bionic kidney contains microchips that are administered by the heart. Thus, the patient’s blood is cleared according to the natural pulse rate. Bionic kidney eliminates toxins in the blood like a natural kidney.
