Wearable Dialysis Unit Effective in Tryout - the Wearable Artificial Kidney

Not ready yet for prime time but the initial trials look good...a couple folks had issues, but again it's a new product in development... 2 had clotting issues but both had heparin dosing reduced...as this goes forward this sure would be a nice product for those requiring dialysis and giving some quality of life back...BD

LONDON, Dec. 13 -- An investigational wearable hemodialysis device demonstrated promising safety and efficacy in a pilot study of eight patients with end-stage renal disease, researchers here reported.
But three of the eight patients who tried out dialysis on the hoof for four to eight hours had serious adverse effects involving coagulation and vascular access, said Andrew Davenport, M.D., of University College Hospital Medical School, and colleagues.
Patients using the device achieved a mean flood flow of 58.6 mL/min, with a dialysate flow of 47.1 mL/min, the investigators reported in the Dec. 15 issue of The Lancet. The mean plasma clearance rate was 22.7 mL/min and mean plasma creatinine clearance rate was 20.7 mL/min
The device used in the trial was developed by Xcorporeal Inc., of Los Angeles. "All patients were pleased with treatment, and had no complaints," the investigators wrote. "They stated unanimously that they would recommend this device to other patients."
All patients in the trial had been receiving hemodialysis for an average of 17.9 years and all were receiving regular hemodialysis three times a week at the time they volunteered for the study. Five of the patients were men and the average age of patients was 52.