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11/02/2010
Kidney Health Australia
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Release |
11
February 2010
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Wearable Kidney
would Change the Kidney Patients World
Australasian Home
Haemodialysis Workshop Brisbane 11-12 February 2010
A wearable kidney, which
is worn like a belt and provides continuous dialysis, would change the lifestyle
of people with failed kidneys and play a major role in the total reform of dialysis
treatment in Australia and internationally.
Figure 1 The wearable
artificial kidney (Arcaro 2009; Davenport et al 2007)
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Dr Carmel Hawley,
Clinical Director of Haemodialysis, Princess Alexandra Hospital and Chairman
of a major conference in Brisbane on home dialysis which begins TODAY
said the wearable kidney would be discussed at the conference. The filtration
device is worn on a belt around the waist and weighs approximately five
kilograms. There are four micro-pumps which are driven by standard batteries.
Dr Hawley said with
many patients forced to travel large distances to undertake their life
preserving dialysis treatments, often with great difficulty and cost three
times a week, home dialysis will become an increasingly important therapy
for patients whose kidneys have failed, whilst they wait on average four
years for a kidney transplant. The availability of a wearable kidney would
provide more flexibility.
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Figure 2 The basic principles
of the WAK device (medGadget 2007)
The wearable
kidney is one example of the tremendous innovation happening in the dialysis
industry which will translate into better treatment options for patients. However,
realistically access to this device is still some time away for our patients.
In a report
in November 2009 the Horizon Scanning Technology Prioritising Summary for
the Federal Government of Health and Ageing said although the wearable artificial
kidney (WAK) is designed to be used for continuous renal replacement therapy
24-hours per day, seven days per week, it would most likely to be used between
4-8 hours per day.
Dr Tim Mathew,
Medical Director of Kidney Health Australia said at present there is no known
cure for kidney disease which affects one in seven Australians. The introduction
a wearable kidney as a dialysis option for treating patients would be a major
breakthrough for patient care and would improve health outcomes.
NB. Xcorporeal Inc (United States) provides the wearable artificial kidney
(WAK) with the aim of providing portable continuous and unobtrusive dialysis.
The technology would be available through nephrologists for patients with chronic
kidney disease.
Media Enquiries:
Dr Carmel Hawley, Department of Nephrology, Princess Alexandra Hospital (07)
3240 5080
Dr Tim Mathew, Medical Director Kidney Health Australia Mobile: 0416 149 863
Ron Smith National Media Communications Kidney Health Australia Mobile:
0417 329 201
Home
Dialysis State Facts
Chronic Kidney Disease (CKD) is the most frequent reason for hospitalization.
In 2007-08, regular dialysis for CKD was recorded as the principal diagnosis
in 989,000 (almost 1 million) separations 12.6% of all hospitalization in that
year.
At the end
of 2008, 10,062 people in Australia were receiving dialysis treatment.
Home Haemodialysis Patient
Numbers in each State/Territory at the end of December 2008:
NSW 467: Qld 191: ACT 23: Vic 204: TAS 8: SA 8: WA 27: NT 20:
Who
is at Risk?
People in the high risk area of having some form of Chronic Kidney Disease and
who should be having regular kidney health checks include:
Patients with diabetes
mellitus and hypertension
Individuals who
are obese or smoke
Individuals over
50 years of age
Individuals with
a family history of kidney disease, diabetes mellitus or hypertension
Key preventative measures
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The seven golden rules to note for prevention of chronic kidney disease, defined
and proven successful in protecting against both renal and cardiovascular disease:
Reduction of high
blood pressure - the lower the blood pressure, the slower the GFR decline
Specific medications
to reduce proteinuria as well as lower blood pressure - ACE inhibitors/ARBs
Reduce salt intake
to lower blood pressure
Control of glucose,
blood lipids and anemia
Stop smoking
Increased physical
activity
Control of body
weight
For more information on
Kidney Disease visit www.kidney.org.au
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