Bionic Kidney – Goodbye To The Dialysis Machine. Scientists Have developed a Bionic Kidney!
Bionic Kidney
Natural remedies are indeed very powerful, but there are times when we have to turn to modern technology. Dialysis patients can’t live without the treatment, but their suffering is enormous.
Many of them must wait for years to get a kidney transplant and live normally, with seemingly no other solution on the horizon.
The Kidney Project At UCSF
However, there’s finally a light in the dark tunnel – scientists from the University of California at San Francisco, USA, have developed the world’s first bionic kidney which can replace damaged kidneys easily and effectively.
The bionic kidney is a perfect replica of our kidneys. It consists of numerous microchips and is moved by the heart. Like the normal kidneys, it is able to filter waste and toxins from the bloodstream.
And the project was unveiled by Willian Vanderbilt Fissels and Shuvo Roy from the University of California, offering renewed hope for millions of kidney dialysis patients.
Now, some of you may be wondering “But, what if the body rejects it?”, but, the scientists assure us that the chances of rejection are zero! Incredible, right?
This is because the bionic kidney is made from renal cells. The first prototype is the size of a coffee cup and can balance the levels of sodium and potassium in the body while regulating blood pressure.
And the project is wonderful news for any dialysis patient. In the beginning (November 2015), the scientists received $6 million from the Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering, and it’s safe to say that the money were well spent.
The scientists have high hopes for the bionic kidney, and the lead researcher, Dr. Victor Gura, says that the device will be available for sale in only 2 years.
Bioartificial Kidney Approved
The results of pre-clinical tests (described in Nature Biotechnology and Science) showed promise, the FDA approved a phase I clinical trial of the bioartificial kidney for treating desperately ill patients already in the ICU and receiving Continuous Venovenous Hemofiltration (CVVH) for acute renal failure along with other life-threatening conditions (such as sepsis, multiple organ failure, and acute respiratory distress syndrome). Normally, phase I trials test only to make sure the experimental device does no harm and is safe for further study.
But since there were no normal control subjects– you wouldn’t put a healthy person on CVVH– we garnered early efficacy data, as well.
The initial clinical trial was conducted on The University of Michigan and Cleveland Clinic and results were published in Kidney International:
