A Wearable Arm Patch: An Alternative To Kidney Dialysis

A wearable nanofiber mesh has been developed which is being deemed a cheaper and convenient alternative to dialysis, the current treatment for kidney failure.  Patients with kidney failure experience an inability to filter waste products prior to conversion to urine.  The need for treatment, such as dialysis, is essential in these instances.  However, a new study, published in the Biomaterials Science journal, has revealed a cheaper way to filter these toxins by the creation of a mesh which can be worn on the patients arm.

The research team from the International Center for Materials Nanoarchitectonics (MANA) of the National Institiute for Material Science, Japan, say that the issue with kidney dialysis equipment is its expense and lack of availability in poorer regions.  The instance of natural disasters and possible interruptions to power supply are also cited as reasons for developing a reliable and compact alternative for emergency situations.  Materials used for the new product are a combination of polyethylene-co-vinyl alcohol (EVOH), and zeolites-aluminosilicate minerals made of aluminium, oxygen, and silicon. Electrospinning, an economical form of extracting fibers from liquids, has been used to develop the mesh. An exact measurement of each component required to absorb creatinine was analysed and successfully developed. The team concluded that the fibers prove able to remove nitrogenous waste from the blood without using specialized dialysis equipment. Ongoing development is required, but it is thought that the mesh could be tailored to be worn on the patients’ arm, an option which is both convenient and inexpensive. In a 2013 edition of Medical News Today a study on the creation of an artificial kidney was reported. The kidney is thought to be able to remove waste from the body in the same way as a normal functioning kidney.