Nextkidney Nextkidney raised €4.1M for more freedom and a better life for kidney patients (2024)

FAQs

Is the wearable artificial kidney available? ›

The WAK™ was developed after decades of research. A device prototype has been clinically tested in Europe and the US, but it is still experimental and not currently FDA approved for public use. The WAK™ can be ergonomically adapted to the patient's body for maximum comfort while being worn.

Life expectancy on dialysis can vary depending on your other medical conditions and how well you follow your treatment plan. Average life expectancy on dialysis is 5-10 years, however, many patients have lived well on dialysis for 20 or even 30 years.

Home hemodialysis is the same kind of blood dialysis done in a hospital or community based unit, but it is done in your own home. The machine is a bit smaller and more user-friendly. It can be done for seven to eight hours while you sleep at night or during the day for three to four hours, five days per week.

When will clinical trials start? We estimate that the artificial kidney is about 4-5 years away from being ready for clinical trials from a technical perspective. However, we do not yet have all the funding we need (estimated at USD 10 million) to complete the preclinical development, so this timeline could be slower.

The artificial kidney device will fill a growing need for a replacement for dialysis, he says. “This device will allow patients to become much freer and more able to take more charge of their life and not focus as much psychologically on their treatment that currently takes over their lives.”

and INDIANAPOLIS, September 22, 2023 – The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved Jardiance^® (empagliflozin) 10 mg tablets to reduce the risk of sustained decline in estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR), end-stage kidney disease, cardiovascular death and hospitalization in adults with chronic ...

There is currently no way to reverse chronic kidney damage, so people with kidney failure need regular dialysis to replace kidney function. The only way to safely stop dialysis is through a successful kidney transplant.

Fluid overload occurs when there is too much fluid build-up in the body during dialysis, as the kidneys are no longer able to remove enough on their own. This can result in additional swelling, bloating, cramping, high blood pressure, shortness of breath and heart problems.

The risk is greatest during the first 3 months after starting dialysis. Annual mortality is around 9% per year with 40-50% 5-year survival. The main cause of death in patients receiving dialysis is cardiovascular disease, followed by infectious complications.

CRRT is a slower type of dialysis that puts less stress on the heart. Instead of doing it over four hours, CRRT is done 24 hours a day to slowly and continuously clean out waste products and fluid from the patient.

Do dialysis patients still use the bathroom? ›

Some dialysis patients who are on dialysis still urinate. These individuals require dialysis to clean their blood because of high creatine levels. Although their kidneys still make urine, the bean-shaped organs don't sufficiently remove toxins from the blood.

While there is no cure for kidney disease, there are ways to manage or treat it and 2023 had several exciting new developments in the advancement of drugs to treat kidney disease. These developments include FDA approvals for: A drug to slow down the decline of eGFR in people with kidney disease.

Scientists are using stem cells and 3D printing to develop kidney tissues to grow into fully functional organs. This advancement could lead to personalized kidney transplants, addressing donor shortages and reducing the risk of organ rejection. It's a significant step towards curing kidney failure.

Haemodiafiltration is a newer technique that combines haemodialysis with another filtration method that removes larger molecules from the blood. It's also a common treatment, but not as common as haemodialysis, and some countries like the US don't use it at all.

The bioartificial kidney is a compact, surgically implanted, free-standing device to treat kidney failure. It performs the vast majority of the biological functions of the natural kidney.

But unlike real transplanted kidneys, which have an average lifespan of 10 to 12 years, the artificial kidney can last indefinitely (new cells may have to be implanted through an injection or small port every two years.)

The United States Patent Office has issued a patent to Victor Gura, MD, FASN, for a wearable artificial kidney, and the nephrologist said he wants to begin a clinical trial later this year to test the third-generation device.

The bioartificial kidney will make treatment for kidney disease more effective and also much more tolerable and comfortable.” The aim is to produce a human-scale device to improve on dialysis, which keeps people alive after their kidneys fail but is a poor substitute for having a real working organ.