The trouble with hemodialysis is that you need an access port to extract the patient's blood and feed it into the dialysis machine, then return it. There are several common access ports that are routinely used, described in more detail here. The access port however can get infected, become sore and irritating, and lead to blood clots being formed. They can fail of the course of a patient's treatment and need replacing. Now a new type of access is available.
The new system, created by a set of former students and staff at the world famous Johns Hopkins Hospital, is claimed to be less troublesome and be longer lasting than other techniques. The new system, called the Hemova Port, has progressed to the animal trial stage after two years of development work. The special feature that is hoped to reduce problems is that it is only interacting with the flow of blood during dialysis sessions. It is claimed that this will lead to improved patient safety and treatment outcomes. The device sits just under the skin. It has a built-in cleaning loop, and is said to be usable much sooner than normal fistulas or grafts. It should benefit patients on long term treatment who have suffered from damaged access points.
The group have received several grants and awards to fund their research. Their website can be found here
