5 ms·

The Kidney Project: Creating a Bioartificial Kidney

37 points by axson 10y ago

reasonattlm 10y ago
To add some sense of time and scale here, an article on the same project from 2010: http://www.sfgate.com/health/article/UCSF-team-working-on-artificial-kidney-3166374.php http://www.sfgate.com/health/article/UCSF-team-working-on-ar... Bioartifical kidneys are nowadays competing with the organoid approach. For chemical factory and filter organs, the artifical organ doesn't have to look anything like the real thing in order to perform at least some of its functions. So for example, now that researchers can forge tiny functional kidney organoids ( http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/protex.2015.087 http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/protex.2015.087 ) they can chain these things together into useful structures for implant or use inside biomaterial enclosures. There is definitely a spectrum between materials science and biology, with hypothetically practical devices possible at all points and the line between device and organ very blurry. The biology end is putting more competitive pressure on the materials science end these days.
- axson 10y ago
  "with hypothetically practical devices possible at all points and the line between device and organ very blurry." Yes this is certainly very interesting. For someone like me who works clinicaly in dialysis care it is fascinating to follow. Will this project succeed? If so, how will the dialysis medical care change? Maybe there will be no need for dialysis in the future.
Tharkun 10y ago
The video states that dialysis doesn't perform all the tasks of a healthy kidney. If that's the case, then wouldn't a better dialysis machine be a more logical first step? That removes the size issue from equation.
- axson 10y ago
  Yes, but that wouldn't take away the decline in quality of life for dialysis patients. They still would have to go to a dialysis clinic 3 times a week for treatments.
  - rue 10y ago
    A better dialysis machine might be portable?
    - axson 10y ago
      There is at least one portable machine on the market. http://www.nxstage.com/homehemodialysis http://www.nxstage.com/homehemodialysis
    - olliej 10y ago
      There are much bigger problems due to secondary infections caused by the /permanently/ implanted tubes required for regular dialysis. The tubes also need to be frequently opened and used for self/manual dialysis that may be needed on a regular every-7-hours kind of way. A friend of mine had his kidneys fail and he was on manual dialysis every 7 hours or something, every day, and could never miss ine. Once due to a power cut he had to drive 3 hours to get to a working microwave because he had to heat the fluid bags to body temp before using them.
grondilu 10y ago
Yesterday I learnt that cats have such efficient kidneys that they can re-hydrate by drinking sea water. I wonder what would happen if an artificial kidney was capable of doing that.
gumby 10y ago
Vanderbilt seems to be further along (not that it's a contest, strictly speaking, but in the interest of science, and for those who like contests): http://www.vckd.org/bioartificial-kidneys http://www.vckd.org/bioartificial-kidneys and the always-risky-university-press-office version: http://news.vanderbilt.edu/2016/02/vu-inside-dr-william-fissell’s-artificial-kidney/ http://news.vanderbilt.edu/2016/02/vu-inside-dr-william-fiss... Disclaimer: I went to school with the PI

37 points by axson 10y ago

To add some sense of time and scale here, an article on the same project from 2010: http://www.sfgate.com/health/article/UCSF-team-working-on-artificial-kidney-3166374.php http://www.sfgate.com/health/article/UCSF-team-working-on-ar... Bioartifical kidneys are nowadays competing with the organoid approach. For chemical factory and filter organs, the artifical organ doesn't have to look anything like the real thing in order to perform at least some of its functions. So for example, now that researchers can forge tiny functional kidney organoids ( http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/protex.2015.087 http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/protex.2015.087 ) they can chain these things together into useful structures for implant or use inside biomaterial enclosures. There is definitely a spectrum between materials science and biology, with hypothetically practical devices possible at all points and the line between device and organ very blurry. The biology end is putting more competitive pressure on the materials science end these days.

axson 10y ago
"with hypothetically practical devices possible at all points and the line between device and organ very blurry." Yes this is certainly very interesting. For someone like me who works clinicaly in dialysis care it is fascinating to follow. Will this project succeed? If so, how will the dialysis medical care change? Maybe there will be no need for dialysis in the future.

Tharkun 10y ago

The video states that dialysis doesn't perform all the tasks of a healthy kidney. If that's the case, then wouldn't a better dialysis machine be a more logical first step? That removes the size issue from equation.

axson 10y ago
Yes, but that wouldn't take away the decline in quality of life for dialysis patients. They still would have to go to a dialysis clinic 3 times a week for treatments.
- rue 10y ago
  A better dialysis machine might be portable?
  - axson 10y ago
    There is at least one portable machine on the market. http://www.nxstage.com/homehemodialysis http://www.nxstage.com/homehemodialysis
  - olliej 10y ago
    There are much bigger problems due to secondary infections caused by the /permanently/ implanted tubes required for regular dialysis. The tubes also need to be frequently opened and used for self/manual dialysis that may be needed on a regular every-7-hours kind of way. A friend of mine had his kidneys fail and he was on manual dialysis every 7 hours or something, every day, and could never miss ine. Once due to a power cut he had to drive 3 hours to get to a working microwave because he had to heat the fluid bags to body temp before using them.

grondilu 10y ago

Yesterday I learnt that cats have such efficient kidneys that they can re-hydrate by drinking sea water. I wonder what would happen if an artificial kidney was capable of doing that.

gumby 10y ago

Vanderbilt seems to be further along (not that it's a contest, strictly speaking, but in the interest of science, and for those who like contests): http://www.vckd.org/bioartificial-kidneys http://www.vckd.org/bioartificial-kidneys and the always-risky-university-press-office version: http://news.vanderbilt.edu/2016/02/vu-inside-dr-william-fissell’s-artificial-kidney/ http://news.vanderbilt.edu/2016/02/vu-inside-dr-william-fiss... Disclaimer: I went to school with the PI