Ceramic Filter Could Transform Dialysis

A new, nano-porous ceramic filter offers patients the first major breakthrough in dialysis in the past 30 years.

The new ceramic filter has the potential to make kidney dialysis much more efficient, reducing the time required for a dialysis treatment by 30-60 minutes. Specifically, the new filter promises to double the amount of toxins removed during dialysis and to double the glomulellar filtration rate (GFR), or rate of toxin removal. GFR is 100% in a normal person but only 15% at best for a dialysis patient, a rate that has changed little in the past 30 years.

The ceramic filter's secret lies in its pores, which are organized in orderly rows and columns and which measure mere nanometers in diameter. These nanopores correspond more closely to the nano-sized toxins in the blood than do the larger pores of the standard dialysis filter. The polymeric pores vary in size, and when viewed with a microscope, appear in random arrangements of ovals, circles, slits, and other shapes. The ceramic filter is under development at EMV Technologies (Bethlehem, PA, USA).

"Our goal is to double the amount of toxins removed during dialysis and to double GFR,” said the filter's developer William Van Geertruyden, Ph.D. "We base our confidence on the superior porosity of our medium. If we can improve the efficiency of filtration, we can improve mortality rate and quality of life.”

The new filter could also alleviate the stress resulting from the fast blood flow required to remove toxins and finish a dialysis treatment in four hours. Using the new filter will reduce the strain on hospitals and clinics equipped to do dialysis.


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