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KidneyX competition: Sensors would capture new physiologic data during treatments
Technology that uses sensors to extract patient information online during dialysis was awarded $75,000 in funding from the KidneyX Redesign Dialysis Phase 1 competition.
Researchers at dialysis machine maker Outset Medical Inc. are developing sensors connected to its Tablo dialysis machine during the treatment. Incorporating and automating those sensors could avoid additional steps for the user or the need for additional equipment to obtain clinical data.
“Dialysis technology has changed little in 30 years and continues to rely on a cookie-cutter approach to treating patients,” Michael Aragon, MD, the company’s chief medical officer, said. “Other disease areas, such as cancer, heart failure and diabetes, have rapidly moved toward delivering more personalized treatments based on the underlying physiology of the patient. In dialysis, we have intimate contact with the same patient’s blood for over 600 hours a year while inducing significant, controlled physical and chemical changes. We need to use these data to tailor our approach and deliver a better patient experience and improved clinical outcomes.”
Outset said the proposed innovation would help monitor physiological parameters, such as blood volume status (absolute and relative), vascular access function (flow rate and circulation) and ultrafiltration rate.
“This is especially impactful in care settings, such as in-home or in-center self-care hemodialysis, where patients take on greater ownership of their therapy,” the company said.
“There are methods to check those parameters now, but we want to develop an automated system and simplify the process,” Aragon told Healio/Nephrology. The goal, Aragon said, “is always going to be personalization of the treatment. We want to develop the physiological parameters that can tell us what we want to do for that patient that day.”
Aragon said capturing the online data would be applicable for the Tablo in both acute care settings and outpatient settings. The company is conducting clinical trials with the Tablo in a home dialysis setting.
The Tablo System recently won a Gold Edison Award in the medical patient experience category. The Edison Awards recognize innovations at the forefront of new product and service development, marketing and human-centered design. – by Mark E. Neumann
Reference:
www.kidneyx.org/WhatWeDo/PrizeCompetitions/redesigndialysisphaseiproposal119
Disclosure: Aragon reports he is the chief medical officer of Outset Medical Inc.