Lin
Joined: 28 Oct 2002
Posts: 337
Posted: Wed Feb 26, 2003 7:13 am Post subject: FYI Home hemo
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Just read this and wanted to share! Don't know the specifics yet. <
>www.enquirer.com/editions...eal25.html<
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>By Tim Bonfield<
>The Cincinnati Enquirer<
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>Four or five years from now, many of the estimated 370,000 Americans on kidney dialysis could start getting their treatment at home as a result of a contract announced Monday involving research from Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center. <
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>The licensing agreement between the hospital and BTG, a global technology company, ranks among the three biggest developments in the pipeline stemming from research at Cincinnati Children's, officials say. <
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>ABOUT DIALYSIS <
>? The treatment: Dialysis mimics kidney function by using machines to cleanse blood of waste, salt and excess water while balancing other chemical levels. <
>? The process: Most patients spend about four hours per session three days a week at a hospital, doctor's office or dialysis clinic. Some people have been trained well enough to do dialysis at home. <
>? The need: About 370,000 people are currently on dialysis in the United States. A few thousand people a year stop dialysis after getting a kidney transplant. But most people stay on dialysis for the rest of their lives. <
>? The cost: Insurers spend more than $18 billion a year on kidney dialysis. In Ohio, costs for a single dialysis patient can reach $65,000 a year. <
>Sources: National Kidney Foundation and Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center <
>The project involves producing and marketing an improved type of dialysis that adjusts itself to several measures of a patient's health during a four-hour dialysis session. <
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>If successful, the system would make home dialysis more practical by reducing the odds of human error and reducing the need for medical supervision. <
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>"This system makes the kinds of decisions that I would make in reaction to a patient's parameters," said Dr. John Bissler, the pediatric nephrologist who led its development. <
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>The product could be on the market within four or five years, pending availability of more miniaturized equipment and a review by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, said Joe Fondacaro, director of intellectual property and venture development at the hospital. <
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>The product could be available even sooner in some European countries, he said. <
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>Officials would not reveal their estimate of the potential commercial value of the system. <
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>But it could be significant because of the number of people on dialysis, according to the National Kidney Foundation. <
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>Nationwide, insurers spend more than $18 billion a year on kidney dialysis. In Ohio, costs for a dialysis patient can reach $65,000 a year, according to Cincinnati Children's Hospital. <
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