Development of a Novel Liver Dialysis Device

点击翻译按钮获取中文摘要

Unlike kidney dialysis machines, there is not an effective equivalent device for patients with liver disease, to replace liver detoxification functions. The aim of this project is to develop such a device which will be safe, effective, inexpensive and readily available to patients suffering from varying forms of liver disease. The device is based on a discovery made by our group recently. Albumin is a protein that is present in our blood stream and responsible for transport of waste products from other parts of our body to the liver for detoxification. We have discovered that the albumin in the blood of patients with liver disease is irreversibly damaged; meaning that it is not able to carry toxins therefore allowing them to build up in the body which aren?t removed by the liver. We have identified that currently available liver dialysis type devices fail to remove the toxins effectively because they do not remove the damaged albumin. In our proposal, our device is able to replace damaged albumin with healthy albumin hence improving toxin removal. We are hoping that successful completion of this project will lead to clinical trials after which the device will be available to patients in near future.