To inspire creative solutions that will improve the treatment of kidney diseases, the first KidneyX Innovators Showcase was held on Saturday, October 29, 2018 at the American Society of Nephrology’s annual Kidney Week conference. The event was developed in coordination with the US Department of Health & Human Services Office of the Chief Technology Officer to spur innovation in the kidney space while building momentum among the kidney community and public for KidneyX's first prize competition.
To inspire creative solutions that will improve the treatment of kidney diseases, the first KidneyX Innovators Showcase was held on Saturday, October 29, 2018 at the American Society of Nephrology’s annual Kidney Week conference. The event was developed in coordination with the US Department of Health & Human Services Office of the Chief Technology Officer to spur innovation in the kidney space while building momentum among the kidney community and public for
KidneyX
's first prize competition.
Three companies presented pitches on how to improve the treatment of kidney diseases during the Showcase. GraftWorx first presented their remote monitoring solution that gathers clinically actionable metrics on vascular access and fluid status. GraftWorx noted that their system will enable clinicians to proactively manage each patient’s access health and fluid status by providing clinically actionable data and alerts in their workflow.
Miromatrix then presented on their efforts to eliminate the transplant waiting list by bioengineering new human kidneys using its patented perfusion decellularization and recellularization technologies. According to Miromatrix, perfusion decellularization is a patented process used to eliminate the native cells from a kidney donated from a pig, leaving behind an empty scaffold that is used to re-grow human cells. Miromatrix has used this process to re-line the vasculature with endothelial cells and have successfully transplanted these kidney grafts into pig recipients.
The final pitch was from Wearable Artificial Organs (WAO), Inc, which. pitched their Wearable Artificial Kidney (WAK). WAO, Inc. explained that their solution is a miniaturized, battery operated, light hemodialysis device to be worn under a patient’s clothes with no need to be tethered to a large machine in a dialysis center. The WAK removes enough phosphorus, water and sodium to allow patients to be free of phosphate binders with no limitation on food, salt or fluid intake.
Interested in submitting your own invention to improve the treatment of kidney diseases? Applications are being accepted through February 2019 for the first KidneyX prize: Redesign Dialysis.
Editor’s note: This blog does not reflect an endorsement of any companies mentioned on behalf of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
© 2021 American Society of Nephrology | All Rights Reserved
Powered by: PubFactory