Wearable artificial kidney to keep blood electrolytes balanced
Immobilized ion receptors for maintaining electrolyte homeostasis with acellular wearable artificial kidneys
A team is developing a lightweight, non-living wearable device that keeps sodium, potassium, bicarbonate and other electrolytes at healthy levels for people with kidney failure.
Quick facts
| Grant type | R01 grant |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | Utah State Higher Education System--University of Utah NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Salt Lake City, United States) |
| Project ID | NIH-11298211 on NIH RePORTER |
What this research studies
If you have kidney failure and spend hours in dialysis, this project is building a small wearable device that continuously keeps your blood electrolytes balanced. The researchers are creating and tuning special immobilized ion receptors that selectively capture or release specific cations and anions to match healthy blood levels. They will test these receptor modules in laboratory and preclinical models using blood or dialysate-like fluids to prove they can maintain stable electrolyte balance. The long-term goal is a safe, scalable acellular wearable artificial kidney you could use at home instead of only having thrice-weekly in-center dialysis.
Who could benefit from this research
Good fit: Ideal candidates would be people with advanced chronic kidney disease or end-stage kidney failure who require dialysis and have ongoing electrolyte management needs.
Not a fit: This approach may not benefit people with mild kidney disease managed without dialysis, those who cannot use extracorporeal or wearable devices, or patients needing immediate transplant care.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, this could allow people on dialysis to have continuous, home-based electrolyte control, improving quality of life and potentially survival.
How similar studies have performed: Previous attempts at wearable artificial kidneys struggled with weight and safe electrolyte control, so the specific receptor-based approach is novel and largely untested in humans.
Where this research is happening
Salt Lake City, United States
- Utah State Higher Education System--University of Utah — Salt Lake City, United States (Active)
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Pierre, Valerie C. — Utah State Higher Education System--University of Utah
- Study coordinator: Pierre, Valerie C.
About this research
- This is an active NIH-funded research project — typically early-stage science, not a clinical trial accepting patient enrollment.
- Some NIH-funded labs run parallel clinical studies or seek volunteers for related work. To check, contact the principal investigator or institution listed above.
- For full project details, budget, and progress reports, visit the official NIH RePORTER page below.