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Artificial Kidney

Bioartificial kidney covered in SF Chronicle, KQED Forum

The San Francisco Chronicle ran a front-page story Nov. 16 on the implantable, bio-artificial kidney project being led by UCSF bioengineer Shuvo Roy, PhD, an associate professor in the UCSF School of Pharmacy. The article includes quotes from Roy; Tejal Desai, PhD, UCSF professor of Bioengineering and Therapeutic Sciences; and from a UCSF patient. It also details how the device is intended to work, with a filtration section to remove toxins from the blood, alongside a compartment with renal cells to conduct other functions of a normal kidney, such as regulating levels of metabolites. The device is hoped to be ready for clinical trials in five to seven years, and is being developed by a multi-center team of engineers, biologists and physicians nationwide.

Ultimately, the team hopes to eliminate the need for kidney dialysis, which is used by 350,000 Americans at an annual cost of $75,000 apiece to treat kidney failure, but which is only partially effective. Roy said the number of dialysis patients has been growing up to 7 percent each year, with a quarter of those patients dying each year awaiting a kidney transplant. The project represents one of many at UCSF that are using cross-discipline collaborations to tackle some of the most pressing healthcare issues.

For additional coverage including links and video clips visit UCSF's News Center.

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