Patients with kidney dysfunction now have an easier way to receive dialysis treatment at home.
The Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST) announced on the 1st that a research team led by Professor Kim Seong-jae of the Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering developed a compact peritoneal dialysis device that can be used as a portable artificial kidney, in collaboration with research teams from Seoul National University Hospital, the College of Medicine at Seoul National University, and Hallym University's Department of Convergence and New Materials Engineering. The research findings were published in the international journal "Journal of Nanobiotechnology" on the 29th.
Patients with kidney dysfunction must receive dialysis treatment because they cannot remove waste products from their blood themselves. As of 2023, the number of chronic kidney disease patients in Korea reaches 326,736.
Most patients receive treatment through hemodialysis. Hemodialysis involves inserting a needle into a fistula, which connects the patient's arteries and veins, to extract blood, which is then purified through a dialysis machine to remove waste products. For hemodialysis, patients must visit the hospital 2 to 3 times a week. Each treatment takes about 4 to 6 hours, causing significant inconvenience for patients.
While there is also peritoneal dialysis, many patients do not choose this method. Peritoneal dialysis involves inserting a tube into the patient's abdomen to remove fluid and waste products. It is simple enough to do at home, but the technology of the dialysis machine is still lacking.
The research team succeeded in improving the efficiency of the compact peritoneal dialysis device. Existing peritoneal dialysis systems require that the dialysate be changed 4 to 6 times a day and that used dialysate be discarded, causing significant inconvenience. The research team presented a technology that automatically purifies the dialysate by utilizing the phenomenon of "Ion Concentration Polarization," which moves ions and particles at high speed based on Coulomb force. This method also increased the efficiency of removing urea, a major waste product from the body, compared to existing electric dialysis methods.
The researchers tested the newly developed compact peritoneal dialysis device on a kidney failure mouse model, achieving an average waste removal rate of about 30% per cycle.
Professor Kim Seong-jae noted, "This research is significant not just for developing the latest compact dialysis technology but also for its broad potential impacts on improving patients' quality of life, expanding healthcare access, reducing medical costs, and advancing the medical device industry," and said, "If we integrate the innovative dialysis machine into artificial kidneys, patients with end-stage renal disease can achieve greater mobility and significantly improve their standard of living."
References
Journal of Nanobiotechnology(2025), DOI: https://doi.org/10.1186/s12951-025-03294-1