Article:
For patients with renal disease and renal failure, dialysis machine is a lifesaver, literally. Since its development in the first half of the 20th century, advances in dialysis technology has since made this common treatment for thousands of patients. Without functioning kidneys, a patient would have died before. Now, life can be prolonged while the patient waits for a kidney transplant, which often involves a wait of several years. What is dialysis?
Dialysis, hemodialysis, more specifically, is the process of filtering blood of toxins and waste artificially. This function is normally performed by the kidneys, which in a process 200 quarts daily blood and removing about 2 liters of water and waste. For patients with renal disease or acute renal failure, dialysis machines are essential to save and prolong life.
The blood is pumped from the body into the dialysis machine that separates and filters toxins and waste products by returning cleaned blood to the body. The separation is achieved by means of a liquid known as dialysis, which is separated from blood through a semipermeable membrane allowing toxins and waste to be removed.
dialysis Early pioneers
The term "dialysis" was first used by Thomas Graham, a professor at Glasgow, in 1861 he created a semipermeable membrane of parchment paper coated with albumin, and was able to observe that crystalloid could pass through it.
The first experiments were conducted in hemodialysis with animals in 1913. machine created was dubbed an "artificial kidney" and was used successfully. She has never been attempted in human patients. The creators, however, noted that the machine may be useful in the treatment of human patients, particularly those with kidney damage or failure.
Human dialysis was first performed by George Haas of Germany in 1924 Dialysis lasted only 15 minutes, and no complications were observed or reported.
First dialysis machine
Dr. Willem Kolff is commonly recognized as the father of the dialysis machine. He began research in 1930 and built the first dialysis machine tumble in 1943 Working under scrutiny in Nazi occupied Holland, he built the first machine of common items, including a washing machine, cans of orange juice and skins sausages.
The first results were of limited success until, in 1945, a woman in uremic coma regained consciousness after 11 hours in the Kolff machine. By the end of World War II, Kolff had built five of their dialyzers, which he donated to hospitals around the world before moving to the United States to continue his research.
Longer term dialysis
Due to the need to access the blood each time a patient underwent dialysis, physicians in the early days not considered a viable long-term treatment. This problem was initially solved by Dr. Belding Scribner with his invention of the Scribner Shunt. The shunt has a U-shaped device used to connect plastic pipes to the artery and vein accessed between dialysis treatments. This allows medical practitioners to utilize the same access time required for each dialysis be performed. For some dialysis has become a daily treatment. Even today, dialysis patients are treated at least three to four times a week.
Next Steps
great advances have been made in the second half of the 20th century in the area of dialysis, including the introduction of home dialysis in 1960 This allowed relatives to help a patient to receive daily treatments without having to visit the hospital or doctor's office. An alternative type of dialysis, known as peritoneal dialysis has also been developed. In this process, the dialysate was injected into the abdomen and the filtered blood from the blood without having to be removed from the body.
Today, the focus seems to be to make smaller and more readily available dialysis machines. Research and development is ongoing about the potential of a "wearable kidney," a small, portable device used externally dialysis. This advance would be a huge step forward for dialysis patients, giving unto them the freedom and mobility to be away from home and even travel, which is difficult with a bulky dialysis machine or when you have to go to the hospital several times per week.