Miniature Dialysis Machine For Babies Developed

Forget about approaching your spouse and letting her know that you have shrunk the kids (a reference there to the hit “Honey, I Shrunk The Kids” movie) – there is much bigger fish to fry in the real world. Doctors over in the land of pizza and pasta, Italy, have successfully designed a miniature dialysis machine that will specially cater for babies, and it was used for the first time in 2013 in order to save the life of a newborn infant girl.

In the past (as well as present, until this particular technology is adopted worldwide on a large scale, that is), doctors had to adapt standard dialysis machines for babies, but that move does come with its fair share of risks since such devices are not able to be tweaked accurately all the time. Approximately up to 2% of hospitalized infants do carry kidney problems which might require dialysis, a process that helps clean up toxins from the blood whenever the kidneys fail to work as they were originally created for.

Dr. Heather Lambert, a pediatric kidney specialist and spokeswoman for Britain’s Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health, shared, “Only a small number of (babies) need this treatment, but it could be life-saving.” Glad to know that there is now hope for the future, and we would like to see this unique miniaturized dialysis machine spread its influence.

Edwin Kee
Categories: Medical
Tags: Science