Xcorporeal
is focused on the commercialization of renal replacement devices. These
devices remove unwanted chemicals, toxins and excess fluids from the
blood, thus replacing many of the essential functions of the damaged
kidney. Unlike other renal replacement devices currently on the market,
the Xcorporeal devices are user friendly, lightweight, portable and
eventually wearable, providing patients with continuous treatments (as
opposed to intermittent) and allowing them to achieve a quality of life
closer to that of a healthy individual.
Renal Replacement Therapy
Hemodialysis is a
process by which uremic waste is removed by the passage of blood
through a filter. The filter is made of a complex arrangement of
semi-permeable hollow fibers which increase the effective surface area
for fluid and waste exchange. Blood flows
continuously through the hollow fibers while dialysate (waste absorbing
fluid) flows in the opposite direction in the dialysate chamber. Due
to differences in the concentration of metabolic wastes between the
blood and dialysate compartments, molecules smaller than the pores of
the membrane diffuse from the blood across the membrane to the
dialysate compartment.
A major disadvantage of currently marketed
hemodialysis machines is the large volume of dialysate that is required
(30 - 120 liters). The Xcorporeal renal replacement products utilize
sorbents to regenerate the dialysate and thus afford a considerable
reduction in the amount of dialysate required for each treatment. Waste
products in the dialysate are removed by passage through a column of
sorbent resulting in the regeneration of fresh dialysate. The company
has, in addition, reduced the size and weight of the device making it
portable and eventually wearable.
Hemodialysis removes uremic
toxins through the diffusion of small molecular weight uremic toxins
across a semi permeable membrane from the blood into the dialysate
compartment. However, diffusion is ineffective at removing middle
molecular weight uremic toxins. Therefore, hemofiltration which
utilizes convective clearance was developed. With this technique, blood
is filtered across a highly permeable membrane and toxins are removed
by convection and solvent drag. In order to avoid volume depletion, a
highly purified, non-pyrogenic fluid must be re-administered to
patients to replace the waste laden ultrafiltrate that is removed. The
advantages of this treatment modality include improved cardiovascular
stability and enhanced removal of middle molecular weight uremic
toxins.
