New hand-held device being developed for kidney dialysis patients

Kidney dialysis patients might no longer have to go through the hassle of monitoring their kidney health through the conventional treatment method for kidney failure — hemodialysis.\nA hand-held personal computing device for dialysis patients to monitor their health is in the early stages of development from collaborated research efforts between IU Informatics professors and IU-Purdue University Indianapolis medical researchers. Their research is designed to test whether the simple hand-held computing device can effectively give dialysis patients real-time feedback of their dietary intake.\nIndividuals suffering from renal (or kidney) failure have lost the normal filtering ability to remove excess minerals, fluids and waste products from their blood system. As kidney failure progresses transiently, harmful and toxic wastes eventually build up in the blood, causing an increase in blood pressure, which ultimately leads to kidney failure, according to the National Institutes of Health.\nDr. Michael Kraus, a nephrologist from the IU School of Medicine, said that because failed kidneys do not efficiently filter wastes from the blood, "dialysis patients need to avoid foods with potassium (fruits, juices, chocolates), phosphorus (dairy products, beans, cola products, potatoes, peanut butter) sodium (salt) and restrict fluid intake," to prevent kidney failure.\nAfter kidney failure has been diagnosed, hemodialysis is imperative for patients to maintain optimal kidney health. Hemodialysis is an artificial replacement of the kidneys' normal filtering ability. Patients would otherwise become chronically ill and would eventually die. Thus, hemodialysis is a life-saving therapy for persons with failed kidneys, said Janet Welch, an IUPUI nursing professor.\nKraus said hemodialysis involves "patients receiving dialysis treatments three times weekly for the rest of their lives or until successful kidney transplantation has taken place. They are hooked to a dialysis machine where (their) blood is cleaned for approximately four hours per session."\n"Since the therapy is only three times a week, it is not nearly as efficient nor as thorough as is normal kidney function," he said.\nThe hand-held computer device being developed by the IU researchers will improve the quality of life of dialysis patients by allowing them to have information about their food intake, Welch said. The information will allow them to make informed decisions about their diet throughout the day.\nShe said patients will be able to enter information about foods eaten, and the nutritional value and electrolyte composition of the foods -- such as levels of calcium or potassium -- will give immediate feedback to dialysis patients. This will allow patients to monitor their food choices while adhering to a restricted and nutritional diet.\nAccording to the National Institutes of Health, a dialysis machine's three primary functions are cleaning blood of toxic wastes; monitoring blood pressure and rate of waste removal from blood; and pumping clean blood back into the body.\nThe new hand-hand held computing device, if successful in modifying bad eating habits and improving dietary choices of dialysis patients, "can have a direct impact on the morbidity, and even mortality, of dialysis patients," Kraus said.\n"Controlling electrolyte composition — sodium, potassium and phosphorous — along with water intake directly affects blood pressure and weight gain between dialysis treatments," he said. "This impacts the quality of life of dialysis patients, prevents shortness of breath and could lead to a decrease in cardiovascular events, which is a major killer in dialysis patients."\nHe said the portable device will give real-time feedback, making it much more convenient and potentially effective than written food diaries, and more reliable than oral history.\nIn terms of the cost-effectiveness of the computing device, Welch said "the use of the hand-held computer will avoid healthcare costs, such as hospitalizations that may occur from dietary indiscretion or extra dialysis sessions for fluid overload."\nDr. Kraus said the device will be reasonably affordable for dialysis patients. But, he said those patients with a fixed or limited income would likely have problems affording the device.\nAlthough the device promises great hope to dialysis patients, Welch emphatically stated that the personal hand-held computing device is still in development and needs to be tested before the product can ever be released in the consumer market.\n"The prototype is almost developed," she said. "The product will need pilot testing and then formal testing will be required for efficacy of the device," she said.\nKraus also asserted that further research is definitely needed in fully developing an effective hand-held computing device for dialysis patients, and said "research plans include being able to scan barcodes to input data, and having a reliable and thorough update-able database will be essential to analyze what people buy and eat."\n"Ultimately, with this hand-held device, our goal is to educate patients about good food choices and help them make proper choices through monitoring their diets and providing them with a more standard dietary education," Kraus said.