Inkjet News

Hewlett-Packard has agreed to license its patent on inkjet for use in a treatment system for people suffering kidney failure, according to HP’s director of IP licensing, Charlie Chapman.

HP will allow Home Dialysis Plus, a new company still gathering funding, to use HP’s “fluid management” technology used in inkjet printers.

HP uses it to create calculated mixtures of ink and water, which are then delivered through a printer to a piece of paper. Home Dialysis Plus will use it to mix tap water and concentrated dialysis solution at a level customized for patients that can be administered at home rather than at a treatment center.

Patients who must get clinical dialysis three times a week basically have to plan their lives around getting ready for the next treatment, according to HD Plus CEO Michael Baker. A home treatment is more ideal, but getting the correct mixture of water and dialysis fluids is hard and can be prone to human error.

Michael Baker says the HP printing technology solves that problem. “It allows us to create a mixture on the fly as treatment is occurring,” he said. The HD Plus system also uses the loading system one might find in a printer. Concentrated dialysis solution is contained in modules, like ink cartridges, that snap into the treatment system the way cartridges snap into a printer.

HD Plus says the product using HP’s technology is 18 months to two years from completion, at which time it will still have to pass FDA trials.

This in conjunction with Home Dialysis Plus, Ltd. ( HD+ ), signing of a licensing agreement with Oregon State University for exclusive global use of MECS technology in blood filtration and water treatment for dialysis.

Originally developed in the late 90s, Micro-scale Energy and Chemical Systems technology miniaturizes chemical processes using very small channels ( micro-channels ) in place of conventional piping. By shrinking designs down into micro-channeled devices, MECS technology eliminates excess, unused volumes of materials from the design and improves efficiency. To date, MECS technology has primarily been used in defense and energy applications.

Utilization of MECS technology will allow for a miniaturized, and more efficient dialyzer. Compared to a conventional dialyzer that requires 500-800 ml/min of dialysate to cleanse the blood, the HD+ dialyzer is expected to accomplish the needed level of toxin removal by using only 100 ml/min of dialysate.
According to original MECS co-inventor and OSU researcher, Kevin Drost, Ph.D., MECS dialyzer is a nearly perfect application for this technology given that the purpose of a dialyzer is to remove mass ( impurities ) from blood and transfer the impurities to a second fluid ( dialysate ). Reducing the size of a dialyzer and reducing the need for dialysate are both critical for home hemodialysis applications.”

HD+ will also leverage the capabilities of MECS technology for microbiological purification of the water that is used in the dialysis machine. A MECS heat exchanger with a built-in heater will pasteurize the water as it enters the machine, killing harmful bacteria in the water used in the dialysate. The micro-channel device is expected to enable HD+ to meet the AAMI standard for ultra-pure water while using marginal amounts of energy – a mere 75 watts.

HD+ will be working with the Microproducts Breakthrough Institute ( MBI ) in their commercialization effort. Specialists at “creating small technologies that solve big problems”, MBI experts rely on advances in nanoscience and nanotechnology to create cutting edge micro-solutions that bridge the gap between invention and application.

Filed under: Blogroll | Tagged: Home Dialysis Plus, inkjet dialysis, mecs |