Blood purification

Loughborough University researchers are hoping to develop a new blood purification system to help improve the quality of life for thousands of dialysis users.

A number of clinical conditions such as the loss of kidney and liver function result in increased concentrations of toxic substances in the blood. The high levels of these molecules, which arise through the natural metabolic process as well as from an activated immune system, makes sufferers ill and forces them to spend considerable amounts of time in hospital.

One of the main treatments for people with this condition is haemodialysis. In haemodialysis the patient’s blood is passed through a filter, known as a dialyser, which contains a semi-permeable membrane. The patient’s blood flows along one side of the membrane and on the other side there is dialysis fluid. This fluid is made up of ultra pure water and salts mimicking the ionic composition of blood plasma.