Implant reduces risk of blood infection in dialysis patients

The so-called Hemova Port device, which has been designed to be implanted under the skin in a patient’s leg, would give a technician easy access to the patient’s bloodstream and could be opened and closed at the beginning and end of a dialysis procedure, helping to avoid infection and clotting. The device also includes a simple cleaning system, serving as yet another way to deter infections.

Currently, most dialysis access sites are in the arm or the heart. However, because the Hemova device is sutured to the leg’s femoral vein instead, it avoids the unnaturally high blood flows that cause vessel narrowing when dialysis machines are connected to veins and arteries in the arm. Hence the student inventors believe the Hemova Port’s leg connection should allow the site to remain in use for a significantly longer period of time.

The port received a $10,000 (£6,258) first prize for Johns Hopkins graduate students in the 2011 ASME Innovation Showcase. The competition, involving 10 teams, was conducted in Texas earlier this month at the annual meeting of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers.