World's First Implantable Artificial Kidney

Researchers at the University of California at San Francisco have developed a prototype for an artificial kidney:

The device, which would include thousands of microscopic filters as well as a bioreactor to mimic the metabolic and water-balancing roles of a real kidney[...]

The treatment has been proven to work for the sickest patients using a room-sized external model developed by a team member in Michigan. Roy's goal is to apply silicon fabrication technology, along with specially engineered compartments for live kidney cells, to shrink that large-scale technology into a device the size of a coffee cup. The device would then be implanted in the body without the need for immune suppressant medications, allowing the patient to live a more normal life.

The researchers hope to begin clinical trials in five to seven years.

Link via Gizmodo | Image: UCSF