Prize Winners
Winning Solution: iHemo - Intracorporeal Hemodialysis System
About the Solution
The Kidney Project is developing an intracorporeal hemodialysis system for self-care treatment within the home setting. The iHemo Dialysis System will allow people with kidney failure to obtain the benefits of frequent and prolonged hemodialysis sessions with the operational simplicity and ease of access of peritoneal dialysis. The iHemo features a compact, surgically implanted hemodialyzer (HemoCartridge) that can connect externally via transcutaneous ports to a portable, sorbent-based dialysate recirculation pump.
The HemoCartridge is constructed from high-efficiency, blood-compatible silicon nanopore membranes (SNM), which allow it to operate under cardiac perfusion pressure without a mechanical blood pump or systemic anticoagulation therapy. Moreover, the permanent vascular connections to the implanted HemoCartridge eliminate the need for repeated needle-based vascular access, thereby simplifying the hemodialysis procedure and reducing the risk of exsanguination due to accidental disconnect.
About the Winner
Shuvo Roy, PhD, is a bioengineer whose work focuses on smart medical devices, with an emphasis on implantable and wearable systems. He is Technical Director of The Kidney Project, a nationwide effort focused on creating a small, surgically implanted, freestanding bioartificial kidney to treat kidney failure. He is a Professor in the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) Department of Bioengineering and Therapeutic Sciences, a joint department of the UCSF Schools of Pharmacy and Medicine, and Director of the UCSF Biodesign Laboratory.
Dr. Roy is also a founding member of the UCSF Pediatric Device Consortium, whose mission is to accelerate the development of innovative devices for children’s health and the Engineering Lead for UCSF Surgical Innovations, and a faculty director of the UCSF-UC Berkeley Master of Translational Medicine program.
Dr. Roy earned a B.S. degree, magna cum laude, with general honors for triple majors in Physics, Mathematics (special honors), and Computer Science from Mount Union College in Alliance, Ohio. In 1995, he earned an M.S. in Electrical Engineering and Applied Physics and in 2011, he earned a Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering and Computer Sciences, both from Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio.
