During the inaugural KidneyX Summit at the U.S. Institute of Peace in Washington, D.C., the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and the American Society of Nephrology announced 15 winning teams for Phase 1 of the KidneyX Redesign Dialysis prize competition.
Through a series of prize competitions offering cash awards and other incentives, KidneyX aims to accelerate the development of innovative medical products and approaches that can significantly improve the way we prevent, diagnose and treat kidney diseases.
“Programs like KidneyX have the potential to improve the lives of millions of people and save billions of dollars in healthcare costs. I’m impressed with the ambitious solutions proposed by the winning teams, and grateful for the entrepreneurs working to reimagine dialysis," said Ed Simcox, chief technology officer at HHS, in a prepared statement. "Supporting innovation in this space is a critical step in helping people suffering from kidney diseases.”
Phase 1 challenged innovators across a wide range of fields to submit a short proposal on approaches that could enable the design of new artificial kidney devices, extending life and improving quality of life. Of the 165 submissions received, the submission topics ranged from innovations in vascular access and fluid filtration to innovations in hemodialysis and biosensors.
The submissions were scored by more than 40 technical review teams comprised of patients and multi-disciplinary experts from government, industry and academia. The top-scoring submissions were then judged by a panel of nine experts in medicine, biomedical science and engineering, and commercialization. Fifteen winners were awarded monetary prizes of $75,000 each.
Phase 2 of Redesign Dialysis will start accepting submissions in fall 2019 and is open to all, including Phase 1 winners. In Phase 2, innovators will be asked to develop and demonstrate functional and testable prototypes that can replicate some or all kidney functions. Up to three winners will be awarded $500,000 each.
Here are descriptions of the 15 prize winners:
• University of Alabama—A non-invasive, wearable telehealth device to detect thrombosis and monitor vascular access health of arteriovenous fistulas and grafts in hemodialysis patients
• Qidni Labs Inc.—Air Removal System for a Wearable Renal Therapy Device
• Temple University—Atomically Precise Membranes (APM) for High-Flux and Selective Removal of Blood Toxins
• University of California, LA—Development of a Dialysate- and Cell-Free Renal Replacement Technology
• Outset Medical Inc.—Development of an Automated Multimodal Sensor to Improve Patient Outcomes in Hemodialysis
• Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, BioSurfaces Inc.—Drug-Eluting Electrospun Hemodialysis Graft
• Stanford University, Fluo Medical—Non-Invasive Venous waveform Analysis (NIVA) for Volume Directed Kidney Failure Management
• Mount Sinai Renal Research Institute—Improving intra-dialytic removal of protein- bound uremic toxin removal using binding competitors
• The Kidney Project—Intracorporeal Ultrafiltration System & Intracorporeal Hemodialysis System
• Access for Life Inc.—JEMTM - Sensor Enabled Hemodialysis
• Miromatrix Medical Inc.—New Kidney Grafts
• University of Michigan—Nitric Oxide-Eluting, Disposable Hemodialysis Catheter Insert to Prevent Infection and Thrombosis
• Binnovate Digital Health BV—RenalTracker
• University of Washington, Center for Dialysis Innovation—The Ambulatory Kidney to Improve Vitality (AKTIV) & Rethinking Dialysis Vascular Access
• Stanford University—Utilizing Optical Interrogation Methods for Early Diagnosis of Peritonitis in Peritoneal Dialysis Patients
