NEW YORK—The Wearable Artificial Kidney (WAK) will offer patients across the world suffering from kidney failure freedom from endless hospital appointments— and hospitals the chance to save on resources—states a new report by medical industry experts GBI Research.

The new report shows the growing prevalence of diabetes and hypertension, alongside an increasingly large elderly population, has meant that doctors have encountered a rapid growth in the number of patients suffering from End Stage Renal Disease (ESRD), which has put pressure on burgeoning healthcare budgets. However, the lucrative market these patients represent for dialysis device manufacturers has led to the development of the WAK, the latest innovation to provide patient care on a global scale.

One in 10 adults are at risk of chronic kidney disease (CKD), totaling roughly 500 million people worldwide, and the rising diabetic population is increasing the prevalence of diabetic nephropathy, which is a leading cause of CKD and ESRD. Serious kidney damage demands medical attention, and the WAK is the latest treatment option, offering continuous dialysis treatment to patients with ESRD by using nanomaterials such as carbon nanotubes to imitate normal kidney function.

Individuals gain a dramatically improved quality of life, as treatment requires minimal patient intervention. WAKs are fully automated, battery operated, lightweight, waterproof, do not restrict lifestyle or diet, and eliminate normal dialysis procedures, which can take up to four hours, three times a week. WAKs also avoid the sudden electrolyte imbalances associated with timed dialysis, and recycle bodily fluids to reduce protein loss and eliminate water loss, providing ESRD patients with safer care.

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