Dialysis mach. not needed. In every ER, ambulance, fire truck and military unit?
Any guesses as to the market size? WoweeZowee?
CytoSorbents Awarded $650,000 in SBIR Grant Contracts to Continue Development of Novel Hemocompatible Potassium Binding Polym......by the U.S. Army Medical Research and Materiel Command (USAMRMC)...that can rapidly treat life-threatening hyperkalemia in critically-injured warfighters, civilian patients, and patients with impaired kidney function, such as dialysis patients.
Lethally elevated levels of potassium, hyperkalemia:
"Hyperkalemia.....has also been recognized as a serious complication of combat injury since World War II, when hyperkalemia and acute kidney injury was associated with a mortality rate of 90%, and was a leading cause of post-traumatic death in the Korean War, until the advent of dialysis therapy.
"In the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, an estimated 5.8% of all combat casualties developed hyperkalemia within 48 hours of injury. Even in non-crush traumatic injury, severe hyperkalemia (>6 mmol/L) occurred in approximately 20% of patients. Hyperkalemia was also observed in approximately 16% of victims of natural disasters such as earthquakes, where crush injury is common.
"When the potassium level in the blood exceeds a concentration of 6.0 mmol/L (normal 3.6 - 5.2 mmol/L), the risk of heart arrhythmias and SUDDEN CARDIAC DEATH INCREASES SIGNIFICANTLY.
"Dialysis has been the definitive treatment of severe hyperkalemia, but requires a large dialysis machine, an electrical wall socket, bags of dialysate, a skilled technician, and prolonged treatment times that are not practical in certain situations such as far-forward or remote areas....
"our existing hemocompatible porous polymers with robust potassium binding technology to target rapid and sustained potassium reduction without the need for complicated dialysis," said Dr. Phillip Chan, MD, PhD, Chief Executive Officer of CytoSorbents.
"Our goal is to provide field medics with easy-to-administer solutions to acutely treat and stabilize wounded warfighters suffering from severe hyperkalemia as a result of massive trauma, burn injury, kidney failure, blood transfusions, and other conditions. These strategies could enable prolonged field care, particularly in far-forward situations where rapid evacuation is neither safe nor feasible.
"As a simpler, more rapid, and logistically friendly alternative to dialysis, we also envision our technology being used in emergency room or hospitalized patients with severe hyperkalemia, and helping victims of bombings, earthquakes, landslides and other mass casualty situations."
"Because of this, there is a significant worldwide need for an easy-to-administer but effective treatment of severe hyperkalemia.
