Unmet Need
Approximately 600,000 patients in the United States today are on hemodialysis. In order for long-term applicability of hemodialysis, either arteriovenous fistulas (AVF) or arteriovenous grafts (AVG) are utilized. AVFs utilize the patient’s own vein and AVGs are artificial conduits that allow long-term access to the patient’s blood flow and supply. AVFs require at least 2-3 months of maturation time prior to needle access in order to allow the vein to increase caliber. Alternatively, AVGs require at least 3-4 weeks to allow the surrounding tissue to adhere to the external surface. During the maturation period, the patient is unable to undergo dialysis due to the high risk of complications. However, many patients require immediate and early dialysis, and the current early access AVGs on the market have poor handling characteristics. They degrade quickly and do not last as long as conventional grafts. Thus, there is a need for a better, more durable graft so that patients can be dialyzed early and safely.
Technology Overview
The inventors have created a novel hybrid graft that allows for early accessibility and longevity through accurate puncture of small targets on the AV graft comprised of early puncture fabric. After the maturation time, the early access areas will be abandoned, and the rest of the graft will be used for access. The graft will be mostly compromised of conventional puncture graft fabric. The early puncture fabric will be coated with a fluorescent pigment. After implantation of the graft, when dialysis is required, the coated graft segment will be located with black light, allowing accurate access of the early puncture graft. As it will be easy to differentiate between graft components, the smallest possible area of the early puncture graft will be utilized, thus reserving the majority of the graft for the more resilient conventional graft fabric. The inventors also believe that this photo-assisted targeting mechanism can be integrated into implantable ports, which could aid in the delivery of chemotherapeutics. Chemotherapy is usually administered through subcutaneous ports, and this invention would make percutaneous access more accurate, and less prone to complications.
Stage of Development
The invention is currently in the prototyping phase.
