HP inkjet patent licensed for home dialysis

We've seen some impressive applications for the humble inkjet over the years, from printing solar cells to printing living ones. You might think it could be time to move on to something new, but if this latest use is any indicator your dusty old DeskJet still has some legs yet. Home Dialysis Plus has licensed HP's fluid management technology to enable mixing of dialysis solution and (internally pasteurized) tap water on the fly, automatically creating the appropriate concentration and removing human error from the equation. In another nod to printer tech, that solution will be distributed using cartridges that can be easily stored and dropped into the machine. It remains to be seen whether the company will also license HP's system of pricing cartridges higher than the device that uses them, but since refill kits are bound to be a little harder to find we're certainly hoping not.

[paragraph @ Oct 16th 2008 11:09AM]

Great!

I've been needing a home dialysis machine but don't have health insurance, now i can macguyver one together from a printer.

Thanks HP!

[Flashpoint @ Oct 16th 2008 11:13AM]

If your going to be building machines like this for the continuation of a human life - PLEAS EBUILD IT IN JAPAN, not in China.

I've noticed a tremendous decline in the quality of products from HP since manufacturing shifted from Japan to China. Lead paint and Melamine to name just a few.

[giuliop @ Oct 16th 2008 11:26AM]

The quality of manufacturing does not depend on the country. It solely depends on the manufacturer. There are very bad manufacturers in Japan and very good manufacturers in China. For example, all the iPods I've seen have been manufactured in China and, fainboism aside, there's no denying that they are high quality products. If their current China manufacturer is not good enough, they should simply switch to a better one.

[BigD145 @ Oct 16th 2008 1:10PM]

Quality is dependent on corporate and government oversight. It's not the same everywhere and it doesn't take much to cook your books.

[Boarderwoot @ Oct 16th 2008 11:18AM]

No worries, Save the planet and just go to Walgreene's and have them refill it for you.

[TIMMAH! @ Oct 16th 2008 11:21AM]

Yeah I can see the cartridge refill kits now...

[ace1000_x @ Oct 16th 2008 11:29AM]

Yes it is very Macgyvery......

Something like this is great and could save the lives or the people who suffer with conditions that require dialysis.

That is, until they start growing spare parts for humans.

[Drew @ Oct 16th 2008 12:50PM]

Or rather print spare parts.

[William Dowell @ Oct 16th 2008 11:59AM]

this would be awesome - for me and many others! fatastic cross-transfer of good work done by people. let's see how quickly - and how expensive... - all of this ends up being

[Chai G @ Oct 16th 2008 12:26PM]

Will it still be cheaper to simply replace the entire machine every time you need new cartridges?

[BigD145 @ Oct 16th 2008 1:11PM]

Yes. That's a standard in hospitals and printers.

[TVGenius @ Oct 16th 2008 5:31PM]

And don't forget, even if you don't use it for a while, the cartridges will still need to be replaced as if you used it daily.

[Neon Jebus @ Oct 16th 2008 1:11PM]

I wonder if it will tell you that it's running low on supplies nonstop for 1,000 treatments before it runs out?

[Chad @ Oct 16th 2008 1:54PM]

"It remains to be seen whether the company will also license HP's system of pricing cartridges higher than the device that uses them"

They already do. There are any number of pharmaceutical companies out there that will GIVE you a new glucose meter. The test strips run about $50 for a 25 count box or $2 a strip which adds up quick if you have to test 3-4 times a day.

[Kevin @ Oct 16th 2008 4:25PM]

The cartridges must be one hell of a size! I was on peritoneal dialysis at home for 4 years, 9 hours every night and I needed 19 litres each night. Now if we could make it work the other way you would not need to change the cartridges as often!

[silicon @ Oct 17th 2008 2:49AM]

A new kidney will probably be more affordable than the replacement cartridges.

[mke @ Oct 17th 2008 10:20PM]

Actually, there's affordable home dialysis that utilizes peritoneal lavage--the first form of renal dialysis developed--it's called Continuous Peritoneal Dialysis or CAPD. There's a history of renal failure in my mother's family--my maternal grandmother died before the end of WWII because peritoneal lavage was in the developmental stage and only available to the military. My mother and one of her brothers both suffered kidney failure. My mother, due to vision problems, was limited to hemodialysis. My uncle was fortunate to qualify for use of CAPD. Hemodialysis is very rough on the body--all of your blood is evacuated from your body and run through a filtering machine in a matter of hours. Blood pressure must be carefully monitored while patients are on hemodialysis because it can fall rapidly. A number of people have died while on the machines because they can and sometimes do malfunction and overheat the blood. CAPD is much safer and less stressful to the body. My uncle lived for 5 years on CAPD. My mother lived for less than 11 months on hemodialysis. CAPD is much, much less expensive, too.