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.