Notice of Publication of Article Related to Development of Artificial Intelligence (AI) to Support Safe Hemodialysis

Renascience has been developing software as a medical device (SaMD) leveraging artificial intelligence (AI) to support chronic hemodialysis treatment in collaboration with several medical institutions including Tohoku University and St. Luke’s International Hospital. We are pleased to announce that an interview about this project was published in the December 9, 2022 issue of Kagaku Shimbun (The Science News). Our collaborator, the Medicinal Hub of Tohoku University, was interviewed.

(Outline of this project)

There are approximately 350,000 patients receiving hemodialysis in Japan. The patients undergo hemodialysis three times a week for four to five hours per session to remove excess water and waste products from the body in place of their own kidneys. During hemodialysis, excessive water removal can cause side effects such as sudden decrease of blood pressure, which not only affects the quality of life of the patient but also places a heavy burden on the dialysis hospital.

In collaboration with several medical institutions, including St. Luke’s International Hospital, we have been developing SaMD utilizing artificial intelligence (AI) that is trained on dialysis therapy data by dialysis physicians. Starting this research in 2019, we have been working with physicians, AI researchers, medical device manufacturers with a coalition of the Tohoku University Medicinal Hub. Currently, we have built a unique algorithm based on deep learning, using medical data equivalent to 1% of hemodialysis patients in Japan. The algorithm is already capable of predicting sudden decrease of blood pressure during hemodialysis with about 90% accuracy. The prediction of the appropriate amount of water removal is also close to the level where it can be used in actual clinical practice. Ultimately, we would like to develop SaMD that supports optimal hemodialysis treatment for each individual patient by learning from the patient’s individual data. The SaMD will provide safe dialysis treatment for patients and reduce the burden on medical personnel involved in dialysis treatment.

To promote the overall AI project, we signed an agreement with Tohoku University in December 2021, on the development of the medical solutions through an open innovation. By establishing our research base “Tohoku University and Renascience Open Innovation Labo (TREx)” at the Medicinal Hub, we have been promoting more efficient research and development.

Please see the following link for the article in the Science News.