Technology Innovations in Continuous Kidney Replacement Therapy: The Clinician's Perspective

Continuous kidney replacement therapy (CKRT) has improved remarkably since its first implementation as continuous arteriovenous hemofiltration in the 1970s. However, when looking at the latest generation of CKRT machines, one could argue that clinical deployment of breakthrough innovations by device manufacturers has slowed in the last decade. Simultaneously, there has been a steady accumulation of clinical knowledge using CKRT as well as a multitude of therapeutic and diagnostic innovations in the dialysis and broader intensive care unit technology fields adaptable to CKRT. These include multiple different anticlotting measures; cloud-computing for optimized treatment prescribing and delivered therapy data collection and analysis; novel blood purification techniques aimed at improving the severe multiorgan dysfunction syndrome; and real-time sensing of blood and/or filter effluent composition. The authors present a view of how CKRT devices and programs could be reimagined incorporating these innovations to achieve specific measurable clinical outcomes with personalized care and improved simplicity, safety, and efficacy of CKRT therapy.