Abstract
Hemodialysis was used as an initial artificial kidney in 1913 and since then this system has been prevailing remarkably for renal failure treatment. However, new systems, hemoperfusion and hemofiltration, have been developed along with accelerated scientific progress. These three systems are based on diffusion, adsorption and filtration, respectively.
In terms of the solute-separation mechanism, the idea to regard device and patient as one united system is required. Therefore, two approaches have been adopted in our laboratory for the determination of solute-removal efficiency. One is in-vivo estimation by gel chromatography and amino acid analysis. The other is by mathematical simulation on solute-transfer with body-fluid compartment model. The compartment model has been improved by the use of routine clinical data. When solute-transfer can be simulated accurately by the model, most comfortable therapy for each patient will be decided under computer program.
