Baxter International Inc., Deerfield, Ill., announces U.S. FDA clearance of its next-generation Artificial Kidney 98 (AK 98) dialysis machine, which is designed to be a portable and easy-to-use system to administer hemodialysis (HD) treatments. AK 98 offers encrypted, two-way connectivity, which enables the system to pull prescriptions directly from the electronic medical record (EMR) for simplified workflow and data handling.

“We designed this latest version of our AK 98 system to help dialysis providers minimize the operational challenges that can come with administering multiple hemodialysis sessions per machine per day,” says Gavin Campbell, general manager of Baxter’s U.S. Renal Care business. “With our recent De Novo authorization of Theranova, our novel dialysis membrane, our latest innovations to support HD provide our customers with choices for therapy and treatment modality.”

Due to kidney failure, people with end-stage renal disease retain harmful toxins in their blood. During HD therapy, blood is passed through a dialyzer, which acts as the artificial kidney to filter toxins from the blood. AK 98 offers several key features to help dialysis providers efficiently manage HD treatment sessions across chronic dialysis and hospital care environments, including:

  • Automatic Alert Resolution, which enables the machine to self-clear already corrected pressure alarms and avoid unnecessary stoppage of treatment due to brief pressure fluctuations often related to patient movement. This helps streamline patient management by limiting direct exposure and number of redundant device interventions.
  • An intuitive, customizable user interface with app-like functionality designed to simplify prescription management and treatment supervision.
  • A fast, simple set-up process that can be completed by a technician or nurse, allowing for greater flexibility and utilization of staff time and resources.
  • A stable base design that allows for easy concentrate or portable reverse osmosis (RO) storage and transport with the machine.

AK 98 is a dialysis platform that builds on Baxter’s tradition of delivering advancements in the HD space, according to the company. AK 98 is currently used in more than 90 countries globally and will be available in the United States in the coming weeks.