Nextkidney, a Netherlands-based company that has developed the world’s first fully-portable haemodialysis device in the form of the NeoKidney, has raised €4.1 million in a new crowdfunding effort on the Oneplanetnow Dutch fundraising platform, co-led by the Generous Minds initiative. Planned to utilise only four litres of fluid per dialysis session, the device promises chronic kidney disease (CKD) patients “more freedom and a significant improvement in quality of life”.
The portable dialysis project “stems from the initiative of the Dutch Kidney Foundation and health insurers CZ, ZilverenKruis and Menzis”. The company describe the device as being in “the final stages of development”, with a working prototype already complete. Safety testing went underway in Singapore in April 2022, while clinical trials will take place in 2023 in both France and the Netherlands.
“We are investing in the portable artificial kidney and its introduction into healthcare because we believe that the portable artificial kidney dramatically improves the lives of kidney patients,” Joep de Groot, CEO of CZ, said. “The portable artificial kidney also contributes to a reduction in healthcare costs, partly because it requires less deployment of scarce medical staff. Thereby, this unique dialysis machine helps to keep healthcare in the Netherlands widely accessible for everyone.”
