Medicine artificial kidney machines

Medicine has made major advances in the past 50 or so years partly by the use of devices to improve patient health. These devices include artificial hearts and pacemakers, machines for artificial kidney dialysis, replacement joints for hips, knees, and fingers, and intraocular lenses. These devices need to survive in sustained contact with blood or living tissue. 

Heparin has been used in medicine and surgery for nearly 40 years and in this time has maintained a well-earned reputation as an effective and safe drug [1]. I may claim a share in this as I was a member of the research team at the University of Toronto which developed heparin for clinical use. The major clinical uses of heparin are for the prevention of thrombosis and the prevention of clotting of blood. Thrombosis is the complex plugging of blood vessels which can occur in veins after operation and child-birth and can occur in arteries as the result of diet, age and stress. Clotting of blood is a serious problem in the use of heart-lung machines, artificial kidneys, etc. and the prevention of this by heparin is most important. My presentation reviews points about this drug which indicates its actions are due to its polyelectrolyte nature. 

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