Development of a Single-Needle Dialysis Control Device to Improve Dialysis Efficiency

A single-needle dialysis (SND) control device was developed to improve the efficiency of SND. Vitamin B12 removal rates of controlled SND were compared with those of conventional single-needle dialysis (SND) and double-needle dialysis (DND) with and without an indwelling needle for 40 min under optimal conditions (blood flow 200 ± 4 mL/min, dialysate flow 500 ± 15 mL/min). Experimental results showed that vitamin B12 removal rate without an indwelling needle was 61.39 ± 1.43% for the DND, 47.62 ± 2.29% for the conventional SND, and 55.09 ± 0.48% for the controlled SND. The removal rate of vitamin B12 with an indwelling needle was 58.97 ± 1.05% for the DND, 38.17 ± 1.71% for the conventional SND, and 50.13 ± 0.30% for the controlled SND. The removal rate with an indwelling needle was lower than that without an indwelling needle, while the removal rate with controlled SND was significantly higher than that of the conventional SND, both with and without an indwelling needle, but not as high as that of DND. The increased vitamin B12 removal rate with controlled SND could be attributed to the continuously rotating blood pump. The developed single-needle dialysis device improves efficiency compared to conventional SND, reduces the burden of puncture on the patient compared to DND, and is easier to puncture with a single-needle compared to a double-needle.