Abstract
When compared with conventional kidney hemodialysis, peritoneal dialysis (PD) has advantages such as maintaining stable physiological blood status and blood pressure, alleviating anemia, and improving mobility, which make it an ideal method for at-home (even on the road) dialysis treatment. However, a serious drawback of PD is the potential for infection of the abdominal lining (peritonitis), which can discourage people from using PD. Since PD can involve up to 4–5 fluid exchanges per day that require connection and disconnection of a tube to a catheter, there can be a substantial risk of infection. This infection risk creates a barrier to the use of PD and prevents people from enjoying the benefits of convenience and portability that PD can provide. This study proposes an assistive holder for PD patients that helps reduce the possibility of contamination during connection and disconnection of dialysis solution exchange bags. This PD assistive holder is low-cost, lightweight, and disposable. The holder is compatible with existing PD procedures and it can be used by touch only, for people with impaired vision. The PD assistive holder enables patients to care for themselves at home and improves the functionality and portability of standard PD systems.
