Bioconnect Systems, Inc

BACKGROUND IN VASCULAR ACCESS

The American Society of Nephrology and the US Renal Data Society have called end stage renal disease (ESRD) a “worldwide plague." In 2008, the worldwide population of ESRD patients will exceed 2 million, with over 1 million patients receiving hemodialysis. The worldwide incidence of ESRD is projected to increase by 7% annually for the foreseeable future.

In order to filter or "dialyze" the blood of an ESRD
patient, vascular access is required. At present, three
types of vascular access are predominant:
AV (arteriovenous) fistulas, AV grafts, and temporary
catheters. The basic approach to vascular access has
remained essentially unchanged with universally
unsatisfying results for the last 40 years.

Each access method has several limitations including:

High failure rates
Poor patency rates
High revision rates
Procedure complexity
Anatomical constraints
Operator dependency/variability