This Device Helps Improve Accuracy of Dialysis Catheter Placement

Patients on hemodialysis have to undergo vascular access procedures, typically arteriovenous fistulas or arteriovenous grafts. Some, though, are limited to tunneled cuffed catheters due to heart failure or poor cardiac reserve. Properly placing tunneled cuffed catheters can be challenging and failures can lead to serious complications such as clots and central vein thrombosis, in addition to having to repeat the placements. At the Okayama University in Japan, clinical researchers have developed a tool that helps to accurately place dialysis catheters and avoid repeat procedures. This can reduce the burden on patients, lower radiation exposure, since X-rays are often required during placement, and save clinics money in the process. The difficulty arises from the fact that patients’ bodies have different sizes and proportions, so the new device aims to overcome this matter and make catheter placement a bit more routine.