In September 2019 we needed to practice how we would connect, run, and disconnect a dialysis patient and perform real-time data acquisition on the Derby Royal Hospital Renal Unit. So we ran a series of exercises to formalise how the workflow would be implemented. No dialysis actually taking place, but everything was practiced. Many thanks to my able assistant Elke-Louise Crump, and to the Renal Unit’s Dr Bethany Lucas who would work with me in the early delivery of the observational study. Recognition also needs to be given to the nurses and technicians of the Unit.

What’s astonishing was how much equipment we used then, compared to today’s tiny edge computer, the cloud and an iPad dashboard

Following on from this activity, we commenced the iTrend patient study, which has now performed hundreds of 4-hour treatment observational studies.

iTrend (Intelligent Technologies for Renal Dialysis) is currently in its 4th iteration and runs until 31st October 2026. It has been funded by the MStart Trust and Kidney Research UK via a Stoneygate Award