A Bio-Artificial Liver

Inventions come in all shapes and sizes. Some are as simple as purple catsup. Others push the limits of quantum physics. The real measure of an invention is not just how well it works or how impressively it is engineered, but how it changes our lives. One such invention was the Artificial Liver developed in the year 2001. After 25 years of intensive research, there is still no effective treatment for fulminant hepatitis. Hepatitis causes more than one million deaths a year, according to statistics gathered by the World Health Organization. And, many of those who survive the hepatitis develop cirrhosis and chronic liver failure. The only treatment available for liver failure is liver transplant surgery; but donor organs are difficult to obtain, and the procedure, which is expensive and complex, is frequently unsuccessful. The liver is one of the most complex organs in the bodyand one of the hardest to replace. It removes toxins from the blood and manufactures up to 1,000 proteins, metabolites and other vital substances. One science journalist speculated that the equipment needed to simulate the functions of a single human liver would occupy a large office building. Unlike the heart and the kidneys, the liver is able to regenerate; many people who have suffered liver damage would survive if they could be supported by an artificial liver until their own livers heal. The device could also save the lives of hepatitis victims, and offer a means of survival for the millions of people whose livers are in failure. And, an artificial liver could support patients awaiting transplant surgery, or waiting for a new donor organ after a transplant has failed. A breakthrough occurred when Dr. Kenneth Matsumura took a completely different approach to developing an artificial liver. He designed a device that uses liver cells obtained from animals. Because the device contains both biological and manufactured components, it is called a "bio-artificial liver." The Bio-Artificial Liver developed by Dr. Kenneth Matsumura of Alin Foundation has a two-part chamberpatient's blood on one side, live rabbit cells suspended in a solution on the otherwith a semi permeable membrane in between. As toxins from the blood pass through the membrane, the rabbit cells metaboli ze them and send the resulting proteins and other good things back to the other side. Because the rabbit cells never come into direct contact with human blood, the chances of infection or rejection are minimized. A patient's blood circulates through this bio-artificial liver, where a unique synthetic membrane separates it from the animal cells. The bio-artificial liver typifies the dream of Alin Foundation's founders -- innovative technology bringing hope where none existed before. The bio-artificial liver was recognized as an Invention of the Year in 2001 by TIME Magazine