Grant awarded to Ottawa Hospital researchers leveraging iPod Touch technology for novel approach to dietary self-management by dialysis patients
Baxter Corporation has announced Canadian researchers in Ottawa, Ontario as winners of a Baxter International Inc. clinical grant program.
The research project from the Ottawa Hospital Research Institute and the University of Ottawa will receive funding for research into a novel approach to dialysis patient care, leveraging Apple’s iPod Touch technology, to help patients with end-stage renal disease (ESRD) treated with peritoneal dialysis better manage their diets.
The Ottawa research project, led by project sponsor Dr. Peter Magner, and principal investigator Dr. Deborah Zimmerman, will receive $156,000 USD over three years for the development of a 'phosphate counting program' on an iPod Touch to simplify self-management of dietary phosphate by patients with ESRD treated with peritoneal dialysis.
According to the Kidney Foundation of Canada, an estimated 2.6 million Canadians have kidney disease or are at risk. The two leading causes of kidney failure in new patients are diabetes and renal vascular disease (including high blood pressure) . Early detection of chronic kidney disease can significantly reduce the risk of kidney failure and the need for eventual replacement therapy, which includes either transplant or dialysis. Peritoneal dialysis therapy, pioneered by Baxter, can give new patients a strong start to renal replacement therapy success. Self-management education and supports are essential to helping empower patients for success.
Dr. Zimmerman, a kidney specialist at The Ottawa Hospital, clinical investigator at the Ottawa Hospital Research Institute and associate professor of medicine at the University of Ottawa, explains: “People with end stage kidney disease have elevated blood phosphate levels that are believed to increase the risk of cardiovascular disease. To control blood phosphate levels, patients are counselled to watch their diet and to take phosphate binders with each meal, which reduce the absorption of phosphate into the bloodstream. We aim to develop a program that will assist patients in calculating the amount of phosphate binder that they need to take using a program on the iPod Touch handheld device. We are hopeful that empowering patients to take more control of their therapy will lead to enhanced quality and perhaps quantity of life.”
Attached is a press release from Baxter with additional details on the grant and Baxter’s grant program.