Fresenius Medical Care Demonstrates Advances in Kidney Care Using Artificial Intelligence and Connected Home Therapies

WALTHAM, Mass., Oct. 23, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Fresenius Medical Care North America (FMCNA), the nation’s leading renal care company, today announced the presentation of 71 abstracts at the 2018 American Society of Nephrology’s (ASN) Kidney Week Symposium. The company’s clinical experts demonstrate multiple advances in kidney care that improve patient outcomes, especially around artificial intelligence and connected home therapies.

“We are committed to the highest level of patient care and quality across our entire portfolio of products and services,” said Bill Valle, chief executive officer of Fresenius Medical Care North America. “Through sophisticated machine learning and predictive models, we are finding new and better ways to personalize care that will enhance the patient experience and improve outcomes.”

The annual symposium is the most influential gathering of kidney professionals in the world, drawing more than 13,000 physicians, scientists and healthcare professionals from over 100 countries. It is being held this year from Oct. 23 – 28 at the San Diego Convention Center in San Diego, Calif.

“We are especially excited about our work to improve the connectivity of our home product portfolio that is increasing engagement and outcomes for this growing patient population,” said Franklin W. Maddux, MD, chief medical officer and executive vice president of clinical and scientific affairs for Fresenius Medical Care North America. “We are committed to making home therapies an option for as many patients as possible.”

Highlights of key Fresenius Medical Care presentations at the 2018 ASN Kidney Week include:

• Using Artificial Intelligence to Help Predict Imminent Hospitalizations in Patients with ESRD. This quality improvement endeavor is exploring the utility of a predictive model with more than 1,500 variables to identify the patient’s probability of a hospitalization within seven days of a hemodialysis treatment. This poster presentation will be given by Andrew Long, Ph.D. on Friday, Oct. 26 from 10:00 a.m.-12:00 p.m. (FR-PO791).

• Using Machine Learning to Help Predict Elevated Serum Phosphate Levels in Patients with ESRD. This project uses advanced analytical methods in an effort to predict when hemodialysis patients will likely have high phosphate levels in the next month. This poster presentation will be given by Andrew Long, Ph.D. on Thursday, Oct. 25, from 10:00 a.m.-12:00 p.m. (TH-PO203).

• A Machine Learning Model to Predict Patient Risk of Peritonitis Episodes. This quality improvement work is exploring the ability of a new model to predict peritoneal dialysis patients at a higher risk of being diagnosed with peritonitis in the next month. This poster presentation will be given by Thomas Blanchard, Ph.D. on Thursday, Oct. 25 from 10:00 a.m.-12:00 p.m. (TH-PO408).

• Associations Between Use of a Patient Portal with Hospitalization Rates and Modality Failure in Peritoneal Dialysis Patients. This effort explores the clinical impacts of utilizing a new connected health technology that allows peritoneal dialysis patients to chart their treatment records and care teams to actively track patients’ health status. This poster presentation will be given by Carlos Muchiutti on Thursday, Oct. 26 from 10:00 a.m.-12:00 p.m. (FR-PO686).

• Smartphone-Based Point-of-Care Diagnostics for Early Detection of Peritonitis. This research study evaluated the sensitivity of a newly developed smartphone-based system to measure turbidity in peritoneal dialysis fluid using the light sensor of a smartphone. This poster presentation will be given by Nadja Grobe on Wednesday, Oct. 25 from 10:00 a.m.-12:00 p.m. (TH-PO397).

In North America alone, Fresenius Medical Care’s research and quality improvement efforts involve the contributions of more than 1,000 employees. FMCNA collects substantial amounts of data during routine treatments, including data on more than one million patients, more than 300 million dialysis treatments and more than one billion medication administrations and laboratory results.

For more information on FMCNA at the 2018 ASN Kidney Week, visit FMCNA.com/ASN.

About Fresenius Medical Care North America
Fresenius Medical Care North America is the premier healthcare company focused on providing the highest quality care to people with renal and other chronic conditions. Through its industry-leading network of dialysis facilities, outpatient cardiac and vascular labs, and urgent care centers, Fresenius Medical Care North America provides coordinated health care services at pivotal care points for hundreds of thousands of chronically ill customers throughout the continent. As the world’s largest fully integrated renal company, it offers specialty pharmacy and laboratory services, and manufactures and distributes the most comprehensive line of dialysis equipment, disposable products and renal pharmaceuticals. For more information, visit the FMCNA website at https://fmcna.com.

Media Contact:

Fresenius Medical Care North America
Brad Puffer
Director of Public Relations
brad.puffer@fmc-na.com
(781) 699-3331

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SOURCE Fresenius Medical Care Holdings, Inc.