A new low-cost dialysis invention may save millions of lives each year, say judges of a global competition.
Vincent Garvey, a retired British engineer with no medical background, was unveiled as the winner on Thursday, World Kidney Day.
The Affordable Dialysis Prize was established by The George Institute for Global Health, the International Society of Nephrology and the Asian Pacific Society of Nephrology.
Inventors were asked to develop a dialysis system which works just as well as a conventional approach, but runs off solar power, can purify water from any source, has low running costs and can be sold for less than a thousand dollars.
Professor Vlado Perkovic, from the George Institute in Australia, said millions of people globally are missing out on dialysis treatment for kidney failure.
"Dialysis has been with us for more than 50 years but there has been no great leap forward in its design or, more importantly, its cost, remaining hugely expensive and out of reach for millions of sick people," he said.
"It's been a long time coming but this invention just might be the radical overhaul we've all been hoping and waiting for."
Work has begun on building a prototype, with animal trials hopefully starting next year and human trials within two to three years, he said.
Kidney Health Australia's CEO, Anne Wilson, told AAP the invention could be a "brilliant game-changer" if it delivers the anticipated outcomes at a low cost.
Recent research in The Lancet revealed while more than nine million people in the world need dialysis for terminal kidney failure only 2.61 million currently get this life-saving treatment.
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