From 9–12 September 2026, researchers from the Artificial Kidney Innovation Lab travelled to Iași, Romania, for the 52nd Congress of the European Society for Artificial Organs (ESAO). Tadeo Alcerreca Valdez, Tuğrul Irmak, Karin Gerritsen, João Brás and Jeroen Vollenbroek represented the lab at the congress, which brought together researchers, clinicians and engineers working on the next generation of artificial organs.

This year’s theme, “From Bench to Bedside and Back Again,” closely reflected the work presented by the Artificial Kidney Innovation Lab team. Across several sessions, the group shared research ranging from new strategies for removing uraemic toxins to ultrathin dialysis membranes, computational modelling and the design principles of future implantable artificial kidneys.

Improving the removal of difficult uraemic toxins

One of the challenges in dialysis is the removal of protein-bound uraemic toxins. Because these toxins are strongly attached to proteins such as albumin, only a small fraction is readily available for removal during conventional dialysis.

Jeroen Vollenbroek presented work on a preclinical testing and validation pipeline for new approaches aimed at improving the removal of these toxins. The pipeline connects rapid laboratory screening with increasingly realistic dialysis experiments and preclinical evaluation, creating a structured route for identifying promising treatment strategies.

João Brás approached the same problem from another angle. Using mathematical modelling, his work explored whether a short, local increase in blood temperature inside the dialyser could temporarily release more toxins from albumin and thereby improve their removal. The modelling results suggest that this approach could enhance the removal of several protein-bound toxins, although further experimental work is needed to investigate its safety and feasibility.

Together, these projects illustrate how modelling, experiments and preclinical testing can be combined to accelerate the development of improved dialysis therapies.

Towards smaller and implantable dialysis devices

Another major focus in Iași was the development of portable and implantable artificial kidney technologies.

Tadeo Alcerreca Valdez presented work on ultrathin silicon nanopore membranes and their potential use in an implantable dialyser. These membranes can be dramatically thinner than conventional dialysis membranes and can be manufactured with tightly controlled pore dimensions, making them attractive for compact devices.

His work combined membrane development with computational modelling of a complete miniature dialyser. The models explore how membrane properties, device dimensions and blood-flow conditions interact and help identify configurations that could provide effective toxin removal within the size and physiological constraints of an implantable system.

Tuğrul Irmak presented a complementary, system-level perspective. His research examined what architecture an artificial kidney would need in order to reproduce kidney-like transport while remaining compatible with physiological blood pressures, flow rates and anatomical dimensions.

The results highlight an important challenge: an implantable artificial kidney cannot simply be a smaller version of a conventional dialyser. Achieving kidney-scale performance will likely require highly parallel flow structures, carefully designed blood distribution and the integration of filtration with selective reabsorption and electrolyte control.

Connecting engineering with clinical needs

Karin Gerritsen and Jeroen Vollenbroek also contributed to the wider scientific programme through chairing sessions devoted to portable and implantable kidney replacement technologies.

Karin spoke in the symposium “Advances in Portable, Wearable, and Implantable Artificial Kidneys,” discussing novel sorbent technologies for home dialysis. Sorbents can regenerate dialysis fluid, potentially reducing the large volumes of water required in conventional haemodialysis. This is an important step towards smaller home, portable and wearable dialysis systems.

Across the congress, a common message emerged from the Artificial Kidney Innovation Lab contributions: creating better kidney replacement therapies requires progress at many levels simultaneously. New membranes need to be integrated into carefully engineered devices. Improved toxin-removal strategies require reliable experimental validation. And future artificial kidneys need to combine high performance with haemocompatibility, physiological operation and practical dimensions.

For the Artificial Kidney Innovation Lab team, ESAO 2026 was an opportunity to share progress across these interconnected research areas, exchange ideas with the international artificial-organs community and further develop collaborations.

The work presented in Iași contributes to a shared long-term goal: kidney replacement therapies that are smaller, smarter and less burdensome for patients — ultimately bringing artificial kidney technologies closer to everyday life.