Tablo Dialysis Review: Outset Medical’s Tablo Hemodialysis System has received FDA approval for home use. Outset Medical is a major innovator in medical technology, offering first-of-its-kind technology to the growing global dialysis market. A new home approval for Tablo’s comparable dialysis equipment allows acute and chronic care facilities to utilize it in the home for the first time.
Outset Medical’s CEO, Leslie Trigg, claims that “Tablo was built to make dialysis more accessible to patients, allowing them to benefit from the safety, convenience, and flexibility of dialyzing at home. We are glad to provide this new, life-enhancing option to dialysis patients and professionals as a result of COVID-19-related concerns. More than 500,000 people in the United States get dialysis three or more times a week, which takes around four hours on average. Every year, around 100,000 new patients begin treatment. Only 12% of the population, however, receives it at home, where they are more relaxed, productive, and powerful.
Tablo’s launch coincides with the outbreak of COVID-19 and a renewed national focus on home dialysis as a means of improving patient outcomes and lowering expenses. In mid-2019, President Trump and Secretary of Health and Human Services Alex Azar issued an Executive Order to help Americans with renal failure. By 2025, the goal was to have 80% of new dialysis patients start treatment at home or receive a kidney transplant. The emergence of Covid-19 has enhanced the need for current in-center dialysis patients to be able to treat themselves at home.
SUCCESSIVE PROCEEDINGS
In a multicenter, 30-patient home hemodialysis trial concluded in 2019, the Tablo device was proven to be safe and effective. The findings were published in November of this year in Hemodialysis International, a peer-reviewed journal. “My patients, colleagues, and I are excited that Tablo is now available for home usage,” stated the University of Nebraska Medical Center Division of Nephrology Chief and Associate Professor in the School of Medicine at Omaha’s University of Nebraska Medical Center. The research showed that the device is easy to use and works well in the home.
Patients who are able to undergo hemodialysis at home, in my opinion, will be able to better manage their own life and care.” One of these patients is Richard Crawford, a 62-year-old technology consultant from Texas. He has a 17-year-old kidney transplant and is currently on the transplant waiting list. Over the years, he’s had tens of thousands of dialysis sessions, both in clinics and at home. He was able to dialyze and work at home thanks to Tablo, which he found simple to operate.
“The Tablo trial’s eight-week home phase was eye-opening,” he said. I used the system to save time because it was so easy to set up and operate. I was able to work at my desk while receiving therapy in order to maximize my productivity. I was able to obtain a new degree of independence because of the system’s ease of setup and maintenance. “I attempted to persuade them not to return the Tablo after the conclusion of the trial. I was heartbroken the last time I saw it.”
The outset will begin a phased deployment of Tablo at selected sites over the next few months to ensure the greatest possible training and support for Tablo home patients. As a result of COVID-19, dialysis treatments will be in higher demand in health systems, hospitals, and clinics. You may read more about the company’s services for both patients and clinicians at www.outsetmedical.com.
Technology that has received Accolades
The KidneyX Redesign Dialysis Competition, a collaboration between the US Department of Health and Human Services and the American Society of Nephrology, is one of the most innovative approaches to combat kidney disease. Outset’s winning solution aims to improve patient outcomes by developing personalized dialysis treatments by merging data from Tablo’s sensors and automated systems with patient physiologic data.
Tablo is a dialysis treatment that promises to reduce expenses and complexity. It was founded in Silicon Valley. Because it only requires an electrical outlet and running water to work, the mobile Tablo device saves patients and doctors money on clinic infrastructure. The system has an animated touchscreen in addition to wireless data and sensor-based automation. The US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has awarded Tablo a contract to employ Tablo in disaster-stricken areas as a result of natural disasters.
In addition, Outset’s Tablo System received the renowned Gold Edison Award in the category of medical patient experience recently. The Edison Awards honor innovations in product and service development, marketing, and human-centered design. The nominees were judged by over 3,000 top corporate executives, professors, and specialists in product development, design, engineering, science, and medicine. Tablo received the Gold Award for being the clear winner in its category.
OUTSET MEDICAL SERVICES, INC. CONCERNING OUTSET MEDICAL SERVICES, INC.
At Silicon Valley-based Outset Medical, technology-driven service model innovation aims to cut costs and improve the patient care experience. The FDA has authorized the Tablo System from Outset for use in acute, chronic, and at-home care settings. More information is available at www.outsetmedical.com, and you can also follow the company on Twitter at @OutsetMedical.
In a box, water Treatment
A large water treatment room is required for the operation of traditional dialysis machines in a clinic. When it comes to cleansed water, “Water is a significant concern,” Trigg stated. It is necessary to link machines that pump blood via the dialyzers to pipes in a wall, which leads to a water processing facility in the back of the clinic, where large vats are stored of purified water and dialysis solution, she said.
Methods
Our human factors testing included 15 healthcare professionals (HCPs) and 15 patients after the introduction of the TabloTM Hemodialysis System training program definition. One training and one testing session were held in a simulated clinical scenario for each participant. There was an hour-long pause between sessions for patients and healthcare providers to allow for knowledge degradation. According to conventional performance and safety-based criteria, we documented the behavior and data of the participants during the testing session.
Findings It was determined that a total of 15 health care professionals (HCPs) met the criteria for the study, with 10 of them being registered nurses and five of them being patient care technicians. Two patients, both 48 years old, had minor restrictions, including partial deafness in one ear and one-eye blindness. Out of a total of 1,710 chances for errors, HCPs made an average error rate of 4.4 per session, whereas patients made an average error rate of 2.9 per session. HCPs and patients did not commit safety-related errors that required mitigation despite receiving only minimal training. Rather, small errors and operational issues were observed.
Discussion
An easy-to-use, self-care system like the TabloTM Hemodialysis System may allow patients to perform home hemodialysis in environments previously linked with poor hemodialysis outcomes. The procedure has been reduced to a water treatment facility in a box by Outset, which has eliminated all of the infrastructures. As a result, patients can store their dialysis medicine and filtered water within Tablo, which transmits data in real time.
