I won the Ichimura Prize!

Tokyo-based Toray Industries has received this year's prestigious Ichimura Award for Outstanding Achievement for its development and commercialization of an antithrombotic artificial kidney
.

Toray said it used its core nanotechnology and computational chemistry capabilities to create an artificial kidney using a polysulfone membrane that has improved antithrombotic properties in line with advances in dialysis treatment
.
This technology helps improve the quality of life of patients with chronic and acute renal failure, while reducing the workload of medical professionals
.

The Ichimura Industry Outstanding Achievement Award is administered by the Ichimura New Technology Foundation, and this year is in its 54th year
.
The award aims to reward developers or groups who have contributed to the advancement of the industrial field through Japanese technology
.
The foundation also provides funding for research and development of science and technology projects
.

Artificial kidneys remove waste products from the blood of people with kidney disease
.
The dialyzer mixes polysulfone with hydrophilic polyvinylpyrrolidone for antithrombotic properties
.
To improve their performance, Toray employs a proprietary assumption in the polymer design process, focusing on computational chemistry of how adsorbed water interacts with polymers
.
This study discovered a new antithrombotic polymer that inhibits platelet adhesion better than polyvinylpyrrolidone
.
Toray went on to develop and commercialize artificial kidneys based on this technology for chronic and acute renal failure
.

The technology has been used in several products that improve patient quality of life and clinical efficiency, including Toraylight NV hemodialyzers, Toraylight HDF and Toraysulfone NV hemodialysis filters, and HEMOFEEL SNV, which provides continuous and gentle blood filtration
.