Produzione di accessi vascolari per pazienti emodializzati tramite l'utilizzo della tecnica del 3D printing

The number of patients with end-stage kidney disease keeps steadily raising, with a vascular access been a haemodialysis (HD) patient’s lifeline. A vascular access (VA) lets large amounts of blood flow continuously during HD treatments to filter as much blood as possible per treatment. A well-functioning VA, is a mainstay to perform an efficient HD procedure. There are three main types of access: native arteriovenous fistula (AVF), arteriovenous graft (AVG), and central venous catheter (CVC), with AVF remains the first choice for chronic HD. Once autogenous options have been exhausted, prosthetic fistulae become the second option of maintenance HD access alternatives. The native AVF, remains the first choice for VA, especially because of the infectious and thrombotic complications more frequently associated with AVGs and CVCs. The aim of this project is to develop the next generation of the two types of vascular access that currently are used for long-term, AVF and AVG, by using 3D printing.