The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of the Chief Technology Officer and the American Society of Nephrology have selected 15 winning teams for Phase 1 of the KidneyX Redesign Dialysis  prize competition. Through a series of prize competitions offering cash awards and other incentives, KidneyX aims to accelerate the development of innovative medical products and approaches that can significantly improve the way we prevent, diagnose, and treat kidney diseases.

Phase 1 challenged innovators across a wide range of fields to submit a short proposal on approaches that could enable the design of new artificial kidney devices, extending life and improving quality of life. Of the 165 submissions received, the submission topics ranged from innovations in vascular access and fluid filtration, to innovations in hemodialysis and biosensors. The submissions were scored by 40+ technical reviewers comprised of patients and multi-disciplinary experts from government, industry and academia. The top scoring submissions were then judged by a panel of nine experts in medicine, biomedical science and engineering, and commercialization. Fifteen winners were awarded monetary prizes of $75,000 each.