UL researchers win patent for AV graft Medical researchers at the University of Limerick (UL) have won US patent protection for their invention of a blood vessel graft used in dialysis.
Patients with kidney failure must be attached to a dialysis machine to clean their blood, but the connections made using blood vessels in the arm are prone to infection and breakdown.
Tim McGloughlin, Michael Walsh and Pierce Grace of UL developed a Prolong AV Graft that extends the life of the graft, thus reducing the need for follow-up repeat surgery. Their design is currently undergoing pre-clinical trials in the US.
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