The influence of increased peritoneal membrane surface area on dialysis adequacy.

The adequacy of peritoneal dialysis is generally dependant on the choice of peritoneal fluid, the intraperitoneal fill volume and the contact time. Moreover, the peritoneal surface area acts as a major factor in the exchange dynamics of a peritoneal membrane. We designed a mechanism to increase the membrane surface contact area by using an abdominal belt in order to exert enough pressure on the fill volume, to effectively recruit more area in contact for exchange.