Comparison of Broadband Spectroscopy Techniques for Rapid Detection of Urea in Peritoneal Dialysis Fluid

Each year about 2 million patients worldwide are affected by kidney failure and find themselves in need of dialysis. While traditional hemodialysis is still used in most cases, peritoneal dialysis (PD) is becoming more prevalent with about 20-30% of patients in the developed world using this method. It offers several benefits over prior methods. Clearance tests are important to determine how effective the treatment is for the patient, and this requires accurate detection of urea in both the blood and used PD fluid.

Standard methods require lab tests with several days of turnaround, but broadband spectroscopy offers the ability to immediately determine urea concentrations and judge the efficacy of the dialysis procedure. This presentation covers a comparative analysis of UV, NIR, and Raman approaches for the rapid detection of urea in PD fluid, highlighting the benefits and hurdles around limits of detection and specificity in a complex mixture. Guenther touches on the components needed for these techniques as well as the subsequent signal processing to extract valuable information.

About the presenter
Derek Guenther has a bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering, with a minor in inorganic chemistry, from the University of South Florida (USF). His work at the USF Institute for Environmental Studies focused on novel silica-based algaecides targeting invasive species. Guenther’s strengths and passions lie in new chemical sensor development and spectral numerical processing. He has spent 15 years at Ocean Insight developing and supporting optical oxygen, pH, and SERS-based sensor products. Today he works with the strategic marketing and lab services teams helping customers achieve their goals.