About

HemoCleanse, Inc. was formed in 1989 from Ash Medical Systems which was founded in 1983. These companies had the express purpose of making dialysis therapy safer, more practical and easier to implement in the home and other settings. Two men brought widely different but complementary experience to this company. Robert B. Truitt MSE, MBA brought extensive knowledge of how to create and manage businesses , as well as a solid engineering background that had made him a leader in the NASA Apollo Program and at Allen Bradley. Stephen R. Ash MD, FACP brought extensive knowledge of the practice of Nephrology as well as a history of innovation in the field of Nephrology, through his direction of the Hemodialysis Laboratory in the Bioengineering Department of Purdue University and research he performed with Dr. Pim Kolff at the University of Utah. With the help of numerous highly experienced engineers and scientists, HemoCleanse focused on application of sorbents to dialysis therapy. Sorbent regeneration of dialysate allowed creation of dialysis therapies that could remove various toxins specifically, minimize the need for water, and allow machines to be easily implemented in the home and other locations outside of the classic in-center dialysis unit.  A number of successful products resulted:

  • BioLogic-HD™ Sorbent Dialysis Machine (FDA approved for treatment of kidney failure in 1986)
  • BioLogic-DT™ “Liver Dialysis” Machine (FDA approved for treatment of hepatic coma in 1996)
  • Allient™ Dialysis Machine  (FDA approved for treatment of kidney failure in 2006)

Other sorbent applications have followed, including zirconium cyclo-silicate (ZS-9), an oral sorbent for treatment of hyperkalemia, which has recently completed Phase III clinical trials sponsored by our spin-off company ZS Pharma.

Dr. Ash also has practiced and innovated in the field of intervention, especially in the techniques of placement and maintenance of vascular and peritoneal access devices. Because of a growing need for training of Nephrologists and other specialists in interventional techniques, HemoCleanse has produced physical models  with advanced imaging techniques, including:

  • IJ Ultrasound Model
  • Endovascular Model
  • PD/Kidney Biopsy Model

These unique models have been used for preliminary training of physicians in interventional techniques at meetings of numerous societies around the world. They are described further in the Products section.