Research round-up: Innovation that moves kidney care forward

Fresenius Medical Care’s (FME) 2025 research and development efforts reflect a decisive shift toward precision medicine, data‑driven innovation, and global collaboration in the treatment of chronic and end stage kidney disease (ESKD). Guided by a strategy that integrates advanced technologies, regional market needs, and strong academic and industry partnerships, we continue to expand our impact across the kidney care continuum.

Highlights from 2025 showcase how the Renal Research Institute (RRI) and Clinical Research within the Global Medical Office are translating scientific discovery into meaningful improvements in patient outcomes. From AI‑enabled clinical tools to next‑generation dialysis technologies, these initiatives underscore a shared commitment to elevating the standard of care for patients worldwide.

1 Home dialysis may offer significant clinical and lifestyle benefits to patients with kidney failure, yet adoption is increasing slowly due to multifactorial barriers. In a study conducted by the Renal Research Institute, a subsidiary of FME, advanced machine learning techniques were applied to characterize the predictors of home dialysis utilization, using a wide range of demographic, clinical, and treatment-related variables.

Published in Kidney Medicine, this work demonstrates the potential of AI-driven tools to enhance individualized modality selection and support shared decision-making between patients and care teams. These innovations aim to improve home dialysis penetration by matching the right therapy to the right patient, advancing both quality of care and patient empowerment.

Read the study here: Home Dialysis Prediction Using Artificial Intelligence.

2 Dialysis, at its most fundamental, is the act of cleaning the blood to remove toxins. A recent study explored whether dialyzers with larger pore sizes, which allow the clearance of larger toxins, also allow beneficial molecules to escape. Using a unique ex vivo system, the research compared the protein loss in both high-flux and medium cut-off (MCO) membranes.

The findings consistently show a higher protein loss – up to 9-fold – with MCO membranes. This work is a significant step forward in understanding the nonselective nature of dialysis and raises important questions for future bioinformatic analyses and clinical studies.

Learn more about this study in this Research in Brief: Protein loss with high-flux and medium cut-off membranes.

3 Understanding the clinical impact of AI-driven decision support is crucial. This study from the Renal Research Institute evaluates the association between the use of an AI-based Anemia Control Model (ACM) and patient outcomes in dialysis care in Germany. 

Published in BMC Nephrology, the analysis demonstrates that consistent use of ACM tools was associated with both economic and patient improvements. These findings highlight the potential for AI-driven clinical support to meaningfully improve care delivery and patient outcomes, while also offering a scalable approach to integrating predictive analytics into everyday nephrology practice.

Learn more here: Health-economic evaluation of an AI-powered decision support system for anemia management in in-center hemodialysis patients.

4 Nutrition plays a vital role in the well-being of patients with kidney disease, necessitating a personalized approach to address their unique dietary needs. The Renal Research Institute is leveraging generative AI to enhance precision nutrition strategies, considering medical, socio-economic, and cultural factors for a highly diverse patient population.

The initial results from this work have been published in the Journal of Renal Nutrition and presented at international conferences, showcasing the potential of AI-driven solutions to improve dietary guidance and overall patient care.

Read the initial results here: From bytes to bites: application of large language models to enhance nutritional recommendations.

5 People on dialysis continue to face elevated rates of hospitalization and mortality. Recent clinical evidence, including results from the CONVINCE trial and pooled analyses, has shown that hemodiafiltration (HDF) may offer advantages over conventional hemodialysis, particularly in reducing mortality risk.

To further explore HDF’s broader clinical impact, a large real-world study compared HDF with high-flux hemodialysis across 71,669 patients treated in 659 Fresenius Medical Care centers in 23 countries in Europe, the Middle East, and Africa between 2019 and 2022. This study found that HDF may help reduce hospitalization burden for individuals with ESKD, especially hospitalizations related to cardiovascular complications and fluid management issues.

These findings add to the growing evidence base indicating that HDF provides a wide range of clinical benefits: improving survival, supporting better overall health outcomes, and enhancing the quality of care for people on dialysis.

Learn more about this study in this Research in Brief: Hemodiafiltration and hospitalization burden in end stage kidney disease.