Innovations in Nephrology : Breakthrough Technologies in Kidney Disease Care

Our world is facing unprecedented technological development, which affects all the sectors of society. The 4th industrial revolution has brought numerous advances that are currently integrated in our daily life, including artificial intelligence (A.I.), internet of things (IoT), genetic engineering, 3D-printing and robotics. The health care sector is one of the most impacted by these technologies of the so-called digital era. From the simple advent of medical records to robotic surgery, health care has significantly changed from the XX to XXI century and is constantly changing, incorporating novel technologies. Nephrology is itself an innovative branch of medicine, created as a discipline in the 1960s, with breakthrough inventions, such as the dialysis machine, which made it possible to prolong life of those who suffer from chronic kidney disease; kidney transplant, with point-of-care immunosuppression that favours maintenance of kidney allografts for long years; kidney biopsy, which made it possible to discover the mysteries of glomerulonephritis and nephropathology.

Novel technologies, such as A.I., IoT, robotics, stem cells, 3D-printing, mHealth, eHealth and several others are starting to be applied in nephrology, with promising results. It is possible that a great part of these technologies will become routinely available in clinical practice, and the burden of kidney diseases will significantly decrease once prevention, prediction, detection, monitoring and treatment of kidney diseases are more precise, with patients taking part in the process and becoming more and more connected.

This book gathers essential information on the technologies that have been applied in nephrology and that can be applied in the future, with real possibilities of improving the care of kidney diseases. At first glance, this work is directed to the entire nephrology community and all the healthcare professionals that deal with kidney diseases. Researchers from different fields, not directly linked to nephrology, may also be interested in the book since many of the topics presented are related to other areas and serve as examples of their uses in medicine, such as artificial intelligence, robotics, and big data. Finally, the content provides an important resource to medical students, discussing technologies that will certainly be integrated in their professional practice.

Geraldo Bezerra da Silva Junior is a physician and nephrologist. After studying at the School of Medicine of the Federal University of Ceará (UFC) he completed residencies in clinical medicine at César Cals General Hospital, Fortaleza, Brazil and in nephrology at the Walter Cantídio University Hospital of the UFC. He also holds a specialist degree from the Brazilian Society of Nephrology (SBN) / Brazilian Medical Association (AMB), and a Masters and PhD in Medical Sciences from the UFC. He also completed a postdoctorate in Public Health (Epidemiology) from the Federal University of Bahia (UFBA). He is a Full Professor of Medicine and Postgraduate Programs in Medical Sciences and Public Health at the University of Fortaleza (UNIFOR), Adjunct Professor of Medicine at the Federal University of Ceará (Brazil), and a member of the Brazilian Society of Nephrology (SBN), Latin American Society of Nephrology and Hypertension (SLANH), the International Society of Nephrology (ISN) and the Young Physician Leaders Program of the National Academy of Medicine in Brazil. Further he is a Productivity Scholar of the Brazilian Council for Scientific and Technological Development (CNPq), PQ-1D.

Author of the Springer book Tropical Nephrology (2020).

Masaomi Nangaku is a vice dean and a professor and head of the division of nephrology and endocrinology, the University of Tokyo Graduate School of Medicine. He is President Elect of the International Society of Nephrology and Immediate Past President of the Asian Pacific Society of Nephrology. He is also President of the Japanese Society of Nephrology and President of the Japanese Society of Internal Medicine.

He has published more than 430 original articles and 100 reviews articles in international journals, and has given 130 invited talks at international academic meetings. He served as a member of the Scientific Program Committee of American Society of Nephrology (ASN) meetings, a chair of the Scientific Program Committee of APCN 2016, and a chair of the program committee of the World Congress of Nephrology in 2019. He was also a co-organizer of the first Keystone Symposium on the kidney topic, "Unraveling Secrets of Kidney Disease" in 2019. He is a member of the editorial board of many prestigious journals, and is currently serving his second term as an associate editor of Kidney International.

His goal is to apply knowledge gained from the bench to the bedside, making a significant contribution to advancement in clinical medicine and patient care.