BiDaKidney automates key parts of peritoneal dialysis to make home treatment easier to manage for patients and caregivers.
UP Diliman graduates Andrew Jacob Buensalido and Allyson Cabrestante have been named Philippine national winners of the James Dyson Award 2026 for BiDaKidney, a low-cost, semi-automated machine designed to make peritoneal dialysis easier to manage at home.
The invention was developed around the realities of long-term dialysis care, where patients and families often deal with recurring treatment costs, frequent trips to clinics, and the need to manage complex routines at home. In the Philippines, the number of people undergoing dialysis reached 64,845 in 2024, up 22% from 53,296 in 2023.
Automating key parts of home dialysis
Peritoneal dialysis uses the lining of the abdomen as a natural filter and can be performed outside a dialysis center. While that gives patients greater flexibility, the treatment still requires fluid exchanges, monitoring, tubing management, and record-keeping.
BiDaKidney is designed to automate some of those steps. It works with standard peritoneal dialysis supplies and uses a controlled pump and built-in weight sensors to move dialysis fluid and monitor volume during treatment. This reduces the need for patients and caregivers to manually manage fluid flow, repeatedly handle tubing, and record volumes by hand.
The goal is to make the process more manageable while reducing manual work and potential contamination risks during home treatment.
“When we started BiDaKidney, we were thinking about how we could help patients spend less of their lives managing dialysis and more of their time living it,” Buensalido said.
“If treatment at home can become simpler, safer, and cheaper, patients may be able to continue their care with greater confidence and independence, while easing some of the responsibility carried by their families.”
Prize will support further development
BiDaKidney receives PHP398,280 as the James Dyson Award national prize.
Following feedback from peritoneal dialysis nurses and nephrologists at a tertiary government hospital, the team plans to refine the machine’s usability and safety features, explore battery-powered operation for use during power interruptions, and prepare for formal clinical testing and broader patient evaluation.
The device is therefore still in development and is not yet being positioned as a commercially available medical product.
“The award means a lot because it helps us continue building BiDaKidney with the people who may need it one day in mind,” Cabrestante said. “There are still many things we want to improve, and the prize gives us room to do that work properly.”
Engineering around an existing treatment process
One of BiDaKidney’s defining design choices is that it does not attempt to replace the entire peritoneal dialysis workflow.
Instead, the team focused on reducing repetitive manual steps while continuing to use the supplies patients already rely on. Michael Recinto, senior engineering manager at Dyson and a James Dyson Award Philippines national judge, highlighted that practical approach.
“BiDaKidney shows disciplined problem-solving,” Recinto said. “The team looked closely at how peritoneal dialysis is managed at home, then used engineering to reduce manual steps and improve monitoring without moving away from supplies patients already use.”
Dr. Joel Joseph S. Marciano, UP vice president for research and innovation and another national judge, also pointed to the device’s potential to address a real healthcare challenge while supporting patients and families managing treatment outside hospitals.
Two other Filipino inventions move forward
BiDaKidney will advance to the international stage alongside Philippine national runners-up Sentinel and OrthoFlex.
Sentinel is a structural-damage monitoring system that turns concrete spacer blocks into smart sensors. By incorporating conductive materials such as graphene and carbon fiber, the blocks can generate measurable electrical signals when concrete is damaged, allowing building condition to be monitored remotely.
OrthoFlex is a portable, robot-assisted elbow rehabilitation device designed to support repetitive movement for stroke patients. It includes adjustable arm supports and a wireless mobile interface that patients and caregivers can use in clinics or at home alongside professional rehabilitation.
All three Philippine entries will move to the next stage, where Dyson engineers will select an international Top 20 shortlist. The shortlist will be announced on October 14, with the global winners to be announced on November 4.
Global winners will receive PHP2,390,230, while each national winner receives PHP398,280.
More information is available through the James Dyson Award website.