ALIN'S Lifesaving Developments
Bio-Artificial Liver
This device is designed to be used outside the body to sustain patients who are suffering from liver failure due to hepatitis, cirrhosis, or cancer. Up to two million lives could be saved by this device annually. TIME magazine named it an Invention of the Year in 2001.
Bio-Artificial Pancreas
This device will maintain normal blood sugar levels in diabetics, regardless of what they eat or when. For one version of this device, some components were manufactured on the NASA Space Shuttle in outer Space. There are over 10 million insulin-dependent diabetics who can benefit from an implantable bio-artificial pancreas.
Side Effect-Free Chemotherapy - SEF (pronounced "Safe") Chemo®
Eight million people die every year due to cancer. The tragedy of cancer is that the treatment is often worse than the disease. After decades of research and planning, a new therapy has been developed that greatly reduces the side effects of conventional chemotherapy, while making chemo agents more effective. There is often less than a 30% response rate for conventional chemotherapy. Recently, over 90% of patients have responded strongly to this new therapy. Our hope is that one day the cure doesn't have to be worse than the disease.
HeartAlarm Wristwatch
This wristwatch warns its wearer an hour or more before a heart attack occurs. Designed to be worn by everyone over the age of 40, this device could prevent millions of deaths annually worldwide.
Egg-timer.life
When this benign device becomes available, women will always be able to know when they can become pregnant or not. No more need for birth control pills, IUDs, or other contraptions.
Egg-timer.life
LIFEDATA Card
A wallet card that summarizes patients' medical histories in a format that delivers to emergency medics in the critical 30 seconds all the lifesaving information needed. When carried by everyone, this simple card is expected to have more impact on health care than the cure for cancer.
Other Special Projects
Other developments reported here include an ovulation monitoring device for fertility enhancement and birth control, and new approaches to treating viral infections such as ebola, herpes and SARS.
The extent of the undertaking described here is remarkable and unprecedented. Never before has a single organization conducted research on so many diseases, to achieve so many recognized breakthroughs. These developments potentially affect the lives of over one billion people. The road to these achievements has not been easy. In navigating in the dark, mostly in uncharted territory, there is the constant risk of taking a wrong turn and losing the work of years. The uncompromising dedication which has characterized these research efforts is reflected in the plaque which hangs on the wall of the Alin Foundation laboratory. The plaque reads, “Within these walls, men and women give of their lives that others may live.”
About ALIN - Promoting a Kind and Just World
ALIN Foundation, a name coined from our bio-artificial liver invention, is unique in operating as both a charitable foundation and a for-profit entity. ALIN receives no government or charitable assistance.
While ALIN is a world leader in breakthrough medical treatments, we have a profound interest in the general welfare of people around the world. ALIN funds social justice programs to create a kind and just world from its medical revenues and practices affirmative action to provide economic opportunities to all, equally.
To read about Dr. Matsumura, Chairman of Alin Foundation, click here.