ALUMNI of the University of the Philippines (UP)-Diliman Andrew Jacob Buensalido and Allyson Cabrestante were recently named the Philippine national winners of the James Dyson Award 2026 for BiDaKidney: a low-cost, semi-automated peritoneal dialysis machine designed to make home-based treatment simpler, safer, and more accessible for Filipino patients.
This year’s national runners-up include Sentinel: a building damage sensor designed to detect cracks in concrete remotely, and OrthoFlex: a portable robot-assisted elbow device designed to support post-stroke rehabilitation.
The inventions will progress to the global stage of the James Dyson Award for a chance to win P2,390,230. The international design competition fetes young problem-solvers who use engineering and design to address real-world challenges.
For many Filipino patients and families living with kidney disease, dialysis is not a one-time procedure but a demanding part of everyday life. Regular treatments can mean recurring costs, repeated travel to dialysis centers, hours spent receiving care, and sustained support from family members and caregivers. The burden is growing: the number of people undergoing dialysis treatment in the Philippines reached 64,845 in 2024-a 22-percent increase from 53,296 in 2023-according to the National Kidney Transplant Institute, as reported by Philippine News Agency.
BiDaKidney addresses this challenge by improving home peritoneal dialysis management. Unlike hemodialysis, which typically filters blood through a machine in a dialysis center, PD uses the lining of the abdomen as a natural filter and can be carried out outside a clinical setting. This gives patients greater flexibility, but it still requires fluid exchanges, monitoring, and record-keeping.
The invention automates key parts of this process, making PD treatment easier for patients and caregivers to manage at home.
The invention
BIDAKIDNEY is designed for people with chronic kidney disease who can receive PD at home but must still manage a process that is highly manual, repetitive, and susceptible to error.
The team’s exposure to the realities of dialysis care in public healthcare settings shaped the idea, where patients often face long-term treatment costs, frequent clinic visits, and the need for careful support at home.
The machine automates key steps in managing dialysis fluid flow. It works with standard PD supplies, using a controlled pump and built-in weight sensors to move dialysis fluid and track fluid volume during treatment. This reduces the need for patients and caregivers to manually manage dialysis fluid flow, repeatedly handle tubing, and record fluid volumes by hand, lowering manual work, contamination risk, and record-keeping burden at home.
For the inventors, BiDaKidney is about easing PD’s day-to-day demands, while giving patients and caregivers a more manageable way to continue treatment at home.
Buensalido shared: ‘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. 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 their families carry. Winning the James Dyson Award national prize allows us to keep working toward that goal.’
Inventors and judges
BIDAKIDNEY received the P398,280 James Dyson Award national prize to support its next steps in development and commercialization. Following positive feedback from PD nurses and nephrologists at a tertiary government hospital, the inventors plan to refine its usability and safety features, explore battery-powered operation for local power interruptions, and prepare for formal clinical testing and broader patient evaluation.
Cabrestante added: ‘The award means a lot because it helps us continue building BiDaKidney with the people who may need it one day in mind. There are still many things we want to improve, and the prize gives us room to do that work properly. [We hope] that BiDaKidney can eventually give families another way to manage dialysis care with more confidence at home.’
According to Dr. Joel Joseph S. Marciano, who is UP’s vice president for Research and Innovation and James Dyson Award Philippines national judge, ‘BiDaKidney demonstrates how innovative engineering can help address practical challenges in healthcare. By rethinking how PD can be managed at home, Andrew and Allyson are developing an approach that responds to a real challenge faced by patients and their families while supporting the wider healthcare system. It is an example of innovation grounded in real-world needs and focused on improving healthcare outcomes for Filipinos.’
Senior Engineering Manager at Dyson and James Dyson Award Philippines national judge Michael Recinto said: ‘BiDaKidney shows disciplined problem-solving. The team looked closely at how PD is managed at home, then used engineering to reduce manual steps and boost monitoring without moving away from supplies patients already use.’
Recinto added: ‘That practical thinking, supported by repeated testing and refinement, is exactly the kind of design process the James Dyson Award aims to recognize.’