A new device could open up a new way to treat HIV, hepatitis and cancers by filtering out infectious viruses in real time.

The device, called Hemopurifier, is being tried out for the first time in a 30-day case study on HIV, at the Jattinder Gambhir Hospital in Ludhiana, Punjab.

The goal of the study is to demonstrate that Hemopurifier can safely and effectively reduce viral load and trigger replenishment of CD4 immune cells in the absence of drug therapy.

The fieldwork, which calls for the administration of up to 12 Hemopurifier treatments, is scheduled for completion by Friday.

Hemopurifier targets all circulating strains of infectious HIV, including those varieties that cause patients to fail antiviral drug regimens.

Additionally, the device preserves the immune response through the removal of gp120 and other toxic proteins shed by HIV to kill-off immune cells, the hallmark of AIDS.

'The antiviral and immunotherapeutic attributes of our Hemopurifier offer a realistic strategy for managing a broad spectrum of infectious disease conditions,' stated Jim Joyce, chairman and CEO of Aethlon Medical. The firm is behind the device.

'In caring for those infected with HIV, we plan to enhance the benefit of drug regimens by curbing the proliferation of viral strains that cause drug resistance, and we seek to extend and improve the lives of individuals once they no longer respond to drug therapy,' added Joyce, according to an Aethlon statement.

In previous studies, treatment with the Hemopurifier resulted in robust viral load reductions in Hepatitis-C (HCV) infected patients. The researchers completed a treatment protocol of three, four-hour Hemopurifier treatments every other day over one week