Abstract
This research project, part of the Green Intensive Care Unit (ICU) initiative at the Erasmus University Medical Center (EMC), is focused on reducing the environmental impact of syringes at the ICU by designing solutions based on circular economy principles. Based on a Material Flow Analysis of the EMC ICU, syringes and their packaging have been identified as one of the main environmental impact hotspots. Therefore, this project aimed to redesign the syringes, their packaging, and their use, according to circular design strategies suitable for medical products to decrease their environmental impact, while remaining convenient and safe in use for the healthcare staff and patients. Research was executed to understand the context from multiple perspectives. The outcomes demonstrated that decreasing the impact of syringes is not only related to the design of the syringe itself. Manufacturing, preparation, use and disposal, all contribute to the environmental impact of the syringe. Various possible interventions were derived to reduce its impact:
1.
Adapting the infection prevention protocol and behaviour of the staff;
2.
Separating infectious waste from general hospital waste;
3.
Redesigning the syringe itself;
4.
Optimising the filling process of syringes.
The final design is an optimised filling process for prefilled sterilised syringes (PFSs), based on circular strategies such as reduce, reuse, rethink and repurpose. Interventions include: eliminating a redundant sterilisation phase, reducing residual medication and changing from steam to gamma sterilisation. This resulted in decreasing the amount of waste, material, energy and water consumption, while offering similar convenience and safety for the staff and patients of the ICU.
1.
Adapting the infection prevention protocol and behaviour of the staff;
2.
Separating infectious waste from general hospital waste;
3.
Redesigning the syringe itself;
4.
Optimising the filling process of syringes.
The final design is an optimised filling process for prefilled sterilised syringes (PFSs), based on circular strategies such as reduce, reuse, rethink and repurpose. Interventions include: eliminating a redundant sterilisation phase, reducing residual medication and changing from steam to gamma sterilisation. This resulted in decreasing the amount of waste, material, energy and water consumption, while offering similar convenience and safety for the staff and patients of the ICU.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Title of host publication | Springer Series in Design and Innovation |
| Subtitle of host publication | Proceedings of the International Conference on Healthcare Systems Ergonomics and Patient Safety, HEPS2022 |
| Editors | M. Melles, R.H. Goossens |
| Place of Publication | Cham |
| Publisher | Springer |
| Pages | 225–234 |
| Number of pages | 10 |
| ISBN (Electronic) | 978-3-031-32198-6 |
| ISBN (Print) | 978-3-031-32197-9 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - 2024 |
| Event | HEPS2022: The International Conference on Healthcare Systems Ergonomics and Patient Safety - Delft, Netherlands Duration: 2 Nov 2023 → 4 Nov 2023 |
Publication series
| Name | Springer Series in Design and Innovation |
|---|---|
| Volume | 30 |
| ISSN (Print) | 2661-8184 |
| ISSN (Electronic) | 2661-8192 |
Conference
| Conference | HEPS2022 |
|---|---|
| Country/Territory | Netherlands |
| City | Delft |
| Period | 2/11/23 → 4/11/23 |
Bibliographical note
Green Open Access added to TU Delft Institutional Repository 'You share, we take care!' - Taverne project https://www.openaccess.nl/en/you-share-we-take-careOtherwise as indicated in the copyright section: the publisher is the copyright holder of this work and the author uses the Dutch legislation to make this work public.
Keywords
- Circular healthcare
- Syringe
- Environmental impact
- Design
