Workshop on Tools for Materials Selection in Circular Medical Devices

Overview: This interactive online ReMed workshop will explore methods to select and assess materials for Circular Medical Devices. Our aim is to draw on the expertise of participants, who represent key stakeholders in medical devices, to help develop tools and guidance for circular materials selection.

Background: ReMed is a collaborative EPSRC-funded research programme between Loughborough University, University of Leeds and Nottingham Trent University – looking at a Circular Economy (CE) for Small Medical Devices. The CE is a term applied over the last decade to a system in which material resources and value are retained to perform useful functions, rather than being lost in landfill or converted to energy. The research aims to create novel design and material specifications, reprocessing technologies, and digital tools to demonstrate the technical, economic, and operational viability of circular lifecycles for small Medical Devices (MDs) in the UK.

Our research focuses on four case-studies, selected in consultation with industry partners, based on their value and complexity, shown here. These are representative of passive polymer MDs, metallic tools, EE delivery MDs and EE monitoring MDs. These exemplify the common challenges preventing application of the CE, being single life and infectious; lack standard product structures to aid with reused or remanufactured; and multi-materials and parts with complex geometries making high-quality material reclamation infeasible.

Materials Selection for Circular Medical Devices: this workshop will focus on the materials aspects of circular MDs. The process of materials selection for single-use medical devices is well understood, using criteria which typically prioritise upfront costs and immediate performance. Moving towards ’Circular’ MDs requires consideration of new factors spanning the entire lifecycle of a device, from manufacture through to re-use and End-of-Life.

We are developing decision-making tools, intended for those designing medical devices, to guide the process of 1) identifying 2) selecting and 3) assessing materials appropriate for circular MDs.

The Materials Workshop Aim is to draw on industry expertise to help develop these decision-making tools, ensuring that they are relevant to the MedTech industry and accurately capture key considerations in materials selection.