Brought to you by Marion Junique from Johnson & Johnson
Circular Design
DiCE has teamed up with packaging and labelling experts to develop Digital Display Labels (DDL), or e-Paper labels, with refurbishment capabilities. Our report highlights three promising prototypes that have paved a way for more circular clinical trials. Learn more about DDLs: Digital Display Labelling in Clinical Supplies for Clinical Trials.
Through the “10R strategies”, DiCE created three innovative concepts to redesign smart pillboxes: “Most sustainable”, “Future vision” and “Least to change”. Key insights emphasise the need to combine multiple R-strategies while prioritising them, and recognising the importance of system design, including the reverse logistics system and business models. For more information read this paper: Redesigning Health Devices for the Circular Economy: A Case Study on Smart Pillboxes.
DiCE identified product environmental hotspots that will guide the redesign of an endocutter, ensuring targeted improvements. Observations conducted in operating rooms, along with experts’ interviews, have provided valuable insights that will also contribute to the redesign process.
Technology and processes for waste management, reverse logistics, refurbishment and recycling
User journeys for smart collection boxes have been refined, setting the stage for upcoming pilots in 2025. Production planning is already underway. Additionally, a digital application has been developed to integrate the collection box with the reverse logistics system, facilitating real-time tracking of returned items. To further enhance efficiency, a dashboard has been created to support resource allocation optimization and operational improvements. Find out more about smart collection boxes: Understanding Smart Collection, Its Significance and Necessity.
DiCE further examined medical devices regulatory frameworks and existing take-back systems in the healthcare sector. A first draft of the reverse logistics plan was produced to prepare for the upcoming pilots, including the identification of stakeholders and their respective role. Read more on the reverse logistics plan: Implementing a Reverse Logistics Plan for Medical E-waste at Hospitals.
A circular supply model for DDLs was conceptualised and executed, achieving a remarkable 92% success rate across five refurbishment cycles for 200 DDLs – exceeding the initial goal of 80%. This activity revealed that introducing a fully circular product demands dedicated focus, with circularity at the core of every stage in the development cycle.
Recycling tests conducted on endocutters, smart pillboxes and an early prototype of DDL have yielded valuable recommendations for design enhancements and more effective recycling processes. This assessment underscored the importance of considering the end-of-life stage during the design phase. Moreover, it highlighted the necessity of addressing regulatory barriers concerning the cleaning and decontamination of medical devices to facilitate recycling and minimising incineration. Find detailed insights on this assessment here: Recycling technology & optimised processes developed to improve recycling yields for digital health devices.
Citizen engagement and influencing consumer behaviour
Co-creation sessions and interviews across Belgium, Spain and Slovenia have unveiled insights about optimal collection locations for used digital health devices. Notably, collection preferences appear more tied to the age of the user rather than geographic origin. More information on the stakeholder roles in co-creation: Stakeholder Roles for a Circular Healthcare System.
These activities were also conducted to develop design principles, which were used to develop prototypes of motivational strategies. These principles were tested in small-scale pilots in the three countries, involving 12 families. Discover more on nudging and motivational strategies here: How (Digital) Nudges Shape Sustainable Behaviour.
Preparation for confirmatory pilots assessing motivational strategies for smart pill boxes are underway. A comparison of return rates between several collection locations (with a smart collection box) and postal return will be made. Learn more on the small-scale and confirmatory pilots: Small Steps Towards the Large-Scale Pilot.
Performance assessment, monitoring and demonstration of the transition
DiCE has mapped the endocutter, smart pillbox and DDL value chains and their respective benchmark. DiCE emphasise the healthcare pathway approach for to evaluate the sustainability of the different value chains. A critical review in this subject has been submitted, emphasising the necessity of this perspective.
Key circularity indicators have been selected, including material circularity indicator, longevity/durability and recycled content. DiCE also focused on identifying methodologies and indicators for social life cycle assessments.
Development of a dynamic dashboard is in progress, aimed at tracking real time sustainability performance for digital health devices.
Exploitation: business models and policies
DiCE explored how business models for digital health devices can be adapted for a circular economy and analysed stakeholders’ potential roles and responsibilities. A matrix of four innovative circular business models was developed based on two dimensions: (1) whether incorporation of a product into the circular economy would be handled by the product manufacturer or not and (2) if the value proposition of the product is a standalone offering or a full-service offering. This matrix was expanded into a business model continuum, which included 15 different circular business models, to facilitate a smoother transition from linear to circular practices. More details on circular business models: Circular Business Model for Digital Health Solutions: Protocol for a Scoping Review.
Additionally, the value chains developed are being complemented with stakeholders, costs and revenue.
A thorough review of EU legislation, standards and policies identified a significant gap in standardised definitions for circular healthcare. In response, DiCE is developing a glossary to address this challenge. Key areas for improvement have been identified, including the treatment of contaminated medical devices, which currently do not fall under the WEEE Directive and are primarily incinerated. Additionally, the reprocessing of single-use health devices remains unauthorised in 15 EU/EEA countries, highlighting the need for regulatory advancements in this area. More information on the EU regulations surrounding circularity in digital health devices: Are EU Regulations Ready to Allow Circularity in Digital Healthcare Devices?
Communication, dissemination and exploitation
In the second year of the project, DiCE was present at several conferences and events but also put a focus on clustering by reaching out to similar projects to share knowledge and exchange best practices.
In collaboration with OVAM and Bebat, DiCE brought together industry professionals and policymakers for a workshop. During this session, critical barriers and opportunities for circular recovery flows for digital health devices were explored. The discussions also covered how citizen engagement and nudging strategies can effectively support the implementation of circularity for digital health devices. Learn more about this workshop: Successful workshop involving local stakeholders in Ghent.
Additionally, DiCE partnered with the LIFE funded project ECOSWEEE to present an insightful session on enhancing small e-waste collection at E-Waste World 2024. Both projects shared their experience on efficiently engaging citizens, leading to actionable solutions and campaigns based on participants’ feedback. Read more on this event: DiCE and ECOSWEEE at E-Waste World.
Furthermore, a series of website articles by project partners featured educational think pieces aimed at both industry and non-industry professionals, as well as consumers, to enhance engagement on our website, and social media platforms and show the expertise of the consortium while waiting for more results to be made public. Check out the articles here: https://circulardigitalhealth.eu/news/
We were also proud to have first scientific publications issued by our academic partners, to have produced infographics and to have managed to keep growing our social media followship as well as the stakeholders’ network to ensure all the actors of the value chain remain involved. Find the articles here:
