Here’s a quick read from MedTech Intelligence summarizing key points of a discussion on medical device sustainability from a DeviceTalks Boston event. Speakers included Ron Kurz from Canon Virginia, Kathryn Graves Unger from Boston Scientific, and David Ettl from Gradian Health System.
“Our customers are demanding more sustainable products, and if we don’t start now, we won’t get there, and it needs to start with design.”
Kathryn Unger
If you’ve been heads down pushing your device along your roadmap, you may have missed this emerging market requirement for sustainable products.
Sustainability isn’t a regulatory requirement – yet. Given the 5-10 years it takes to get a med device on the market, however, it likely will be by the time you’re ready to scale.
I know this may seem like “one more thing.” Designing, producing, testing, and revising a med device, obtaining regulatory approval, landing first customers, scaling production, marketing…It’s a long, tough journey to get a medical device to market. Why add one more thing if it isn’t required for regulatory approval?
Because it’s generally easier (and cheaper!) to design for sustainability than to retrofit or redesign. In addition, there’s a growing popular demand for minimizing environmental impacts and respect for the companies that do so. Healthcare isn’t immune to these pressures.
Questions to consider:
- Is your team thinking about sustainability?
- Is sustainable design on your roadmap?
- Who might you need to add to your team or extended team (contractors and partners) to bring sustainability into your design process?
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ARTICLE LINK: https://www.medtechintelligence.com/feature_article/developing-sustainable-medical-devices/
