Hospitals could cut emissions associated with some medical device use in half by opting instead for remanufactured single-use medical devices. The LCA evaluated the use of a remanufactured electrophysiology catheter compared with the use of original catheters for 16 different environmental impact categories and found that the use of reprocessed devices was superior in 13 categories.
The study, conducted by Fraunhofer Institute for Environmental, Safety, and Energy Technology UMSICHT, a division the worlds leading applied research organization Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft and published in Sustainability, is the first comprehensive LCA exploring the environmental impact of a remanufactured single-use medical device compared to the take-make-dispose use of single-use original devices. . .

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