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Title The extent to which circular economy principles have been applied in the design of medical devices for low-resource settings in Sub-Saharan Africa.: A systematic review
Full text http://resolver.tudelft.nl/uuid:7159328e-f115-4497-b7db-a3d4058ec37f
Date 2023
Author(s) Samenjo, K.T. (author); Oosting, R.M. (author); Bakker, C.A. (author); Diehl, J.C. (author)
Abstract Healthcare facilities in low-resource settings in Sub-Saharan Africa are plagued<br/>with issues of non-functional and obsolete medical devices, which ultimately<br/>end up prematurely disposed of as waste. With increasing healthcare demands,<br/>stopping medical device disposal is imperative. One way to achieve this is<br/>to leverage circular economy principles in designing medical devices. Circular<br/>economy principles aim to retain products and their constituent materials to<br/>be reused over time in the economic system. However, to what extent this has<br/>been applied in designing medical devices specifically for low-resource settings<br/>in Sub-Saharan Africa is missing in literature. Based on a systematic review of<br/>29 out of 1,799 screened scientific papers, we identified the use of circular<br/>economy principles of durability, maintenance, repair, and upgrade in designing<br/>medical devices for this setting. Whether these principles were intentionally<br/>applied from a circular economy approach could not be inferred in this study.<br/>The motivational basis for using these principles was to ensure medical device<br/>longevity to providing healthcare. No attention was given to the circular economy<br/>principles of refurbishment, remanufacturing, and recycling, ensuring that device<br/>components and constituent materials are recovered. These study findings serve<br/>as a launchpad for exploring how circular principles can be used to support<br/>the design of medical devices for low-resource settings in Sub-Saharan Africa.<br/>Academicians and designers of medical devices can leverage this research to<br/>contribute towards developing medical devices that support access to healthcare<br/>for people in low-resource settings and preserve earth's finite resources - Design for Sustainability - Medical Instruments & Bio-Inspired Technology - Circular Product Design
Subject(s) circular economy principles; medical device design; low-resource settings; Sub-Saharan Africa; product design
Language en
Relation Frontiers in Sustainability \| Circular Economy--2673-4524--8cb914d7-140a-4e7e-b75c-e291058338de
Type of publication journal article
Rights © 2023 K.T. Samenjo, R.M. Oosting, C.A. Bakker, J.C. Diehl
Identifier doi:10.3389/rsus.2023.1079685
Repository Delft - Technische Universiteit Delft
Added to C-A: 2023-04-26;10:04:53