About the project
The medical sector plays a crucial role in the current environmental crisis, accounting for 5.4% of global GHG emissions, with an annual growth of 5% [1,2]. 20% of these emissions can directly be linked to the production and consumption of MDs [3]. In addition to the environmental impact caused by GHG emissions, medical devices can impact social equality by, for example, incorporating discriminatory biases [4]. These unsustainable environmental and social practices consequently negatively impact human health [5–7], creating a self-reinforcing feedback loop. This project aims to develop a methodology to incorporate environmental, social, clinical, and economic sustainability in the design process of medical devices. Among other things, this project will explore how designers can incorporate circularity (and environmental considerations) as a prerequisite in their designs, avoid discriminatory biases, and further support the implementation of MDR by adopting sustainable practices.