MedTech Sustainability by Design
MedTech Sustainability by Design is the podcast where the world's leading experts in medical device, sustainable plastics, eco-design, and regulatory compliance share their expertise. Each episode cuts through the complexity of plastic selection, regulatory changes, medical device engineering or sustainable plastics — so MedTech engineers and start-up teams can build devices that are good for the patient, good for the planet and profitable.
Your host, Lucas Pianegonda, is a globally recognized expert for plastics in medical technology. As founder of Gradical, a consultancy dedicated to making MedTech more sustainable with plastics, Lucas has guided dozens of medical device, IVD and pharma companies through some of the field's most complex material challenges. He asks the questions your R&D team would ask and gets you the answers you actually need.
Topics covered include:
• Sustainable plastics and eco-design strategies for MedTech
• Plastic selection for medical devices, in-vitro diagnostics and combination products
• Biocompatibility, sterilization and the medical grade concept
• Regulatory requirements and changes across global markets
• Recycling, medical waste, and the circular economy in healthcare
Is your team struggling to make your Device or Packaging more sustainable? Schedule a call with Lucas: https://calendly.com/lucas-pianegonda-gradical/discovery-call-gradical?
Learn more about Gradical and its services at www.gradical.ch
MedTech Sustainability by Design
Don't Do Ego-Design | Bart Verleije, Voxdale
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"Do not do ego-design." A professor told Bart Verleije that in school, and it shaped how he has built medical devices ever since.
Bart is Commercial Director at Voxdale, a Belgian design and engineering firm, with more than 1,400 projects over 19 years. He explains how a napkin sketch becomes a certified, manufacturable device, and where most MedTech projects go wrong before they reach a patient.
In this episode:
- His BURST framework: Business, User, Regulatory, Sustainability, Technology
- Why design for manufacturability has to start on day one
- How to stop feature creep and trade off conflicting requirements
- The Ergotrics story: an inflatable system for turning and proning patients
If you develop devices, this one will change how you scope your next project.
Connect with Bart: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bartverleije/
Voxdale: https://www.voxdale.be
00:00 From a napkin sketch to a certified device
00:56 Meet Bart Verleije: 1,400+ projects, 19 years at Voxdale
01:45 Commit to your product before you build it
05:05 "Do not do ego-design"
06:42 Why every stakeholder needs at least a neutral stance
09:56 The BURST framework: Business, User, Regulatory, Sustainability, Technology
15:46 Design for manufacturability from day one
20:30 The operational cost teams overlook
23:20 A healthy take on AI in documentation
28:29 Database-first documentation and regulation as code
30:13 The conservation of misery: trading off requirements
34:04 Only five value drivers make the board
37:28 "How do you know this?" Breaking false requirements
40:11 Over-requirement is the biggest cost driver
41:33 From a highway traffic jam to proning patients
45:10 The toothpaste factory and the 20-dollar fan
48:17 Bart's advice: commit, talk to experts, stay in your lane
55:28 Closing
Do you enjoy this podcast? Then subscribe, rate it on your platform, and join the discussion on LinkedIn! Your feedback and comments help us improve the podcast and bring you relevant topics. Let’s form a better world with plastics!
If you are a Medtech company struggling to make your devices more sustainable, let’s talk—BOOK A CALL HERE.
You can also check our Youtube Channel with lots of free trainings and resources here: Lucas R. Pianegonda - YouTube
Website: www.gradical.ch