Source: Sustronics. AI-generated summary by biochip.com, published . Not independently reviewed.
Key takeaways
- An image-guided therapy pilot estimated electricity savings of up to 11,265 kWh per system annually and material reductions of about 860 kg.
- A paper-based EEG electrode with reusable sensing electronics reported an environmental footprint reduction of under 30% versus a commercial reference.
- The pilots provide development-stage assessments, not evidence of broad clinical deployment or commercial-scale manufacturing.
The Sustronics pilots show how electronics makers can reduce environmental impact by redesigning products before they reach mass production. Across imaging systems, personal health devices, lighting and wearable sensors, the work focused on the parts of electronic products that use the most energy, materials or difficult-to-recover components. One image-guided therapy system concept could save up to 11,265 kilowatt-hours of electricity per system each year by powering down equipment not needed at a particular moment. A redesigned architecture for that same system could also cut material use by about 860 kilograms and require roughly 30% less installation space. In personal health products, redesigned circuit-board assemblies were assessed for a lower carbon footprint, although integrated circuits remained a stubborn environmental hotspot. The programme also built a modular luminaire with bio-based materials, printed electronics and parts designed for easier removal. For wearable brain monitoring, a paper-based disposable electrode paired with reusable sensing electronics reduced the reported environmental footprint by under 30% against a commercial reference. Together, the pilots make a practical case for treating energy use, repair, reuse and recycling as engineering requirements rather than afterthoughts.
Turning off what is not needed
Image-guided therapy systems help clinicians see inside the body while performing procedures, but their imaging equipment can consume around 2 to 4 kilowatts while operating. That is comparable to running several household appliances continuously, and the energy demand adds up when systems are used repeatedly over a year.
Sustronics developed conventional and artificial intelligence-based approaches to identify subsystems that were not needed at a given time. Those subsystems could be switched off temporarily without compromising clinical availability, producing an initial estimated saving of up to 11,265 kilowatt-hours annually for each system.
Designing medical equipment with less material
The same pilot addressed the physical footprint of image-guided therapy equipment. Reusing metal transport frames and developing a lighter C-arc architecture could together reduce material use by approximately 860 kilograms per system.
The revised architecture would need about 30% less room space and place fewer structural demands on the installation site. Such changes matter because the environmental cost of a complex machine does not begin when it is turned on: it includes the metals, manufacturing and building work required to get the machine into a clinical room.
The pilot also created eco-design methods for considering disassembly, component recovery and material recyclability while a product is still being designed. It is similar to planning a building with its eventual renovation or demolition in mind, rather than discovering too late that important parts cannot be separated.
Electronics are a supply-chain challenge
For personal health products, the work concentrated on the printed circuit-board assembly, the board carrying electronic components and their connections. The team improved methods for quantifying environmental impact at both component and manufacturing levels, then used those findings to identify hotspots, or stages responsible for an outsized share of impact.
Alternative technologies and design options were evaluated and tested in development samples before informing a new assembly concept in a grooming and beauty device demonstrator. Preliminary assessment indicated that the revised assembly could have a lower carbon footprint than the existing solution, while the design process also considered repairability, durability, recyclability and end-of-life treatment.
Integrated circuits remained particularly difficult to redesign despite contributing substantially to total environmental impact. That result points beyond the circuit board itself: the environmental profile of electronics also depends on how chips are manufactured and on the energy sources used across the supply chain.
A lamp built to come apart
The sustainable luminaire pilot combined additive manufacturing, printed electronics, bio-based materials and modular architecture in a complete lighting concept. Additive manufacturing, commonly called 3D printing, builds a part layer by layer, allowing the housing geometry and material choice to be adjusted together.
The housing used 3D printing and alternative bio-based materials, with iterative changes to meet needs such as transparency and mechanical performance. The team also explored housing concepts that integrate optical or lighting functions, potentially reducing the number of separate parts needed in a finished lamp.
For the light module, printed electronics were evaluated as a way to reduce material consumption and manufacturing energy. The pilot compared circuit designs, conductive inks and substrates including paper, cardboard and recycled polyethylene terephthalate, or recycled PET, balancing electrical function with manufacturability and environmental impact.
The optical system used bio-based alternatives to conventional fossil-based plastic diffusers. Its structure was optimized to transmit light while scattering it enough that individual light-emitting diode, or LED, sources would not be visible as separate bright points.
Repairability is an engineering feature
The final luminaire concept used modular components, single-material structures where possible and reversible connections. Its light modules and optical elements could be installed without screws or adhesives, making it easier to repair, upgrade or dismantle at the end of use.
A life-cycle assessment, which measures impacts across a product's life from materials through disposal, compared the developed lighting variants with a reference luminaire. The assessment found environmental improvement in every developed variant across climate change, mineral resources, fossil resource use and water consumption.
Separating disposable electrodes from reusable electronics
The brain-monitoring pilot redesigned both a disposable electroencephalogram, or EEG, electrode and the sensing electronics that accompany it. EEG electrodes detect the brain's tiny electrical signals through the skin, but conventional disposable designs can embed plastics and electronics in products intended for brief use.
Several electrode constructions were manufactured and tested, including plastic-based versions and a paper-based alternative. The pilot-ready design used paper as its substrate, copper for the conductive structure and a conductive skin adhesive; with its paper liner included, paper made up more than half of the electrode materials.
Benchmarked in an eight-channel brain activity monitoring system, the electrode showed an environmental footprint reduction of under 30% compared with a commercial reference. The design separated the reusable electronic sensing unit from the disposable skin-contact electrode, so only the electrode would be discarded after use and the electronics could remain in service.
Why This Matters
Electronics are often judged by what they can do, not by the energy and materials required to make, operate and retire them. These pilots show that environmental choices can affect architecture, room installation, material selection and the boundary between a reusable device and a disposable part.
The Sustronics work does not point to one universal material or manufacturing method. Instead, it shows why life-cycle assessment and circular design need to be used alongside technical and clinical requirements, especially when a design change in one component can shift impacts elsewhere in the supply chain.
The next step is to carry these approaches from pilot concepts into products that can be manufactured, used, repaired and recovered at scale. If that happens, electronics designers may be able to reduce waste and energy demand without treating sustainability as separate from performance.