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
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MedTech Sustainability by Design is a science podcast hosted by Unknown Host, with 48 episodes on record and a Required Pod Score of 80. PitchCentric scores this show on Booking Probability, Listen Score, and live audience signals refreshed every 24 hours.
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Unknown Host hosts MedTech Sustainability by Design, a science show with 48 episodes published.
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MedTech Sustainability by Design
Microextrusion: Better Catheters With Less Waste with Simone Maccagnan, Gimac
Aug 12, 202657 min
Why are most catheters still glued and heat-shrunk together by hand? Simone Maccagnan from Gimac International makes the case for microextrusion: single continuous parts, controlled molecular weight and crystallinity, and dynamic extrusion that changes stiffness along one tube. In this episode: - How microextrusion replaces multi-part catheter assemblies, and why that matters for validation, scrap and patient safety - What dynamic extrusion is, and where the physics gets hard - How inline measurement cuts revalidation and total cost - An honest take on fluoropolymers, PFAS and where automation helps This episode was sponsored by Gimac. GET IN TOUCH WITH GIMAC: https://www.gimac.com ABOUT THE PODCAST: MedTech Sustainability by Design is the show for people choosing better plastics in medical technology. Book a free consultation: https://calendly.com/lucas-pianegonda-gradical/discovery-call-gradical . Gradical: https://www.gradical.ch 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
What is the most sustainable catheter we could design from scratch today? Damian Carr, founder of Eyedea MedTech Education and author of the Catheter R&D Handbook, joins me for a full case study. We break down how catheters are built today, why the process is still manual and fluoropolymer-heavy, and what a modern reel-to-reel line would look like. We cover PFAS-free liners, UHMWPE, dynamic co-extrusion, same-polymer designs that can be recycled, and the cost reality: 20 to 25% of today's cost at five times the output once the line runs. Damian is clear that there is no one-to-one replacement for fluoropolymers, so the job is to match the property the application actually needs. We also talk about the human side. The "point of no return" in the operating room, and why engineers need to sit with surgeons before they design the next device. This episode is sponsored by Masterflex Group. Masterflex | Schlauchhersteller | Schläuche und Verbindungen 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
How to Save 4.5 kg of CO2 per kg of Plastic | Tim Wagler, Braskem
Jul 8, 202656 minS1
Can bio-based plastic move past the nice story and scale in regulated MedTech? Tim Wagler is Commercial Director EMEA for Braskem's I'm green bio-based portfolio, polyethylene made from sugarcane instead of fossil feedstock. Braskem just launched an I'm green bio-based medical grade. In this episode: - What "physical content" bio-based means and how it differs from mass balance - Why fossil prices are spiking and bio-based is no longer the expensive option - The supply and land-use question, and why sugarcane uses 0.03% of Brazil's land today - Why bio-based is not biodegradable, and the claims you can actually make - Where a drop-in bio-based polyethylene fits in medical and pharma CONNECT WITH TIM Tim Wagler: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tim-wagler-891436a4/ Braskem I'm green: https://www.braskem.com/imgreen/landingpage ABOUT THE PODCAST MedTech Sustainability by Design is the Gradical podcast on choosing better plastics and building better medical devices. Book a free consultation: https://calendly.com/lucas-pianegonda-gradical/discovery-call-gradical Gradical: https://www.gradical.ch 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
Corporate Sustainability Made Easy with Matthew Yamatin, Thermo Fisher
Jun 17, 202656 minS2
How does a company with 120,000 colleagues and 500,000 products put a number on its carbon footprint and actually act on it? Matthew Yamatin is Global Director Sustainability at Thermo Fisher Scientific. He built the corporate sustainability program from scratch after joining in 2022 and now runs it across eight business groups. In this episode: - The scalable method Thermo Fisher uses to calculate product carbon footprints across half a million products - Why mass balance is the only realistic path to non-fossil plastics in a regulated industry - How biogenic carbon accounting actually works, and where the greenwashing debate sits - Why bio-based plastics stay tied to the oil price, and what it takes to decouple them - How to keep a sustainability program simple enough to move If you work in sustainability, procurement, or product development in life sciences or medtech, this gives you a model you can copy. Connect with Matthew: https://www.linkedin.com/in/matthewyamatin/ Thermo Fisher Scientific: https://www.thermofisher.com 00:00 How a 120,000-person company tackles sustainability at scale 01:16 The shampoo aisle problem 06:21 Inside Thermo Fisher 12:43 Scope 1, 2, 3 and the GHG Protocol 15:23 PCF vs CCF 17:50 The scalable PCF method 24:21 Why mass balance is the only scalable path 30:27 Biogenic carbon explained 40:59 Why bio-based costs more 44:10 Building a program from scratch 49:33 Find your North Star KPI 55:14 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
"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
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