SUSUES is an acronym that stands for “Sustainable Use of Single-Use Endoscopes.”

A life cycle assessment is a method used to evaluate the environmental and climate impacts associated with a specific product or practice. By using life cycle assessment as a method, several aspects of the use of endoscopes in hospitals can be taken into account.

Medical equipment is one of the largest contributors to the climate footprint of hospitals, and therefore, there is great potential in using this as a case in the project. In the project, two hospital departments are collaborating, both performing endoscopies and using endoscopes thousands of times a year, which helps enable the activities in the project.

In the short term, the project’s results will be used to influence the workflows at the two hospital departments participating in the project. In the long term, the goal is for the model for a comprehensive sustainability assessment developed in the project to be expanded and applied to other departments and hospitals.

The consideration for the patient and their safety will always be the top priority. It is an absolute requirement that environmental and climate concerns do not result in a lower quality of treatment for the patient. Therefore, the project examines the treatment quality of endoscopies performed with the two different types of endoscopes, so this can be included in the overall sustainability assessment.

It is possible that the project’s result will show that single-use endoscopes are not a sustainable alternative. In that case, the project will have confirmed that reusable endoscopes are indeed the best and most sustainable practice.

The purpose of the project is not to make single-use endoscopes more sustainable than reusable ones – the goal is to determine what the most sustainable practice is when considering multiple parameters, all of which contribute to sustainability in healthcare. Throughout the project period, a model will be developed that can be used to determine the same for other medical instruments or workflows.

All public reports will be available here on the website. For inquiries regarding data and confidential reports, the project administration can be contacted.

We must act wisely in the challenge of transitioning the healthcare system to a sustainable future, and research is one of the core elements to focus on the solutions that truly work – even when time is scarce, and daily operations in a hospital department must continue. Based on an investigative approach to the concept of sustainability, the SUSUES project will work to develop a sustainability model that can be used in healthcare to make the right, well-informed decisions regarding sustainability measures.