The Operating Theatre Journal - Flipbook - Page 18
Leading Sustainable Anaesthesia
SageTech Medical was founded in South Devon in 2015 by a small team of scientists and
engineers with one shared goal - to reduce the impact of environmentally harmful waste
volatile anaesthetic agents.
The manufacture of virgin anaesthetic agents and their release as potent
greenhouse gases is highly damaging to the environment and contributes
signi昀椀cantly to the carbon footprint of healthcare. During an operation,
only 5% of anaesthetic agents are absorbed and metabolised by the
patient’s body, meaning that 95% is expelled as waste1. Once exhaled
into the atmosphere as gas, waste volatile anaesthetics stay around
for a long time and have high tropospheric lifetimes and subsequently
high global warming potentials. These gases cause climate change by
trapping heat, and they also contribute to respiratory disease from smog
and air pollution. Over a 20-year period (GWP20), volatile anaesthetic
gases sevo昀氀urane, iso昀氀urane and des昀氀urane have an impact of 508,
1401 and 3714 times that of carbon dioxide, respectively2.
In the UK, an estimated 100,000 tonnes of CO2 equivalent (CO2e)
emissions are released every year from volatile anaesthetic gases3,4,5,6,
which equates to over 2% of all NHS carbon emissions 4. With the NHS
committed to an 80% reduction in CO2e emissions by 2032, an innovative
solution is needed7.
SageTech Medical has developed a safe, sustainable and easy to use
circular economy solution to tackle this problem.
Exhaled waste volatile anaesthetic agents are captured onto two
reusable capture canisters (‘SID-Cans’) which are housed inside a
capture machine (‘SID-Dock’) that integrates simply, seamlessly and
universally into existing anaesthetic equipment.
When full, the SID-Cans are collected from the hospital, emptied at
regional SID-Hub facilities, and quality checked before being returned
for reuse. Captured agents are recovered from the SID-Cans back into a
liquid form using proprietary SID-Lab technology. The recovered mixed
agent is then transported in bulk to SageTech Medical’s puri昀椀cation and
manufacturing facility in Devon. The mixed liquid waste is processed
and puri昀椀ed via a distillation process.
The recycled waste volatile agents can be repeatedly recycled and
reused as an anaesthetic, therefore reducing the signi昀椀cant burden
associated with virgin drug manufacture and completing the circular
economy solution.
Currently, there is a real unmet and time critical need to reduce the
impact of waste volatile anaesthetic agents on the atmosphere to
protect our environment for future generations. By preventing these
agents from polluting the atmosphere and reducing the raw material
associated with their virgin manufacture, SageTech Medical are proud
to be leading the way in sustainable anaesthesia, and providing hospitals
and clinics with a straightforward solution to enable them make a real
difference to their carbon footprint and our planet.
Multiple studies have been conducted which have delivered pleasing
results. The 昀椀rst clinical study from Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation
Trust quanti昀椀ed the ef昀椀cacy of SageTech Medical’s volatile capture
technology and showed a 94.8% capture performance in vitro9. Another
clinical study (in vivo) from the The Newcastle Upon Tyne Hospitals NHS
Foundation Trust showed that of the total volatile anaesthetic used
during the study, 51% was recaptured11, further validating the ef昀椀cacy
of the technology in a clinical setting.
A third study from the Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust
on the role of volatile capture technology in des昀氀urane disposal from
decommissioned vaporisers showed a capture rate of 94%10.
Following multiple successful evaluations, SageTech Medical have
achieved a number of recent sales from hospitals focused on sustainable
innovations including the Bupa Cromwell Hospital in London, who have
signed a 5 year contract with the company11.
In June, SageTech Medical won the 昀椀rst competitive NHS Tender with
Hull University Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust, a testament to their
growing credibility in the healthcare sector12 and have recently sold
into the Benenden Hospital. The company have also sold their SID-Dock
volatile capture devices to the Manchester University NHS Foundation
Trust, where they will initially be used to safely and sustainably capture
the unused des昀氀urane contained inside decommissioned anaesthetic
vaporisers, before being deployed into high use sevo昀氀urane theatres in
Wythenshawe Hospital13.
SageTech Medical’s journey has been marked by innovation and success,
highlighting the team’s continued dedication to capturing harmful waste
volatile anaesthetics, lowering the carbon footprint of healthcare and
protecting our planet.
References:
1. National Library of Medicine / Environmental and Occupational
Considerations of Anesthesia: A Narrative Review and Update
2. Environ.Sci.Technol. / The Global Warming Potentials for Anesthetic Gas
Sevo昀氀urane Need Signi昀椀cant Corrections
3. The Lancet / Health care’s response to climate change: a carbon footprint
assessment of the NHS in England
4. NHS England / Putting anaesthetic-generated emissions to bed
5. RCoA / Sustainability: Intravenous and local anaesthetic agents
SageTech Medical of昀椀cially launched their commercial waste volatile
gas capture device in January 2023 and their path has been marked
by a series of signi昀椀cant achievements ever since. These milestones
have not only highlighted the team’s dedication to providing a safe,
sustainable and easy to use product that will help to lower the carbon
footprint of healthcare, but has demonstrated their potential to expand
within the human and veterinary healthcare industry.
6. Sustainable Healthcare / The Nitrous Oxide Project
Prior to their of昀椀cial launch, the company achieved ISO 13485
accreditation and their innovative waste volatile gas capture device
was recognised with the UK CA Mark, allowing sales within the UK.
Additionally, the technology was also proved to be compatible with
the four major global anaesthetic machine manufacturers, GE, Draeger,
Mindray and Getinge.
11. AOA / The role of volatile capture technology in des昀氀urane disposal from
decommissioned vaporisers
Shortly after the commercial device was launched, SageTech Medical
signed a distribution agreement with Draeger UK, granting NHS
customers access to their innovative technology through the NHS Supply
Chain8. They are awaiting CE Mark certi昀椀cation imminently which will
enable the company to start serving the European market.
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7. NHS / Delivering a ‘Net Zero’ National Health Service
8. SageTech Medical / SageTech Medical announces distribution agreement
with Draeger UK
9. AOA / Inhalation anaesthetics: an assessment of agent delivery and capture
10. BJA / Ef昀椀ciency of inhaled anaesthetic recapture in clinical practice.
Comment on Br J Anaesth 2022; 129: e79-81.
12. SageTech Medical / SageTech Medical’s gas capture solution wins its 昀椀rst UK
competitive NHS tender
13. SageTech Medical / SageTech Medical’s solution purchased, preventing NHS
scope 1 emissions from anaesthetic gas pollution
Contact details:
Hannah Dale
Marketing & Communications Associate
Hannah.dale@sagetechmedical.com
07897 471205
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