Executive Summary:

Project Origami is a sustainably focused single-use paper inhaler concept. Our self-initiated brief for this project centred around the question “How can we make inhalers more sustainable?”. Throughout extensive research and development, we developed  a concept for a single-use dry powder inhaler, constructed entirely from one material that is naturally compostable, meaning that upon disposal, no plastic goes to landfill, and no plastic ends up in our oceans. Project Origami is purposefully designed to be simple, and scalable, with use case scenarios such as for emergency vaccination programmes whereby drug delivery to the lungs is required. Project Origami’s mono material solution and low life cycle impact results in an estimated 5x CO2 reduction/dose relative to a typical single-use DPI.

Read more >

Benefits:

  • Designed for single-use scenarios (vaccines, emergencies)
  • Simple pull strip technology
  • Pull strip > Inhale > Done
  • 5x CO2 reduction/dose relative to a typical single-use DPI
  • 3x CO2 reduction/dose relative to a typical HFA 152a pMDI
  • 2x CO2 reduction/dose relative to Diskus
  • No plastic sent to landfill. No plastic in our oceans
  • Mono material solution
  • Eco inks used for artwork
  • Single print surface
  • No glues/adhesives used
  • Designed for packaging vs inj. moulding manufacture
  • Guilt-free disposal for users
  • Prototypes produced using paper cold forming technology

 

Project Origami is a single-use paper inhaler technology demonstrator designed by Haughton Design. As part of a wider project surrounding design and development of responsible medical devices, we targeted the inhalation sector and asked a simple question…

“How can we make inhalers more sustainable?”

During our research stage, we identified that there is a growing market for single-use inhalers, for emergency use, temporary therapeutical benefit or for vaccination programmes that reduce the complication of needle-based vaccine delivery.

We believe that medical devices should be designed responsibly, to account for both people and the planet. The emerging market switch over from propellant based inhalers to dry powder inhalers due to their lower GWP is encouraging, however, we have concerns regarding the amount of plastic used in dry powder inhalers, and complications with responsible end of life management. We wanted to explore if we could do better. But first, we needed to conduct research into what’s currently done, how it’s done, why it’s done that way, and what are the assumptions and limitations of current technology.

We conducted device teardowns into leading oral and nasal inhalers; DPI’s, pMDI’s, SMI’s etc, single-use, multi-use, etc. We discovered that depending on technology, there is a multitude of materials, such as various plastics, aluminium, steel, rubbers, etc. Not only does this make the supply chain and manufacturing complex, a particular risk with vaccination programmes that need to scale up at rapid pace, but also result in an incredibly difficult challenge for trade-back initiatives for appropriate disposal, such as; incineration, landfill, and recycling of reclaimable materials.

We simultaneously created a journey map of an inhaler, from manufacture to end of life and (hopefully) if it makes its way back to a trade-back collection scheme. Through our insights gathered, collection schemes are an environmental risk mitigation sticking plaster for current inhalers, and are incredibly logistically complex systems.

GSK Diskus teardown

We collaborated with Keele University and JG Technology Management whereby we conducted a Patient & Public Involvement & Engagement (PPIE) study with their Research User Group. The focus of the study was to discover thoughts from users of inhalation devices regarding sustainability. It was interesting to learn that many members of the group didn’t know how to responsibly dispose of their inhalers, and they thought that more should be done by manufactures making inhalation systems more sustainable by design, questioning recyclability, and how environmentally friendly materials could be used.

We decided to apply our sustainability strategy toolkit to this complex problem and discover which sustainability strategy is most effective. This analytical process resulted in prioritising making single use inhalers from an environmentally friendly mono material.

Various eco-materials were explored and experimented with, from composite fibres, conventional paper, pulp materials, carboard, etc. Finally settling on a cold formable paper due to it’s ease of formability, manufacturing simplicity and potential for moisture barrier protection.

 

 

Project Origami’s concept design was iterated upon for several weeks, exploring different materials, bonding technologies, folding operations, artwork designs, etc. Several design variants were eliminated due to poor material utilisation, multi-face printing, requiring adhesive for bonding, and complex folding/forming geometries.

The final concept design was selected based upon internal feedback, ensuring we factored for safety and efficacy, but also balanced functional performance, with useability and sustainability.

More is yet to be completed to mature the technology demonstrator, such as; dose delivered uniformity testing, protection against moisture, structural robustness, airflow characterisation of the internal venturi geometry to encourage powder pickup, further manufacturing optimisation, etc.

We’re excited to showcase Project Origami as a sustainably focused concept, and deeply encouraged by the eco revolution within the medical industry, by the likes of 1nhaler – paper inhaler, and new purely paper blister packs for oral medication. Haughton Design believe there is a huge opportunity to ‘think differently’ and question the status quo of medical device development, not to just design devices for people, but the planet also.

We’re completely understanding that eco materials cannot be applied to all products, as there is a careful consideration surrounding risk/benefit. However, there are other sustainable strategies that could be mapped to your medical device challenge, and we’d be more than happy to take a look to see what is the eco-potential for your portfolio.

Related content