Mansour Nada Khaled, Callera Arianna, Potere Federica, Micalizzi Simone, Costantino Maria Laura, De Gaetano Francesco, Oliva Paolo
IRCCS Humanitas Research Hospital, Milan, Italy.
Department of Chemistry, Materials and Chemical Engineering "Giulio Natta", Politecnico di Milano, Milan, Italy.
Front Bioeng Biotechnol. 2025 Mar 27;13:1548550. doi: 10.3389/fbioe.2025.1548550. eCollection 2025.
In the last decades, 3D printing has demonstrated its potential across various sectors, including healthcare. However, there remains a notable gap in the integration of circular economy principles to recycle plastic waste into functional, high-quality 3D printing filaments, particularly in clinical settings. This work addresses this gap by exploring the sustainability of 3D printing in healthcare through the recycling of plastic waste into 3D printable filaments.
The process involves the collection, shredding, extrusion, and spooling of high-density polyethylene (HDPE) water bottle caps, collected from hospital setting. Key steps, such as extrusion and printing processes, were optimised, and the mechanical properties of the filament were thoroughly assessed. An economic and an environmental impact analysis was also conducted to evaluate the overall process. Optimization of each phase of the circular economy process led to the production of a functional recycled filament, with homogeneous diameter and surface finish quality.
Despite HDPE being challenging to print, targeted adjustments significantly enhanced the print quality. The study not only aimed to obtain a usable filament but also to assess the economic and environmental impact of the whole process. The results indicated cost saving from in-house filament production compared to commercial options and a notable reduction in the environmental impact measured in carbon dioxide (CO) emission equivalent. The recycled filament was successfully used to print a patient-specific anatomical model of an intracranial aneurysm, as a support for surgical planning.
This demonstrates the feasibility of integrating sustainable 3D printing practices in healthcare, offering economics and environmental benefits while enhancing clinical support.
在过去几十年中，3D打印已在包括医疗保健在内的各个领域展现出其潜力。然而，在将循环经济原则融入以将塑料废物回收为功能性、高质量3D打印细丝方面，仍存在显著差距，尤其是在临床环境中。这项工作通过探索将塑料废物回收为3D可打印细丝来实现医疗保健领域3D打印的可持续性，从而解决了这一差距。
该过程包括从医院环境收集高密度聚乙烯（HDPE）水瓶盖、切碎、挤出和绕线。对挤出和打印等关键步骤进行了优化，并对细丝的机械性能进行了全面评估。还进行了经济和环境影响分析以评估整个过程。循环经济过程各阶段的优化导致生产出一种功能性回收细丝，其具有均匀的直径和表面光洁度质量。
尽管HDPE打印具有挑战性，但有针对性的调整显著提高了打印质量。该研究不仅旨在获得可用的细丝，还旨在评估整个过程的经济和环境影响。结果表明，与商业选择相比，内部生产细丝节省了成本，并且以二氧化碳（CO）排放当量衡量的环境影响显著降低。回收细丝成功用于打印颅内动脉瘤的患者特异性解剖模型，以支持手术规划。
这证明了在医疗保健中整合可持续3D打印实践的可行性，在增强临床支持的同时提供了经济和环境效益。
