Return on Investment and Waste Considerations for the Implementation of Rechargeable Batteries in Video Laryngoscopes
Author(s)
Dominique M. Brandt, MA, MS1, Maximilian Blüher, BSc, MSc2, Rhodri Saunders, BSc, MSc, PhD2;
1Medtronic, Cincinnati, OH, USA, 2Coreva Scientific GmbH & Co KG, Königswinter, Germany
1Medtronic, Cincinnati, OH, USA, 2Coreva Scientific GmbH & Co KG, Königswinter, Germany
Presentation Documents
OBJECTIVES: The operating room (OR) generates about 1/3rd of total hospital waste and interventions to reduce the environmental impact of the OR have been shown to have the potential to achieve cost savings in the long run. Of particular interest are batteries used in medical devices, which contain hazardous metals and require special disposal or recycling. Here, the return on investment (ROI) for adopting rechargeable instead of single-use batteries for video laryngoscopes (VL) in ORs is assessed from the US hospital perspective.
METHODS: A model was developed in Excel to estimate the ROI of a rechargeable battery priced at $350/unit, a total battery lifetime of 10,000 minutes and time to failure of 10 years. The single-use battery cost $32/unit, with a 250-minute run time. The cost of battery disposal was $3.63 for single-use vs. $0.13 for rechargeable. The recycling workflow was not considered. Costs are in 2024 USD. The base case considered a hospital with 8 ORs performing 50,000 intubations per year, 75% using VL, with a mean 3-minute run time per intubation.
RESULTS: In the base case, transitioning from single-use to rechargeable batteries resulted in an additional cost of $65,278 in year one and ROI reached in year five. Over a period of ten years, it would prevent disposal of 4,730 single-use batteries (142 kg of waste; disposal costs: $17,170), instead disposing of 103 reusable batteries (3 kg waste; disposal costs: $13). In a scenario analysis, the cost of reusable batteries was varied from five to 15 times of the cost of single-use batteries, this resulted in a ROI period between three and seven years.
CONCLUSIONS: Transitioning to rechargeable batteries for video laryngoscopy is expected to be cost saving over longer time horizons and will contribute to reducing the environmental impact of intubation in the OR.
METHODS: A model was developed in Excel to estimate the ROI of a rechargeable battery priced at $350/unit, a total battery lifetime of 10,000 minutes and time to failure of 10 years. The single-use battery cost $32/unit, with a 250-minute run time. The cost of battery disposal was $3.63 for single-use vs. $0.13 for rechargeable. The recycling workflow was not considered. Costs are in 2024 USD. The base case considered a hospital with 8 ORs performing 50,000 intubations per year, 75% using VL, with a mean 3-minute run time per intubation.
RESULTS: In the base case, transitioning from single-use to rechargeable batteries resulted in an additional cost of $65,278 in year one and ROI reached in year five. Over a period of ten years, it would prevent disposal of 4,730 single-use batteries (142 kg of waste; disposal costs: $17,170), instead disposing of 103 reusable batteries (3 kg waste; disposal costs: $13). In a scenario analysis, the cost of reusable batteries was varied from five to 15 times of the cost of single-use batteries, this resulted in a ROI period between three and seven years.
CONCLUSIONS: Transitioning to rechargeable batteries for video laryngoscopy is expected to be cost saving over longer time horizons and will contribute to reducing the environmental impact of intubation in the OR.
Conference/Value in Health Info
2025-05, ISPOR 2025, Montréal, Quebec, CA
Value in Health, Volume 28, Issue S1
Code
EE401
Topic
Economic Evaluation
Disease
No Additional Disease & Conditions/Specialized Treatment Areas, SDC: Respiratory-Related Disorders (Allergy, Asthma, Smoking, Other Respiratory)