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Given the growing ecological footprint of anthropomorphic activities, considering the environmental impacts of any process is becoming increasingly important. This is especially true for the healthcare industry, whose objective of maintaining human health standards is impeded by its own unsustainable practices. To this end, life cycle analysis is particularly helpful. There have not been many life cycle analyses performed on a healthcare device or on medical procedures. Many medical devices are single use, which leads to a significant waste management problem, particularly as plastic is widely used in their composition. The objective of this study is to present a life-cycle-thinking-based approach to compare the environmental impacts associated with single-use electrophysiological catheters with the sterilization of reusable electrophysiological catheters using hydrogen peroxide, ethylene oxide, and peracetic acid. A life cycle assessment was conducted considering different use, disinfection, and disposal scenarios for electrophysiological catheters, using ReCiPe midpoint and endpoint analysis with the SimaPro software. The findings indicate that using single-use disposable electrophysiological catheters, instead of sterilizing a single catheter using either ETO or hydrogen peroxide and reusing multiple times, is preferable from a purely environmental perspective. However, the costs reduce drastically when equipment is sterilized and reused instead of disposing them after using one time. This in turn illustrates that depending on the process, sanitizing and reusing medical devices may not always be more resource-efficient than single device usage. From a cost perspective, ETO sterilization has the lowest costs, and yet it leads to an aggregate environmental impact of over 20 times compared to the single-use scenario, mainly due to the required detoxification process. The outcomes of this research will assist the health care industry in identifying the most suitable operational procedures considering patient safety, economics, and environmental stewardship, and in developing policies and guidelines for a more sustainable healthcare sector. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The heavy reliance on information and communication technology (ICT) has prompted the importance of cyber security more than ever in history. Although there are various studies that explored the importance of cybersecurity solutions, the impact of production and usage of these solutions on the natural environment and their economic impact has been rarely researched. The objective of this research is to investigate the environmental and economic impact of cybersecurity solutions. An extensive Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) has been performed on three cybersecurity solutions to assess and compare their environmental impact. Based on global warming potential, the embodied carbon footprint was determined. Carbon footprint and operational costs were used to calculate Life Cycle Cost (LCC) analysis and these data were then used to compare the eco-efficiency of the three cybersecurity solutions. This research compares three cybersecurity solutions: Next Generation DataGuard (NGD), Current State of Art Solution (CSAS), and a Generic Cybersecurity Solution (GCS), to identify an economically viable and environmentally friendly cybersecurity solution. The result of the analysis indicated that NGD was approximately 58% and 88% more energy-efficient than CSAS and GCS, respectively. Also, the LCC of NGD was approximately 6%- 12% lower than CSAS and 22%- 40% lower than GCS in selected provinces in Canada. The eco-efficiency of CSAS was approximately 60% less than NGD. Next Generation DataGuard is found to be a successful solution in this research among the three solutions. This study will be useful to researchers, cybersecurity industries, and policymakers to develop informed decisions on cybersecurity solutions. [Display omitted] • The life cycle environmental and economic performance of three cybersecurity solutions were compared. • Next Generation DataGuard (NGD) was approximately 58% and 88% more energy-efficient than current state of art solution and generic cybersecurity solution, respectively. • The NGD displayed superior environmental and economic performance for all Canadian cities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]