Blue Lavage

A solution to avoid single-use batteries in orthopedic surgery and reducing plastic waste

Cleaning, also called lavage, of prostheses during surgery is currently done by a single use battery and motor-containing device. After each surgery the entire instrument, including its noxious battery, is being discarded in the clinical waste, that has to be treated in an incinerator.

First rechargeable surgical pulse lavage device

The BlueLavage^®, designed in Germany, avoids the loss of single used batteries by using a rechargeable unit. The main part is entirely made out of plastic material.

In Germany, for example, 434 000 of this kind of devices are being used each year, meaning 334 tons of plastic and 2.6 million batteries of medical waste. In comparison, by using BlueLavage, only half of this amount of plastic waste would be generated.

This surgical device requires no batteries for use. Instead, it is powered with a rechargeable Drive Unit during the operation. The Drive Unit can be charged up to a maximum of 150 times. By eliminating batteries and metal parts in the BlueLavage^®, tons of hazardous waste can be avoided. Let’s hope the plastic can be recycled as well in the future, but this design is already a big evolution to the existing one.