This was a first year project. We were tasked with choosing a bio-plastic, or series of bio-plastics, and then work them to fit into a real life situation, to counter a genuine life issue.
I chose PLA, due to the extensive uses and life span.
In surgeries there have been thousands of recorded cases of RSI- Retained Surgical Instruments. This is when a tool, or other object used in an operation, is not removed before closing up a patient. Some of the more common objects left behind are forceps and hemostats. These are both objects that do not need to be made from surgical steel, and can/ and often have, caused serious internal damage over the course of a few years.
The advantage of these tools being made from PLA, is that (under the stresses of the human body) it will degrade fully into harmless gases. This means, if a retained surgical instrument is not discovered early, it will not cause any serious harm before it degrades.
Bio-plastics