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. 2021:44:1361-1368.
doi: 10.1016/j.matpr.2020.11.505. Epub 2020 Nov 25.

3D printing of nasopharyngeal swabs for COVID-19 diagnose: Past and current trends

Aluri Manoj  1 , Monami Bhuyan  2 , Swarup Raj Banik  3 , Mamilla Ravi Sankar  4
Affiliations

3D printing of nasopharyngeal swabs for COVID-19 diagnose: Past and current trends

Aluri Manoj et al. Mater Today Proc. 2021.

Abstract

The current technological advancements in emerging 3D printing technologies are indeed propitious. To date, ground-breaking 3D printing technologies are used in automobile, aerospace, clothing, pharma, and biomedical industries by creating pre-requisite engineered and tailored end-user products reaching standard sets. 3D printing is also becoming a crucial technology in support of enhanced health care and general emergency response since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. As the world is facing a significant lack of medicinal supplies, manufactures are struggling to fulfill demands due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. The decline in the diagnostic testing kits supply chained to increased interest in 3D printed Nasopharyngeal (NP) swabs. This article has reviewed and studied the sensitivity of the NP swabs and various NP swab designs. The process of different 3D printing technologies that are employed to address the swab shortages during COVID-19 is explained in detail. The paper ends with the conclusions drawn from the literature review.

Keywords: 3D printed NP swabs; 3D printing; COVID-19; NP swabs; RT-PCR; SARS-CoV-2.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
(a) Conventional (C,R) and 3D printed (1,2,3,4) swabs (b) Swab heads close-ups (c) Gram stains of cheek swabs with 3D printed (bottom) and Conventional (top) swabs (d) Material testing of the swabs .
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Schematic illustration of SLA setup .
Fig. 3
Fig. 3
Different 3D swab designs .
Fig. 4
Fig. 4
Schematic illustration of FDM setup .
Fig. 5
Fig. 5
Nasal cavity computed tomography scan .
Fig. 6
Fig. 6
SLS process schematic illustration .
Fig. 7
Fig. 7
Schematic diagram of DLS printing process .
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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