3D-printed Nasal Swab for COVID-19 Testing

In response to the severe shortage of nasopharyngeal (NP) swabs early in the COVID-19 pandemic, the Department of Radiology at University of South Florida (USF) Health in Tampa set out to design, verify and create NP swabs utilizing a point-of-care 3D printer.

Outcomes of the first clinical trial of 3D-printed NP swabs for COVID-19 testing are being presented at the annual meeting of the Radiological Society of North America (RSNA).

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‘3D printed swabs developed performed better than flocked swabs in some cases.’

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Summer Decker, associate professor, vice chair for research, and director of the 3D Clinical Applications for the Department of Radiology stated, "To date, USF Health has printed over 100,000 3D NP swabs, and hospitals around the world have used our 3D files to print tens of millions more swabs for point-of-care use."

The 3D swab has received national and international attention as an instance of the power of medical 3D printing and rapid innovation to provide clinical solutions.

The flocked NP swab, which collects a test sample of nasal secretions from the back of the nose and throat for lab examination, is the prevailing standard of care for diagnosing COVID-19. It consists of a narrow plastic rod and a tip covered in a flocked polyester material.

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As the pandemic and demand for COVID-19 testing rose in early March, Dr. Decker and her team promptly began studying how they could develop an alternative to the flocked swab.

Within a few days, they came up with 12 designs and printed 3 to test on themselves.

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The final prototype, developed using FormLabs printers and surgical grade resin, was given to infectious disease specialists at both USF and Northwell for validation testing.

At the three trial sites, 291 patients (ages 14-94) who were hospitalized or seen in the emergency room were tested for COVID-19 using both the flocked swab and 3D swab. The 3D swab exhibited statistically identical results to the flocked swab in the head-to-head trial.

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Dr. Decker said, "The results were overwhelmingly positive. The clinical trial showed that the 3D nasal swabs performed as well as - or, in some cases, better than - flocked swabs."

The 3D printing process takes up to 15 hours, depending on the printer. The printed swabs are rinsed in isopropyl alcohol, cured, and hand-inspected for defects. Lastly, a member of the hospital's infectious disease team reviews each swab before it is sterilized in an autoclave and packed in a test kit.

"Medical 3D printing is housed in the field of radiology, and RSNA and the 3D Printing Special Interest Group give us a voice," she said. "This project shows novel ways that radiology departments around the world can directly help hospitals and clinical care during a crisis like COVID-19."

Source-Medindia