PLA nasopharyngeal swab for COVID-19

thingiverse

Due to worldwide shortages of nasopharyngeal swabs for COVID-19 testing, our team has created a low-cost alternative that can be made with most FDM printers and assembled in just 10 seconds. PLA is an FDA-approved biosafe material since the 1970s, and it's also flexible enough to pass the 180-degree bend test (as seen in an attached photo). A detailed assembly manual is uploaded above, along with a polyester-wrapping tool to ensure maximum consistency and ease of assembly. After getting approval from the Ministry of Health of Kuwait, the swab was first sterilized using low-temperature plasma at 45 degrees Celsius (evaporated hydrogen peroxide). It was then tested for sterility and subsequently tested on non-COVID-19 volunteers for pilot testing and detection of nasopharyngeal epithelial cells. After passing all previous tests, the swabs underwent clinical testing on COVID-19 positive and negative patients at Jaber Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah Hospital. The initial results of the first 44 patients revealed a 91% agreement (Cohen’s Kappa coefficient 0.812) with the commercially available swabs. Design considerations: A breaking point (as seen in an attached photo) is added 90mm from the tip in accordance with the standard UTM tube. After wrapping the polyester, the tip diameter is 3.5mm, which has been found to be the optimal diameter for cell collection and comfort. The nasopharyngeal swabs are being printed at 0.25 layer height and 100% infill with a 0.4mm nozzle Printers being used: Prusa I3 MK2S: prints 60 swabs in 3h15m Dremel 3D45: prints 62 swabs in 2h42m *Disclaimer: These swabs have been produced under quality-controlled conditions at a Ministry of Health Facility in Kuwait. All sterilization and testing has been performed according to the Ministry's guidelines and protocols. These swabs have shown to be an effective emergency solution to be used only by healthcare facilities after approval by the relevant healthcare authorities.* Design Credit to: Saud Alzabin Ahmad Alsharhan Yousif Alkandry Ali Alshatti