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Neurophotometrics and Markforged producing 10,000 3D printed nasal swabs a day AM Industry

Massachusetts-based 3D printing company Markforged has just announced a partnership with optical equipment provider Neurophotometrics (NPM) to produce 3D printed nasopharyngeal swabs for COVID-19 diagnostic testing. The swab design, called Fiberflex Rayon, reportedly detected the virus in all patients tested, while commercial swabs reported false negatives. Markforged says it is now producing 10,000 nasal swabs per day and plans to scale production up to 100,000 per day.

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How 3D printed nasal swabs could support widespread COVID-19 testing AM Industry

As has quickly become apparent in the fight against COVID-19, one of the critical factors in stemming the spread of the virus and understanding its reach is widespread testing. The World Health Organization (WHO) has promoted testing in its guidance to governments, but on the ground many countries have struggled to scale up testing operations to the point required. One of the key inhibitors to adopting more broad testing is a lack of supplies, including test kits and personal protective equipment for healthcare workers.

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Polish designer shares 3D printed adapter for DAR filter connecting to 3M masks AM Industry

Our friends at Polish 3D printing media portal CentrumDruku3D reported on the story of – and introduced us – to Przemysław Stachura, who came up with the design of a 3D printed adapter for DAR filter to transform a 3M mask into a special type of PPE. The model [available here to download] quickly caught the attention of paramedics in Poland and other nations, who expressed a desire to test and use it

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Farsoon, Huaxiang & LEHVOSS Group additively manufacture safety goggles to fight COVID-19 AM Industry

COVID-19 is a high infectivity virus that is mainly transmitted through droplets released into the air by coughing or sneezing. To prevent infection in highly contaminated hospital environments, medical workers who are in close contact with patients must wear personal protective equipment (PPE) including masks, gloves, and respiratory systems to prevent infections transmitted through the nose and mouth. In addition to the safety PPE equipment listed above, other critical protection equipment are safety goggles. These are just as important as masks in protecting medical personnel against infection.