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This 3D-printed nasal swab is a design marvel

Designed and manufactured by Carbon and Resolution Medical, the lattice-tipped swab is a 2020 Innovation by Design award winner.

This 3D-printed nasal swab is a design marvel

[Image: Carbon and Resolution Medical]

BY Yasmin Gagne0 minute read

This past spring, as medical facilities faced a shortage of nasopharyngeal swabs for COVID-19 testing, Carbon and Resolution Medical designed, manufactured, and launched a new swab featuring a lattice tip. All of this took less than three weeks, thanks to 3D-printing techniques. The company is now scaling up to produce up to a million swabs a week.

Less rigid

Following tests at Harvard- and Stanford-associated hospitals, engineers redesigned the stem to be even more flexible.

[Photo: Carbon and Resolution Medical]

Polymer lattice tip

The tip of the swab is made of flexible lattice that conforms to the shape of the nose and can rotate in the nasal cavity, improving patient comfort.

Better samples

The tip’s hollow cage structure leaves ample space to collect and remove mucus. The design is intended to improve the efficacy of COVID-19 testing.

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See more honorees from the 2020 Innovation by Design Awards here.

WATCH: 7 innovative designs helping us through the pandemic

Recognize your company's culture of innovation by applying to this year's Best Workplaces for Innovators Awards before the final deadline, April 5.

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