Evidence map›Paper›PMID 33173409›Full record

ArticleAdvanced engineering materials2020

Rapid Fabrication of Sterile Medical Nasopharyngeal Swabs by Stereolithography for Widespread Testing in a Pandemic.

Louis A van der Elst, Merve Gokce Kurtoglu, Troy Leffel, Mengxin Zheng, Alexander Gumennik

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Advanced engineering materials, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 8 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
8citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

8 citing papers in PubMed.

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  2. Article
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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

5 authors.

Louis A van der ElstFibers and Additive Manufacturing Enabled Systems Laboratory Department of Intelligent Systems Engineering Indiana University Multidisciplinary Engineering & Sciences Hall, 2425 North Milo B. Sampson Lane Bloomington IN 47408 USA.ORCID 0000-0002-0028-6091
Merve Gokce KurtogluFibers and Additive Manufacturing Enabled Systems Laboratory Department of Intelligent Systems Engineering Indiana University Multidisciplinary Engineering & Sciences Hall, 2425 North Milo B. Sampson Lane Bloomington IN 47408 USA.
Troy LeffelFibers and Additive Manufacturing Enabled Systems Laboratory Department of Intelligent Systems Engineering Indiana University Multidisciplinary Engineering & Sciences Hall, 2425 North Milo B. Sampson Lane Bloomington IN 47408 USA.
Mengxin ZhengFibers and Additive Manufacturing Enabled Systems Laboratory Department of Intelligent Systems Engineering Indiana University Multidisciplinary Engineering & Sciences Hall, 2425 North Milo B. Sampson Lane Bloomington IN 47408 USA.
Alexander GumennikFibers and Additive Manufacturing Enabled Systems Laboratory Department of Intelligent Systems Engineering Indiana University Multidisciplinary Engineering & Sciences Hall, 2425 North Milo B. Sampson Lane Bloomington IN 47408 USA.ORCID 0000-0002-8076-5235

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

The 3D printing of nasopharyngeal swabs during the COVID-19 pandemic presents a central case of how to efficiently address a break in the global supply chain of medical equipment. Herein a comprehensive study of swab design considerations for mass production by stereolithography is presented. The retention and comfort performance of a range of novel designs of 3D-printed swabs are compared with the standard flocked-head swab used in clinical environments. Sample retention of the 3D swab is governed by the volume, porosity density, and void fraction of the head as well as by the pore geometry. 3D-printed swabs outperform conventional flock-head swabs in terms of sample retention. It is argued that mechanically functional designs of the swab head, such as corkscrew-shaped heads and negative Poisson ratio heads, maximize sample retention and improve patient comfort. In addition, available designs of swab shafts for an optimized sample collection procedure are characterized. The study is conducted in vitro, using artificial mucus, covering the full range of human mucus viscosities in a 3D-printed model of a nasal cavity. The work sets the path for the resilient supply of widespread sterile testing equipment as a rapid response to the current and future pandemics.

Indexed as

COVID-19pandemic responsesrapid prototypingswabswidespread testings

Identifiers

PMID33173409
PMCPMC7645949

What OpenQuestion holds

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Registered trials

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.