Origin 3D-printed COVID-19 test swabs pass clinical trial

Images provided by Origin

Origin, the developer of an open platform for additive mass manufacturing, is collaborating with Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center (BIDMC) on a method for manufacturing COVID-19 test swabs.

Origin recently shifted its resources from being a 3D printer manufacturer to become a medical device manufacturer and has started production to address the shortage of COVID-19 test kits.

BIDMC, an academic medical center affiliated with Harvard Medical School, selected Origin’s 3D-printed test swab to be part of a clinical trial to evaluate it for efficacy and safety. Origin’s 3D-printed swab passed an initial clinical evaluation for human factors, materials testing, and PCR compatibility.

Origin designed the swabs using the nTop Platform to rapidly iterate many different versions for BIDMC to evaluate. The company worked closely with its Open Material Network to identify the proper medical-grade material and to quickly refine optimal processing conditions.

It also is part of a new industry consortium called PrintedSwabs.org, which is bringing together the efforts of the 3D printing industry with academia and medical enterprises to supply millions of 3D-printed COVID-19 test swabs.