Life-Size 3D Printed Medical Model For Nasal Swabbing Training

Additive manufacturing has been playing an increasingly important role in the medical sector for years now. From advanced surgical procedures to cosmetic dentistry, physicians and medical support staff in nearly every field of medicine have seen the benefits of 3D printing in their profession. At the start of the pandemic, Q & M Dental Group helped with the COVID-19 testing rush, so much so that they were awarded the President’s Volunteerism & Philanthropy Award by the City of Good. Now that COVID-testing has become a routine requirement for many activities from travel to dining, the company observed the new need for non-medical personnel to now execute swabbing procedures, which led Q & M Dental Group to partner with Singapore-based Creatz3D and its subsidiary AuMed, to create a life-sized 3D-printed medical model to be used for swabbing procedural training.

As we’ve witnessed in other examples of 3D printing applications in medicine, visualizing a patient’s anatomy allows physicians, and now non-medical staffers, to provide better patient care. “Our focus was to find models with a cross-sectional view of the nose area so that we could teach learners about specific anatomical landmarks and what to watch out for while swabbing. We wanted a model that could let us explain procedures effortlessly to a non-medical trained person,” said Joseph Lua, an associate at Q & M Dental Group.

Non-medical personnel training with a 3D-printed medical model of nose/nasal cavity. (Photo Credit: Creatz3D)

3D Printed Medical Model

After successfully completing a training session with the medical model, trainees understand the anatomical features of a nose and nasal cavity, possible resistance points, and best practices for gathering an optimal swab sample. The model training is coupled with Q & M College’s COVID-19 Swabbing Proficiency Course that is taught by experienced medical professionals and re-creates the in-person learning experience, emphasizing patient-focused interactions and building empathy.

According to information provided by Creatz3D, existing nasal simulators and models on the market are inadequate in the following critical areas: Nasal mid-turbinate swab, Nasopharyngeal swab, Oropharyngeal swab (aka throat swab). The team was able to reference different anatomical models, CT and MRI libraries provided by AuMed.  One of the most notable features of the nasal model is the bouncing feedback from the tongue for simulating the use of a tongue depressor. What would have taken months to produce using traditional methods, thanks to 3D printing, the project required only 5 working days of 3D printing, including CAD designing and post-processing. You can learn more about this swab testing training and 3D printed nasal model HERE.

Q & M College’s COVID-19 Swabbing Proficiency Course. (Photo Credit: Creatz3D)

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Cover Photo Credit: Creatz3D