{"id":28946,"date":"2021-04-13T14:00:12","date_gmt":"2021-04-13T14:00:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.3dnatives.com\/en\/?p=28946"},"modified":"2021-04-13T12:50:31","modified_gmt":"2021-04-13T12:50:31","slug":"opt-industries-nasal-swabs-covid-130420215","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.3dnatives.com\/en\/opt-industries-nasal-swabs-covid-130420215\/","title":{"rendered":"MIT Spinout Uses 3D Printing to Create More Effective COVID-19 Nasal Swabs"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
MIT spinout<\/a>, OPT Industries has used novel additive manufacturing systems to develop intricately designed products, including a novel nasal swabs to be used for Covid-19<\/a> testing. Founder, Jifei Ou, previously spent seven years spent researching 3D systems in MIT\u2019s Media Lab, Jifei Ou developed thin hairlike structures. Realising that these tiny woven lattices were highly compatible with material demands of nasal swabs used to test for Covid-19, Ou decided to use the technology to aid in pandemic response. For just over twelve months, OPT Industries has been working alongside hospitals to develop a new kind of nasal swab,<\/a> dubbed the <\/span>INSTASWAB<\/em>.<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Using a continuous manufacturing approach, the MIT spinout was able to scale up its printer production according to the increasing demand for its product. OPT Industries has now supplied more than 800,000 swabs to several different health care and at-home testing organizations, playing a crucial role in meeting hospitals shortages to ensure that testing can continue. \u201cIt\u2019s very meaningful to be part of this effort,\u201d<\/em> Ou says. \u201cIt also feels particularly good because we\u2019ve been developing materials with hairlike structures for a long time, so it\u2019s like, \u2018Aha, our expertise finally put to use!\u2019\u201d. He continues, \u201cWhen it came to the swabs we thought, \u2018Hey, that\u2019s a great fit! Swabs need to be soft, flexible, the structures on the tip need to be very intricate. That\u2019s what we do.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n