Resolution Medical using Carbon DLS tech to 3D print COVID swabs

3D-printed nasopharyngeal swabs (Photo: Business Wire)

The new Resolution Medical Lattice Swab exhibits a conformal lattice design made with Carbon’s Lattice Engine software. The hollow structure of the lattice is designed for specimen collection efficiency, with a geometry that is also flexible to promote functionality and comfort for patients, according to its maker. The product is now undergoing clinical evaluation by clinicians at multiple institutions, including Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, a teaching hospital affiliated with Harvard Medical School, and Stanford Medicine.

“We are proud to be collaborating with digital manufacturing company, Carbon, to produce the Lattice Swab,” said Shawn Patterson, founder and president of Resolution Medical. “We have worked together urgently to get this product into the hands of healthcare workers to help address immediate needs for increased COVID-19 testing. At scale, we plan to supply over one million swabs per week.”

To produce the Lattice Swab, Resolution Medical works with Carbon’s network of dental labs and production partners, as well as its internal printing team, who use Carbon M2 printers and Keystone Industries’ KeySplint Soft Clear material, indicated for the fabrication of orthodontic and dental appliances such as mouthguards, night guards, and snoring appliances in the US, Canada, EU, Australia, and New Zealand. The swabs, which are biocompatible and autoclavable, are currently printed hundreds at a time with a unique serialization present on each strip to facilitate traceability.

“Triggered by the COVID-19 pandemic, Carbon’s engineers and material scientists quickly sprung to action to identify the KeySplint Soft Clear material as having the right balance of properties to make a soft, flexible swab with appropriate strength that could be printed with precision using the Carbon M2 at 75 micron pixels,” said Dr. Joseph DeSimone, co-founder and executive chairman at Carbon. “Resolution Medical, our production partner since 2018, has been amazing in leading the effort to launch the product.”