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. 2022 Mar:5:100042.
doi: 10.1016/j.stlm.2021.100042. Epub 2021 Dec 13.

The personal protective equipment fabricated via 3D printing technology during COVID-19

Raj Agarwal  1
Affiliations

The personal protective equipment fabricated via 3D printing technology during COVID-19

Raj Agarwal. Ann 3D Print Med. 2022 Mar.

Abstract

COVID-19 has been spread in more than 220 countries and caused global health concerns. The supply chain disruptions have abruptly affected due to the second wave of COVID-19 in various countries and caused unavailability and shortage of medical devices and personal protective equipment for frontline healthcare workers. Three-dimensional (3D) printing has proven to be a boon and revolutionized technology to supply medical devices and tackle the situation caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. The diverse designs were produced and are currently used in hospitals by patients and frontline healthcare doctors. This review summarises the application of 3D printing during COVID-19. It collects the comprehensive information of recently designed and fabricated protective equipment like nasopharyngeal swabs, valves, face shields, facemasks and many more medical devices. The drawbacks and future challenges of 3D printed medical devices and protective equipment is discussed.

Keywords: 3D printing; COVID-19; Medical devices; Protective equipment.

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Conflict of interest statement

The author declares no conflict of interest.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
(a) 3D-printed COVID-19 model with support structure, (b) appropriate spikes and geometry of the model.
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
(a) 3D printed Nasopharyngeal swabs, (b) photomicrograph of air-dried stained cells collected using 3D printed swab [Reprinted with permission[33]].
Fig. 3
Fig. 3
(a) reusable 3D-printed facemask, (b) filter support; (c) polypropylene particle filter and (d) facemask prototype 3D image, (e) surgical facemask, (f) FFP2 facemask, (g) 3D facial, (h) 3D-printed facemask [Permission not required as per journal policy[15]].
Fig. 4
Fig. 4
(a) 3D printed cartridge filter, (b) front view of mask [Permission not required as per journal policy[45]].
Fig. 5
Fig. 5
(a) 3D-printing of the headband by FDM, (b) 2-arches 3D-printed headband face-shield [Reprinted with permission[49].
Fig. 6
Fig. 6
(a) 3D printed fame of face-shield, (b) assembled face-shield prototype, (c) surgeon wearing 3D printed face-shield [Reprinted with permission.
Fig. 7
Fig. 7
Respiratory valves developed for Italian hospitals [Reprinted with permission.
Fig. 8
Fig. 8
Application of 3D printing technology for fabrication of PPE.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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