scholarly journals Clinical Evaluation of In-House-Produced 3D-Printed Nasopharyngeal Swabs for COVID-19 Testing

Viruses ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (9) ◽  
pp. 1752
Author(s):  
Simon Grandjean Lapierre ◽  
Stéphane Bedwani ◽  
François DeBlois ◽  
Audray Fortin ◽  
Natalia Zamorano Cuervo ◽  
...  

3D-printed alternatives to standard flocked swabs were rapidly developed to provide a response to the unprecedented and sudden need for an exponentially growing amount of diagnostic tools to fight the COVID-19 pandemic. In light of the anticipated shortage, a hospital-based 3D-printing platform was implemented in our institution for the production of swabs for nasopharyngeal and oropharyngeal sampling based on the freely available, open-source design provided to the community by University of South Florida’s Health Radiology and Northwell Health System teams as a replacement for locally used commercial swabs. Validation of our 3D-printed swabs was performed with a head-to-head diagnostic accuracy study of the 3D-printed “Northwell model” with the cobas PCR Media® swab sample kit. We observed an excellent concordance (total agreement 96.8%, Kappa 0.936) in results obtained with the 3D-printed and flocked swabs, indicating that the in-house 3D-printed swab could be used reliably in the context of a shortage of flocked swabs. To our knowledge, this is the first study to report on autonomous hospital-based production and clinical validation of 3D-printed swabs.

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Simon Grandjean Lapierre ◽  
Stephane Bedwani ◽  
François Deblois ◽  
Audray Fortin ◽  
Natalia Zamorano Cuervo ◽  
...  

3D printed alternatives to standard flocked swabs were rapidly developed to provide a response to the unprecedented and sudden need for an exponentially growing amounts of diagnostic tools to fight the pandemics of COVID-19. In light of the anticipated shortage, an hospital-based 3D printing platform was implemented in our institution for the production of swabs for nasopharyngeal and oropharyngeal sampling based on the freely available open-sourced design made available to the community by University of South Florida's Health Radiology and Northwell Health System teams as replacement for locally used commercial swabs. Validation of our 3D printed swabs was performed by a head-to-head diagnostic accuracy study of the 3D printed Northwell model with the cobas PCR Media swabs sample kit. We observed an excellent concordance (total agreement 96.8%, Kappa 0.936) in results obtained with the 3D printed and flocked swabs indicating that the in-house 3D printed swab can be used reliably in a context of shortage of flocked swabs. To our knowledge, this is the first study to report on autonomous hospital-based production and clinical validation of 3D printed swabs.


Author(s):  
Fabio Barra ◽  
Franco Alessandri ◽  
Carolina Scala ◽  
Simone Ferrero

<b><i>Objective:</i></b> The use of three-dimensional (3D) transvaginal ultrasonography (TVS) has been investigated for the diagnosis of deep endometriosis (DE). This study aimed to evaluate if 3D reconstructions improve the performance of TVS) in assessing the presence and characteristics of bladder endometriosis (BE). <b><i>Design:</i></b> This was a single-center comparative diagnostic accuracy study. <b><i>Participants/Materials, Setting, Methods:</i></b> Patients referred to our institution (Piazza della Vittoria 14 Srl, Genova, Italy) with clinical suspicion of DE were included. In case of surgery, women underwent systematic preoperative ultrasonographic imaging; an experienced sonographer performed a conventional TVS; another experienced sonographer, blinded to results of the previous exam, performed TVS, with the addition of 3D modality. The presence and characteristics of BE nodules were described in accord with International DE Analysis group consensus. Ultrasound data were compared with surgical and histological results. <b><i>Results:</i></b> Overall, BE was intraoperatively found in 34 out of 194 women who underwent surgery for DE (17.5%; 95% confidence interval: 12.8–23.5%). TVS without and with 3D reconstructions were able to detect endometriotic BE in 82.2% (<i>n</i> = 28/34) and 85.3% (<i>n</i> = 29/34) of the cases (<i>p</i> = 0.125). Both the exams similarly estimated the largest diameter of BE (<i>p</i> = 0.652) and the distance between the endometriotic nodule and the closest ureteral meatus (<i>p</i> = 0.341). However, TVS with 3D reconstructions was more precise in estimating the volume of BE (<i>p</i> = 0.031). In one case (2.9%), TVS without and with 3D reconstructions detected the infiltration of the intramural ureter, which was confirmed at surgery and required laparoscopic ureterovesical reimplantation. <b><i>Limitations:</i></b> The extensive experience of the gynecologists performing the ultrasonographic scans, the lack of prestudy power analysis, and the population selected, which may have been influenced by the position of the institution as a referral center specialized in the treatment of severe endometriosis, are limitations of the current study. <b><i>Conclusion:</i></b> Our results demonstrated the high accuracy of ultrasound for diagnosing BE. The addition of 3D reconstructions does not improve the performance of TVS in diagnosing the presence and characteristics of BE. However, the volume of BE may be more precisely assessed by 3D ultrasound.


Nursing Open ◽  
2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rajesh Kasbekar ◽  
Aftab Naz ◽  
Lorenzo Marcos ◽  
Yingjie Liu ◽  
Kristine Hendrickson ◽  
...  

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