3D printed nasal pharyngeal and oral swabs

Abstract

The invention is generally a nasal pharyngeal and oral swab that may be mass-produced via three-dimensional (3D) printing. To achieve the right materials for 3D printing the swabs, exemplary embodiments employ a set of materials that result in a rigid structure that has bendable properties (at least in the neck or stem region of the swab), but more rigid and bridle properties at a breakpoint of the swab. In exemplary embodiments, this may be achieved by constructing the device of a first photosensitive material that is generally soft and bendable when cured, and a second photosensitive material that is generally rigid and brittle when cured, wherein the soft bendable material comprises of about 70% to 90% of the photosensitive composition used to 3D print the swab, and the rigid and brittle material comprises of about 30% to 10% of the photosensitive composition used to 3D print the swab.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.