New York's Northwell Health begins 3D printing nasal swabs for coronavirus testing

An undated handout photo shows a nasal swab produced by 3D printing at Formlabs in Somerville, Massachusetts, U.S., in response to the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic. Formlabs/Handout via REUTERS

NEW YORK (Reuters) - New York-based hospital system Northwell Health said it has started to make its own nasal swabs using 3D printing, enabling it to produce thousands of swabs a day that can be used in testing for the coronavirus.

Northwell said its focus on swabs was part of an effort to avoid supply shortages related to the components for kits used in testing for COVID-19, the highly contagious, sometimes deadly respiratory disease caused by the coronavirus.