EnvisionTEC, based in Dearborn, is owned by Al Siblani. The company is mass-producing COVID-19 tests made through 3D printing. According to FOX 2 Detroit, they are making about half a million a day and will be able to produce more in the weeks to come.
Siblani said the states of New York, Florida, California and Nevada have reached out to him. He also said he had spoken to the White House, and they support what he is doing.
The Michigan Department of Health and Human Services provided a written statement: "Because 3D-printed swabs are new technology, MDHHS is undergoing due diligence to ensure every possible product meets all of the best safety and accuracy standards for the people of Michigan."
According to Fox 2 Detroit, Siblani said, “It doesn’t matter how they’re made. It’s whether they work or not.”
In a clinical trial conducted by Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston, it determined that the swabs produced by EnvisionTEC could be used for testing COVID-19.
In a press release published on BIDMC's website, Dr. Gyongyi Szabo, chief academic officer for BIDMC and Beth Israel Lahey Health, said that one of the greatest challenges of COVID-19 is limited testing. The research team supports the 3D-printed tests as a solution.
The team tested 3D -printed COVID-19 tests. The effort was led by Ramy Arnaout, MD, DPhil, associate director of the Clinical Microbiology Laboratories at BIDMC.
“We are cautiously optimistic that the availability of swabs will soon no longer be a constraint on widespread COVID-19 testing, thanks to an extraordinarily hard-working, talented and selfless group, including dozens of people at BIDMC, who came together from all over the country to do this work,” said Arnaout, according to BIDMC's website
According to the EnvisionTEC's website, they are also producing other medical equipment used for the treatment and prevention of COVID-19. This includes personal protective equipment like face shields and custom-made masks.
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