Costa Rica Health authorities project a shortage of at least 50,000 swabs to carry out diagnostic tests for Coronavirus, a figure that could increase exponentially over time. A project from the University of Costa Rica (UCR) would solve the shortage.
The proposal is promoted jointly by the Faculties of Engineering and Microbiology of the UCR, in alliance with private laboratories and with the support of the Caja Costarricense de Seguro Social (CCSS).
To date, the process is in the laboratory analysis carried out by the Faculty of Microbiology, so there is still at least one more month to start the mass production of the swabs.
A team of experts from the Faculty of Engineering designs various swab options that are then sent to two private dental laboratories, XYZ Soluciones and Cleo Dental, which have jointly and severally joined in on this idea, so that they can create special 3D printers swabs; once made, they are sent to the Virology Laboratory and to the Laboratory Service Section of the Faculty of Microbiology so that their specialists carry out the first tests and choose the designs that best suit medical requirements.
Once the final designs are obtained, they will be sent to the Fund to undergo preclinical and clinical trials and decide which is the most suitable.
Upon reaching this last stage, the country has the help of several private laboratories that have already informed the UCR that they are willing to collaborate to massify the production of these instruments.
This synergy between the public and private sectors is the product of the work of the Costa Rican Investment Promotion Agency (CINDE).
