The role of three-dimensional printing in coronavirus disease-19 medical management: A French nationwide survey

Area of Science:

• Medical Technology
• Public Health
• Additive Manufacturing

Background:

• The COVID-19 pandemic created global healthcare challenges, including critical shortages of medical supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE).
• Three-dimensional printing (3DP) emerged as a potential solution to rapidly address these material deficits.

Purpose of the Study:

• To assess the specific medical applications and impact of 3DP in French hospitals during the COVID-19 outbreak.
• To quantify the volume and types of 3D-printed items produced and their beneficiaries.

Main Methods:

• A retrospective survey was conducted across all French level-1 and level-2 COVID-certified healthcare centers.
• Data were collected from 133 centers regarding their utilization of 3DP technology.

Main Results:

• Ninety-eight (73.68%) of the surveyed centers utilized 3DP, producing a total of 84,886 items.
• The majority of printed items included individual protective equipment (89.53%), followed by biomedical equipment (7.47%) and prototypes (3.01%).
• 3D-printed items assisted approximately 6109 patients and protected around 41,091 healthcare workers.

Conclusions:

• Three-dimensional printing played a crucial role in providing medical aid during the COVID-19 crisis in France.
• The widespread adoption and output of 3DP demonstrated its capacity to alleviate supply chain issues for essential medical and protective gear.