The personal protective equipment fabricated via 3D printing technology during COVID-19

COVID-19 has been spread in more than 220 countries and caused global health concerns. The supply chain disruptions have abruptly affected due to the second wave of COVID-19 in various countries and caused unavailability and shortage of medical devices and personal protective equipment for frontline healthcare workers. Three-dimensional (3D) printing has proven to be a boon and revolutionized technology to supply medical devices and tackle the situation caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. The diverse designs were produced and are currently used in hospitals by patients and frontline healthcare doctors. This review summarises the application of 3D printing during COVID-19. It collects the comprehensive information of recently designed and fabricated protective equipment like nasopharyngeal swabs, valves, face shields, facemasks and many more medical devices. The drawbacks and future challenges of 3D printed medical devices and protective equipment is discussed.