AUGUSTA, Ga. – Seeing a chance to help amid a shortage of kits to test people for the coronavirus, Dr. Jeffrey James dedicated a 3D printer at the dental college where he teaches to churning out nasal swabs at a rate of 300 per day.
Then Georgia officials working with Gov. Brian Kemp heard about the project. They asked James if he could crank up swab production even more — to 5,000 daily. “I said yes," James recalled, “then I left the meeting and had a panic attack.” Now seven printers with names like Mighty Mouse and Sonic 1 and 2 hum constantly in a room on the third floor of Augusta University's dental school.
Volunteering dental residents, endodontists, orthodontists and oral surgeons rotate between two daily 12-hour shifts, even on