New One-Piece Injection-Molded COVID-19 Swab to Enable Expanded Testing

An innovative one-piece injection molded design for a COVID-19 swab could help close the gap in US and global COVID-19 testing supplies.

The Hoowaki NP Collection Swab has been developed by Hoowaki LLC (Greenville, SC, USA) using its proprietary HOOWAKI MICROGRIP surface technology to create micro-pillars. The swab met existing industry-standard products for flexibility and performance in clinical user testing and has also proven to be equivalent to the industry-standard flocked filament swabs in the collection of patient RNA that is critical for COVID-19 testing in independent laboratory testing (qPCR Assay). Mass-production of the FDA registered, patent pending, Hoowaki NP Collection Swab will begin this summer and is expected to reach at least several million units per month.

The proprietary Hoowaki NP Collection Swab is manufactured using advanced injection molding technologies that utilize existing equipment that is readily available in communities throughout the world. The swab's scalability is due to Hoowaki LLC's formulations and engineering designs working at existing injection molding facilities, which enables the swab to be produced in quantities that meet local demands anywhere in the world.

"The Hoowaki NP Collection Swab is an important answer to the challenges posed by the global COVID-19 pandemic," said Ralph Hulseman, president of Hoowaki LLC. "Our design allows for production to be quickly scaled in communities around the world—rapidly addressing the rising demand for swabs, a critically important element of all COVID-19 testing."

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