J-Plasma is a new and potentially, revolutionary medical tool which employs an advanced state of matter called plasma.
But what is plasma?
Plasma is often referred to as the fourth state of matter. Consider, for example, a frozen ice cube which is a solid and the first state of matter. If we heat the ice cube, eventually it will melt and turn into water, which is a liquid and the second state of matter. If we continue to heat the water, eventually it will boil and turn into steam, which is a gas and the third state of matter. Finally, if we continue to heat the steam, to many thousands of degrees, it will become electrically charged (ionized) as plasma, the fourth state of matter.
Since plasma is electrically charged and ionized, it will conduct electricity just like a wire, even though it behaves more like a gas. So we can deliver electrical energy to an operative site without physically making contact with any surface, using a plasma beam. This has important consequences in maintaining sterile conditions and not spreading potential contamination. It is non-contact surgery when only the plasma beam is used.
J-Plasma Beam
In the J-Plasma beam, rather than heating the helium gas to very high temperatures to ionize it and turn it into plasma, we instead apply an electric field to a sharp conductive point over which the helium is flowing. But the effect is the same, the helium becomes ionized and will now conduct electrical energy to the operative site.
This also gives us two very important independent controls on the J-Plasma beam to produce a wide range of operative effects. One of these independent controls is the gas flow rate, and the other is the amount of electrical energy delivered into the J-Plasma beam. By adjusting the ratio of these two independent controls, we can tune the J-Plasma beam over a wide range of effects. For example, a high level of electrical energy and small amount of gas flow produces a powerful ablative beam, theoretically useful in removing diseased tissue. On the other hand, a low level of electrical energy and high gas flow rate produces a very gentle beam useful in delicate procedures. The effect of the J-Plasma beam can be continuously tuned between these extremes, giving it a wide range of potential medical applications.
