Cold plasma, also known as non-thermal plasma, has been recognized for many years. It has demonstrated usefulness in a variety of industries. Recently, however, this unique state of matter has helped professionals in the medical field to develop and utilize new powerful, but safe, surgical tools.
Cold Plasma: A Leap Forward in Medical Technology
When electricity is properly discharged into a gas significant amounts of plasma can be created. This plasma is a fourth state of matter, neither liquid, solid nor gas. Initially, creating plasma required large amounts of energy that were not appropriate for medical purposes. Now, new approaches and new devices allow medical practitioners to make use of this technology and achieve better outcomes for their patients.
Cold Plasma vs. Conventional Techniques
The resulting effectiveness of any medical treatment plays a major role in helping to determine how to proceed with a patient. Treatments generally rely on the natural healing processes that the body uses to close surgical wounds and prevent infection. Patient outcomes can be compromised when conventional methods are involved in the surgical process. For example, those procedures which simply use scalpels may result in infection and/or excessive bleeding and extended healing times. Patients requiring removal of highly vascularized tissues, as well as those with bleeding disorders or those using anti-coagulants, are also at risk when surgical procedures are required.
Electrosurgery is one solution to this problem in that it can be used to cut, coagulate or cut and coagulate at the same time. Cold plasma, however, can make incisions that heal effectively and produce coagulation without subjecting patients to electric charges.
Principles of Operation
Cold plasma devices pass an inert gas over a specially energized blade creating a short plasma beam. This plasma beam stimulates nearby cells causing tissue destruction and coagulation. The stimulus produces beneficial results for wound healing.
- Bactericide – Plasma causes the creation of reactive oxygen molecules that inhibit the proliferation of bacteria.
- Cellular Adhesion – A singular layer of surface cells detaches which later readheres and continues the healing process.
- Cell Death – It is necessary for cells to die in order to stimulate new cell growth. Cold plasma induces this process and facilitates tissue healing.
Other Uses for Cold Plasma
Cold plasma devices are not intended to replace scalpels. In fact, Bovie Medical’s J-Plasma device can be used with a surgical scalpel blade extended for physical cutting or retracted for blunt dissection. This allows for added convenience to the surgeon. Furthermore, the cold plasma device does more than make safer incisions, it causes coagulation, may reduce infection and help to promote faster healing.
Its natural precision is useful when treating delicate areas, such as the eye. Plasma can effectively remove or destroy bacteria causing conjunctivitis. Other possibilities include dermatology, dentistry, skin cancer treatments and even applications involving stem cell extraction.
Cold plasma is an exciting new development in medical technology because it not only produces results, but also leads to reduced complications during healing and increased positive outcomes for patients.
For further information on new medical applications of cold plasma visit us at the Bovie Medical website.
http://medicalphysicsweb.org/cws/article/opinion/26911
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nonthermal_plasma
http://www.boviemedical.com/products_j_plasma.asp
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