Drexel University’s plasma medicine technologies were licensed to Plasma Technologies, Inc.(PTI), a Texas-based company that intends to design, patent and market medical devices related to wound healing and care, prevention of hospital borne infections, and other medical applications. The technology may have near term impact not only in civilian healthcare settings, but also on the U.S. military applications.
“We are pleased to have PTI as a partner to commercialize the plasma medicine technologies,” said Dr. Ken Blank, vice provost for research at Drexel. “PTI has the expertise to bring the technology through clinical trials and FDA approval so that this breakthrough technology can be used to benefit patients.”
Found in fluorescent light bulbs and high-end televisions, non-thermal or cold plasma can also be used in medicine, as Drexel researchers discovered. Part of what makes this technology so desirable is that small amounts of energy are used instead of chemicals in the medical process.
The researchers found that cold plasma can kill bacteria (including B. anthracis which is a causing agent of anthrax, E.Coli, Streptococci and Staphylococci) on living tissue within seconds without causing side effects. Cold plasma can also stop bleeding, making it effective in some surgical procedures and in treating intestinal ulcers and persistent nosebleeds. For example, a severe wound that might bleed for 10-20 minutes was stopped after only 15 seconds of plasma exposure and with no tissue damage. Initial findings also show cold plasma can promote the growth of some human cells at doses slightly greater than those needed to kill bacteria.
Cold plasma produces medical effects by enhancing biochemical processes that would either occur slowly or not at all, researchers in the Plasma Institute say. For the same reasons, cold plasma has already found many uses in fuel conversion and hydrogen production, energy systems and aerospace engineering, environmental control and material and waste treatment.
Prototype medical devices have been designed with the participation of PTI’s surgeons to address needs in trauma and plastic surgery, and to augment healing in acute and chronic wounds. These devices have immediate applications in the battlefield, emergency rooms, rehabilitation centers and cancer treatment centers in the military as well as international and US civilian markets.
“We are pleased to have PTI as a partner to commercialize the plasma medicine technologies,” said Dr. Ken Blank, vice provost for research at Drexel. “PTI has the expertise to bring the technology through clinical trials and FDA approval so that this breakthrough technology can be used to benefit patients.”
Found in fluorescent light bulbs and high-end televisions, non-thermal or cold plasma can also be used in medicine, as Drexel researchers discovered. Part of what makes this technology so desirable is that small amounts of energy are used instead of chemicals in the medical process.The researchers found that cold plasma can kill bacteria (including B. anthracis which is a causing agent of anthrax, E.Coli, Streptococci and Staphylococci) on living tissue within seconds without causing side effects. Cold plasma can also stop bleeding, making it effective in some surgical procedures and in treating intestinal ulcers and persistent nosebleeds. For example, a severe wound that might bleed for 10-20 minutes was stopped after only 15 seconds of plasma exposure and with no tissue damage. Initial findings also show cold plasma can promote the growth of some human cells at doses slightly greater than those needed to kill bacteria.
Cold plasma produces medical effects by enhancing biochemical processes that would either occur slowly or not at all, researchers in the Plasma Institute say. For the same reasons, cold plasma has already found many uses in fuel conversion and hydrogen production, energy systems and aerospace engineering, environmental control and material and waste treatment.
Prototype medical devices have been designed with the participation of PTI’s surgeons to address needs in trauma and plastic surgery, and to augment healing in acute and chronic wounds. These devices have immediate applications in the battlefield, emergency rooms, rehabilitation centers and cancer treatment centers in the military as well as international and US civilian markets.
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