Characterisation of a Cold Atmospheric Pressure Plasma Torch for Medical Applications

We congratulate Dr Adam Bennett on his most recent publication, “Characterisation of a Cold Atmospheric Pressure Plasma Torch for Medical Applications: Demonstration of Device Safety”.

The safety and effectiveness of plasma devices are of crucial importance, especially for applications where the plasma is discharged near humans. This study presents the novel design and characterisation of a Cold Atmospheric Plasma torch (SteriPlas), which is used in medical applications. The study shows the characterisation methodology that must be undertaken to show that a plasma device is safe, especially when used in an application on human skin. The emission spectrum discharged from the plasma torch is shown. The UV emitted is measured and the effective irradiance is calculated. The effective irradiance enables the determination of the maximum UV exposure limits, which in this application are shown to be over two hours; however, in some applications may be only seconds. NOx and ozone emissions are also recorded. The NOx levels in this application are shown to be orders of magnitude lower than their safety limits and the ozone emissions are also shown to be safe; however, in some plasma technologies the NOx and ozone levels are orders of magnitude higher than the safe levels.

This paper concludes with a discussion of how safety limits vary in different regions around the world and proposes an international standard. It documents the safety of our medical device which further reiterates one of our main strengths where no side effects have been reported.

Access to the full paper can be found here: https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3417/11/24/11864