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Plasma Speeds Wound Healing

Many people suffer from skin disorders. Open wounds are a particularly acute problem, especially among the elderly. PlasmaDerm, a new medical technology solution, uses plasma to facilitate faster healing of wounds.

Skin disorders are a common problem. Atopic dermatitis, psoriasis, and chronic venous leg ulcers, typically caused by diabetes or varicose veins, can cause patients years of suffering. Working collaboratively with business and academic entities, the Fraunhofer Institute for Surface Engineering and Thin Films IST has successfully developed the new medical technology solution for treating wounds and skin disorders. Plasma promotes wound healing when it is applied directly to the skin.

“All you feel is a slight tingling sensation,” says professor Wolfgang Viöl from Fraunhofer IST. A device approximately the size and shape of a pocket flashlight delivers the plasma in the form of ionized gas, the only evidence of which appears in the form of a faint purple mist.

PlasmaDerm, a novel wound care solution, was developed by a team comprising medical professionals, biologists, physicists, and engineers. For the first time, the device is capable of generating a nonthermal or cold plasma directly on the skin at atmospheric pressure. The patented method involves placing the electrode of the device close to the skin, with the skin itself acting as the second electrode. A high voltage is then applied across the gap, and the resulting electric fields convert the area between the electrode and the skin into nonthermal plasma.

Safe and Painless
Since cold plasma has not previously been used on humans, the top priority of the Fraunhofer IST was to evaluate the safety of the solution. “We carried out a risk/benefit analysis to evaluate all the chemical and physical parameters and concluded that there is no reason to be concerned about using plasma on people,” says Andreas Helmke, describing the process Fraunhofer IST undertook.

A clinical study conducted by Steffen Emmert, a professor in the department of dermatology, venereology, and allergology at the University Medical Center Göttingen, revealed an antiseptic effect and improved wound healing. But Emmert explains that the greatest benefit of the application is the fact that “nonthermal plasma actually combines the mechanisms of different therapies. UV, ozone, and electrotherapy are already available, but plasma achieves a better effect in a shorter period of time.” Plasma reduces the bacteria count on the skin’s surface, while the electric field simultaneously boosts the skin’s microcirculation by allowing more oxygen to be delivered. These are both decisive factors in improving wound healing.

To enable the new method to be applied more flexibly, the researchers needed to develop a portable device. To achieve this, the Fraunhofer IST worked together with the company Cinogy. “We had to develop a device that was small but capable of generating high voltages. The result[ing device] is only about the size of a laptop and can be plugged into a normal socket between 100 and 230 V,” says Dirk Wandke, MD, MSc, managing director of Cinogy, describing the way they tackled the project's biggest challenge. PlasmaDerm is available in Europe.