Plasma Medicine:
Sterilisation and Improved Wound Healing
A cooperation of:
• Max Planck Institute for Extraterrestrial Physics
• ADTEC Plasma Technology Co. Ltd.
• Max Planck Institute for Biochemistry
• Department of Dermatology, Hospital Munich Schwabing
• Department of Dermatology, Hospital Regensburg
Hospital set-up for plasma
treatment: the MicroPlaSter.
Plasma treatment
of a patient during
clinical trial.
Effect of plasma treatment on
bacteria.
Second generation hospital set-up: the MicroPlaSter β.
The use of cold plasma allows an effective medical treatment of various skin injuries and
diseases, e.g., wounds, bacterial superinfections, and fungoid infections. Cold plasma is
ionized gas at room temperature that is created by electric discharge. Cold plasma treatment is
a contact-free and painless procedure to sterilize wounds and promote wound healing. The
costs are comparable to or lower than those of standard antimicrobial wound treatment.
For this purpose, a suitable plasma source was developed. In four years only, we advanced
from preliminary in vitro experiments to successful clinical trials, see our project road map on
the next page. This rapid progress was made possible by the close cooperation of physicists,
micro-biologists, physicians, engineers from the Max Planck Society, hospitals and our industry
partner ADTEC.
For the completion of the final stage and for a possible subsequent cooperation in sales and
distribution we would benefit from having the input of a renowned medical device manufacturer.
This brochure is intended to give an overview of our activities.
We would be grateful if you could take the time to discuss further details. Please contact us to
arrange a visit to your company:
Dr. Wolfgang Tröger, Max Planck Innovation, Marstallstr. 8, 80539 München, Germany,
email: troeger@max-planck-innovation.de, phone: +49-(0)89-290919-0
Plasma Sources
At present, there are several approaches to produce cold plasma, e.g., the plasma jet and the floating electrode. The
disadvantages of these approaches are the inhomogeneous plasma distribution and, in the case of the floating electrode, the
small distance between electrode and skin (2 mm). Our approach of the plasma torch overcomes these problems.
Inside the torch, the plasma is created at the rf-electrodes by electric discharge and is delivered to the skin by a gas flow
(e.g. Argon). The typical torch-skin distance is about 20 mm, while the gas flow ensures a homogeneous distribution of the
plasma on the treated skin.
Plasma torch for homogeneous wound treatment
Source: Eindhoven University
of Technology
torch outlet with
glowing plasma
Source: Drexel University
The effect of plasma on bacteria and fungi using the MicroPlaSter
Bacteria
Methicillin-resistent
Staph. aureus, MRSA
Escherichia coli
Pseudomonas
aeruginosa
Fungi
Two minutes treatment time
The sterilization efficiency of a two minute plasma
treatment is in excess of 106, i.e. the bacterial
load is reduced by more than six orders of
magnitude.
Candida albicans
MicroPlaSter Clinical Trial (Phase-II) - Sterilisation Effects
The Bacterial load on a wound is difficult to quantify:
Bacteriological smears with q-tips are not conclusive. A somewhat better approach are imprints taken
with a pad of the entire wound area (therapy vs. control area).
Therapy assessment based on 119 cases:
Therapy
Control
Mean reduction in treated area 58 %
Mean reduction in control area 38 %
⇒ Bacterial load reduction by plasma therapy
Example of an imprint of
the wound. Blue areas are
covered by bacterial
colonies.
Note: Plasma therapy is an add-on therapy. According to the study protocol all
patients received the plasma treatment in addition to standard therapy including
• systemic antibiotic treatment and
• special wound care.
MicroPlaSter Clinical Trial (Phase-II) - Improved Wound Healing
With plasma treatment
Control without plasma treatment
(second wound of same patient)
Before 1st treatment
Before 1st treatment
After 38 treatments
After 38 treatments
Medical Costs of Skin Diseases
USA: American Academy of Dermatology Report 2005
Germany:
Prevalence approx. 1% of the population (800.000 patients).
High costs and great suffering.
Plasma Treatment Costs
Plasma treatment - MicroPlaSter:
Treatment costs: approx. 3 - 4 €/treatment
Weekly costs: approx. 15 - 20 €/week
MiniPlaSter: further cost reduction
Traditional antimicrobial creams:
e.g.
Lodosorb gel
$ 28.76/week
Acticoat 7
$ 23.92/week
SilvaSorb
$ 53.61/week
Actisorb S 220 $ 18.19/week
(from: Fonder et al., J.Am.Acad.Dermatol. 58(2008)185-206)
Market Potential in Germany
Some figures relevant for the German market:
•
2200 hospitals
•
80 dermatological hospitals
•
10400 nursing homes
•
About 10000 operating theatres (inpatient and ambulatory)
•
3600 dermatologists in private practices
•
40000 general practitioners in private practices
•
4200 practices for outpatient surgery
•
40 million households
Increasing miniaturization
Market Potential in Germany
Customers
Hospitals
Practices
(PoC)
Households
(OtC)
Sales/year
Potential
Sales
Duration
1000
5 years
200
100 000
20 m / year
15 000
5 years
3 000
2 500
7.5 m / year
40 000 000
4 years
1 000 000
100
100 m / year
(Steady
State)
Cost/Unit
(€)
Turnover/year
(€)
(Steady State)
Including further markets (Europe, USA, JP, ...) allows for an additional factor 10!
Cooperating Institutions
• Max Planck Institute for Extraterrestrial Physics
• ADTEC Plasma Technology Co. Ltd.
• Max Planck Institute for Biochemistry
• Department of Dermatology, Hospital Munich Schwabing
• Department of Dermatology, Hospital Regensburg
Planned: Extension of the cooperation to the Russian Academy of Sciences