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| Science & Technology |
| Plasma Sterilizers |
| 2009-11-27 |
| Researchers have demonstrated a prototype device that can rid hands, feet, or even underarms of bacteria, including the hospital superbug MRSA. The device works by creating something called a plasma, which produces a cocktail of chemicals in air that kill bacteria but are harmless to skin. A related approach could see the use of plasmas to speed the healing of wounds. Writing in the New Journal of Physics, the authors say plasmas could help solve gum disease or even body odour. Plasmas are known as the fourth state of matter, after solid, liquid, and gas. They are a soup of atoms that have had their electrons stripped off by, for example, a high voltage. But the new research focuses on so-called cold atmospheric plasmas. Rather than turning a whole group of atoms into plasma, a more delicate approach strips the electrons off just a few, sending them flying. Collisions with nearby, unchanged atoms slows down the electrons and charged atoms or ions they leave behind. It has been known for some time that the resulting plasma is harmful to bacteria, viruses, and fungi - the approach is already used to disinfect surgical tools. The plasma produces a series of over 200 chemical reactions that involve the oxygen and nitrogen in air plus water vapour - there is a whole concotion of chemical species that can be lethal to bacteria To produce plasmas efficiently at low cost so you can really mass produce these things for hospitals, that's the big breakthrough of the last year," Professor Morfill said. The team says that an exposure to the plasma of only about 12 seconds reduces the incidence of bacteria, viruses, and fungi on hands by a factor of a million - a number that stands in sharp contrast to the several minutes hospital staff can take to wash using traditional soap and water. |
| Posted by: Anonymoose |
| #15 If they sterilize on contact? Hillary one, Hillary two... |
| Posted by: Frank G 2009-11-27 22:23 |
| #14 We could have the equivalent of a Roomba sterilizer robot wandering about in the hospital. Give everybody something to talk about. But what would the nurses name it? That's critical -- Roombas are too cute to wander around unnamed. |
| Posted by: trailing wife in Buffalo 2009-11-27 21:10 |
| #13 We could have the equivalent of a Roomba sterilizer robot wandering about in the hospital. Give everybody something to talk about. Indeed. So they would be at least many and small. I like it. |
| Posted by: Perry Stanford White 2009-11-27 15:39 |
| #12 Yeah... just how much testing has been done on animals with this crap? "[W]hole concotion of chemical species that can be lethal to bacteria" just screams potential for poisonings, allergens, carcinogens, and assorted shocks to the system of vulnerable individuals, esp. during surgery. |
| Posted by: Mitch H. 2009-11-27 13:56 |
| #11 Plasma sterilizer rays on automated robots patroling hospitals 24/7 ! Death rays on automated robots patrolling mosques 24/7! Fixed for you. |
| Posted by: JFM 2009-11-27 12:16 |
| #10 We could have the equivalent of a Roomba sterilizer robot wandering about in the hospital. Give everybody something to talk about. Then, with the proper remote sensing, it could hone in and |
| Posted by: Alaska Paul 2009-11-27 11:32 |
| #9 I think Cyberdyne is developing something called a T-900 to patrol hospitals terminating infections, Perry. |
| Posted by: whitecollar redneck 2009-11-27 09:39 |
| #8 Plasma sterilizer rays on automated robots patroling hospitals 24/7 ! hmmm... 1 - not if SEIU has its way. 2 - robots, doing the jobs Americans won't. /sarc off |
| Posted by: Procopius2k 2009-11-27 07:33 |
| #7 Just coat stuff (like handles and bed rails) in silver, it's relatively cheap and kills germs. |
| Posted by: Bright Pebbles 2009-11-27 06:39 |
| #6 Plasma sterilizer rays on automated robots patroling hospitals 24/7 ! Okay... :) What size and how many? |
| Posted by: Perry Stanford White 2009-11-27 06:22 |
| #5 Plasma sterilizer rays on automated robots patroling hospitals 24/7 ! Awesome, maybe i can did out my old Big Trak and make a home version ! Main concern for me is the faecal-oral route of infections in hospitals. Door handles, tissue dispensers et al need to be kept clean . As this plasama method is already used to sterilise surgical tools , then adapting to clean any enviroment in hospitals shouldnt be a problem really. Someeone more clinically sound could point out if these infections/bacterias could develop resistance/mutate ? Still , washing hands with soap and water feels good ! (ok i need to get out more but healthy body=healthy mind and visa versa) |
| Posted by: Oscar 2009-11-27 05:56 |
| #4 gromky: oddly enough, a system like this was proposed many years ago in science fiction, to be used as a surgical and post surgical apparatus. That is, some surgeries are very prone to infection, and these type devices would be used during the surgery itself, to drastically reduce the amount of pathogen at the site. Also, one of the problems with UV light sterilization is that pathogens can hide behind anything that casts a shadow. But plasma behaves more like a liquid, getting into little spaces where bacteria can hide. Another use would be to integrate one of these devices inside air ducts, to prevent the recycling of contaminated air. A big problem in commercial aircraft. |
| Posted by: Anonymoose 2009-11-27 05:51 |
| #3 Alcohol is a fantastic before bed Gum Cleaner. Hic! |
| Posted by: Bright Pebbles 2009-11-27 05:33 |
| #2 They don't need this high-tech crap, there is an alcohol gel that works just fine for cleaning hands. They had it in Europe forever before it finally got imported to America. |
| Posted by: gromky 2009-11-27 01:46 |
| #1 If it is easy to use and reasonable cost this could be a game changer in hospitals, clinics, exam rooms. |
| Posted by: tipover 2009-11-27 01:23 |