Methods and systems for providing plasma treatments to optical surfaces

A device for inhibiting condensation distortion on an optical element of a medical instrument configured for insertion into a body cavity, the device comprising:

• a housing;
• a cavity within the housing, the cavity being configured to removably retain at least a portion of the medical instrument therein, wherein the at least a portion of the medical instrument includes the optical element;
• a plasma activation zone within the cavity, wherein the cavity within the housing is configured to retain the at least a portion of the medical instrument within the cavity in a manner orienting an outer surface of the optical element within the plasma activation zone, to thereby enable plasma treatment of the outer surface of the optical element;
• a plasma generator configured to be activated to cause formation of a plasma cloud in the plasma activation zone in a vicinity of the outer surface of the optical element, thereby enabling treatment of the outer surface of the optical element with plasma;
• and
• a controller configured to activate the plasma generator for a time period sufficient to cause the optical element to become hydrophilic prior to insertion into the body cavity.