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AssigneeDrexel University
InventorsAlexander F. Gutsol, Alexander Fridman, Gennady Friedman, Gregory Fridman, Manjula Balasubramanian
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Method for the non-thermal treatment of human or animal tissue with high-voltage electrical discharge plasma is disclosed. The disclosed method employs current through plasma and through tissue not for the purpose of heating the tissue, but instead to maintain the plasma proximate to the tissue being treated. Also disclosed is a method of limiting the current through plasma and through tissue to minimize tissue heating by placement of an insulator or semiconductor between an electrode and tissue resulting in generation of a high-voltage discharge similar to a dielectric barrier discharge. The disclosed non-thermal plasma treatment can be employed to promote coagulation of blood, sterilization, disinfection, re-connection of tissue, and treatment of tissue disorders without causing significant thermal tissue damage.
A method of non-thermal treatment of living tissue comprising the step of generating a non-thermal gas discharge plasma proximate to a surface of the living tissue by causing sufficient electrical current to pass through the tissue to provide said gas discharge plasma, by using a device comprising a high voltage electrode and an insulative or semiconductive barrier, said non-thermal plasma being generated by a high frequency oscillation of high voltage of from about 5 to about 20,000 kHz using a voltage of about 2 to about 50 kV, said device configured for placement proximate to said living tissue with the barrier positioned between the electrode and living tissue, said device capable of passing a current from the electrode to and through the tissue at a current density sufficient to generate a gas discharge plasma proximate to the tissue, said current being limited by the presence of the barrier between the tissue and the electrode.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.