Portable microwave air plasma device for wound healing

A portable microwave air plasma has been developed for safe and effective wound healing. The device is operated by a fixed microwave power and two different air gas flows (main and cooling air flow). It was found that the speeds of the two air flows determine the stability of the plasma jet and gas temperature and thereby regulate the concentrations of the individual reactive species. Two different regimes, i.e. the NO abundant (0.1 slm main air flow) and ozone abundant regimes (4 slm main air flow), were identified as suitable for wound healing without thermal damage and toxicity. These regimes show similar plasma characteristics (e.g. less than 40 °C at the treatment point, less than 4 ppm of NO2) except for different NO and ozone amounts. Both regimes show more than twice as fast wound healing speed compared with the untreated case without any histological damages. Faster healing speed with intrinsic ozone safety make the NO abundant regime the best operation regime for wound healing. Finally, the stability of the developed device was demonstrated by a one-hour continuous operation test with a 24 V battery.