Dustin Borg, ME Patrick Henley, BME Ali Husain, BME Nick Stroeher, BME Advisor: Dr. Paul King

1. Dustin Borg, ME Patrick Henley, BME Ali Husain, BME Nick Stroeher, BME Advisor: Dr. Paul King

2. Our Dutch Team Members Willem-Jan van Harskamp, Applied Physics Vivian Roode, BME Gijs Snieders, BME M. van Vlimmeren, BME Advisor: Dr. Eva Adamowicz

3. Relevance • Dental applications: • Clean cavities • Less painful • Treat irregular surfaces

4. Skin treatment • healing of various lesions and ulcers of skin, intestines and larynx

5. Current Level of Development of Plasma Needle Technology • Evaluation of the electrical characteristics of the plasma needle • Sensing the gap width by monitoring the discharge power consumption • Control of the gap width with robotic actuation

6. Eindhoven Students: Correct gap width by implementing electro-mechanical actuators and control algorithms Vanderbilt Students: Design a plasma needle catheter that will be better suited for medical use than the existing prototype Possibly testing on cell cultures What We Will Contribute

7. Our Progress So Far Research • Literature from Eindhoven Coordination • Overseas communication issues • NetMeeting

8. Plasma is a state of matter with enough free charged particles so that its dynamics are heavily influenced by electromagnetic forces.  gaseous fluid-like mixture of ions, free electrons,radicals and excited atoms and molecules The Plasma Needle uses Low-Temperature Plasma (LTP)  small fraction of neutral particles in gas are ionized  electrons are high energy; ions are ambient temp.  retains neutral charge What is Plasma? http://solar.physics.montana.edu/martens/plasma/

9. Composition of the Needle ____ The AC source produces Radio Frequent (RF) discharges on the order of 1-100 MHz ____ This design uses Capacitively Coupled Plasma to create E field from voltage difference ____ In the middle is a metal wire with a sharp point  electrode for the E field ____ The coaxial metal tube is grounded  Helium gas is moved into space between ____ Wire is insulated so that plasma is generated only at tip; it appears like a ball 1 mm in diameter ____ The Development of a Smart-Scanning Probe for the Plasma Needle, Ewout van der Laan

10. The Plasma Needle The Development of a Smart-Scanning Probe for the Plasma Needle, Ewout van der Laan

11. Current Known Effects Main effect is the dissolution of tissue Most likely Plasma Needle damages CAM proteins and causes breakup of tissue without accidentally killing cells Destruction of CAM  proliferation of free radicals (O, OH) The Development of a Smart-Scanning Probe for the Plasma Needle, Ewout van der Laan

12. Gas Plasma Catheter Basic Definition • Plastic tube confining thin wire containing plasma electrode for insertion into the body (bloodstream, lungs, etc.). General Design Goals • Biocompatible • Thin • Flexible • Capable of separating gas from tissue and fluids • Porous Membrane • Maintain plasma operation under “closed”conditions • Permit sufficient active plasma particles to escape through membrane

13. Immediate Goals(through end of semester) • Construction of plasma needle prototype • Acquire current schematics • Arrange for financing • Identify and select manufacturing contact • Focused research efforts • Catheter • Materials • Specifications • Selectively Porous Membranes • Solidify Coordination • Maintain contact with our counterparts • Expand and improve lines of communication

14. Timeline Catheter Research Construction of Functioning Plasma Needle Setup December January February March April Material Selection and Design of Catheter Catheter Construction Physical Testing of Plasma Needle Catheter Combination Therapeutic Testing on Tissue Cultures