Mobile cold plasma device: healing of chronic and acute wounds

Skin diseases, chronic wounds or postoperative wounds often greatly restrict the quality of life for those affected. Improvement or healing of these conditions is usually time-consuming and costly. Terraplasma medical GmbH, a company of the Viromed Medical Group, uses cold plasma to pursue an effective approach to wound treatment.

In this interview, Dr. Julia Zimmermann, Jens Kirsch and Uwe Perbandt explain why cold atmospheric plasma works quickly and efficiently and how it can be applied directly to the wound using the plasma care medical device.

How does treatment with cold plasma technology work?

Dr. Julia Zimmermann: Normally, plasma is very hot and completely ionized. What we have developed with plasma care is a medical product that produces cold plasma. We cool the plasmas down to produce only partially ionized gases. This plasma interacts with the ambient air, creating a plasma of many reagents that can be used to treat wounds.

Jens Kirsch: The treatment itself is relatively simple, you place the device lightly on the wound and the cold plasma ensures a high level of inactivation of bacteria on contact with the wound. This is particularly helpful in chronically infected wounds to reduce the bacterial load. Currently, this is also a politically relevant topic, as the Federal Joint Committee is in the process of no longer reimbursing a wide range of wound dressings. In this context, cold plasma could offer an alternative treatment.

For which types of wounds can cold plasma be used?

Kirsch: Due to its wound-healing-activating property, cold plasma can essentially be used for any acute wounds or postoperative wound-healing disorders. Cold plasma can also promote healing in wounds that may occur, for example, through a central venous catheter or other access points at the site of entry.

What are the advantages of treating wounds with cold plasma?

Kirsch: What's great is that many studies have already been carried out and no side effects have been found so far. The treatment is completely painless, and the process is very easy to perform. Another advantage is that after just two or three treatments, the wound begins to heal or increasingly develops in the right direction.

Zimmermann: Another important point is that no bacteria are expected to develop resistance. Many studies have been conducted on this, and it is a known disadvantage of for example antibiotics. However, this has not been observed so far in treatment with the cold plasma device, and the data show a very low probability of this happening.

Can cold plasma technology be used in other areas outside wound treatment in medical technology?

Zimmermann: That is very likely because the plasma can be designed according to the different areas of application. For wound treatment, we have designed the plasma care device with the aim of acting effectively against bacteria and triggering wound healing at the same time. Another scenario would be to use cold plasma to disinfect and sterilize medical equipment. In the future, it could also be used in dentistry and respiratory infectious diseases.

Is cold plasma treatment available to everyone? Are there still hurdles to its commercialization?

Kirsch: In Germany, the treatment is covered by private health insurers and is also available to self-pay patients. Since 2022, there has been a guideline for cold plasma medicine, which means that more and more statutory health insurers are also becoming more receptive. The fact that the Federal Joint Committee is dealing with a method evaluation for cold plasma therapy is an important step towards reimbursement for all patients of the statutory health insurance funds in the outpatient area.

Where do you currently see the greatest potential for developments in the field of regenerative medicine?

Uwe Perbandt: We have already shown in studies that chronic wounds treated with cold plasma close by 80% within a very short time, in just 4 weeks. Or that acute wounds were closed before they could even become chronic. This is not only a health benefit for those affected but also has the potential to save enormous sums of money and materials. This is now slowly catching on in Germany. In the USA, cancer research studies are already being conducted with plasma. The potential for future developments is far from exhausted.

Using plasma in the field of respiratory diseases is another aspect that has great potential. This is because plasma eliminates viruses, bacteria and fungi, so it can be used successfully to treat pneumonia, for example. Instead of antibiotics, plasma can be applied to the respiratory tract and fights the inflammation in the body - no matter what kind of resistant bacteria triggered it, while at the same time encouraging the body to heal.