Portable Micro-Plasma Device may help repair skin after laser surgery

A National Cheng Kung University (NCKU) research team has designed a Portable Micro-Plasma Device (PMPD) that may be the ultimate solution to repairing the skin after laser surgery.

The research team is led by Dr. Jiunn-Der Liao, distinguished professor of Department of Materials Science and Engineering at NCKU, southern Taiwan.

The PMPD is a mild treatment whose temperature can be adjusted to body temperature to induce growth factor and reduce the healing time after laser surgery, according to Dr. Liao.

The ultimate goal of skin repair after laser surgery is to achieve better effects by minimizing damage and reducing complications, Liao said. For that purpose, PMPD performs well in treating the living skin without causing damage.

Liao pointed out that the current application of plasma technology in skin care is limited to the heat generated by the plasma to replace the laser while the advantage of the PMPD is that it lowers the plasma temperature to room temperature to treat the sensitive skin in a milder way.

The most important feature of the PMPD is that it can accelerate wound healing and significantly shorten the healing time after laser surgery by using the micro-plasma to stimulate cell proliferation and skin regeneration.

Another feature of the device is that it achieves the greatest medical effect while conserving energy by dividing the supply of the gas.

The exciting research results, beneficial in dermatology, are promising in the plastic surgery market of the future, said the professor.

The PMPD has been awarded patents in Taiwan, Japan, the United States, and China and is scheduled to complete clinic trials on humans in 2013 and enter the market in 2014.

NCKU, under the sponsorship from National Science Council (NSC), will help the team carry out technology transfer in the hope that the novel treatment will be available to people who need skin repair, according to the university.