A new cleaning technology could replace or supplement the soap, water, and disinfectants used at hospitals to wash hands. It won't, however, mask that faint smell of death that permeates the halls.
Plasma gas sprayed on hands through machines developed by researchers in Germany can kill bacteria and other biological contaminants. Plasma gas sprayed in the face, well, that hurts. The technology is being developed and tested in several laboratories. Gregor Morfill, who created several prototypes using the technology at the Max Planck Institute for Extraterrestrial Physics in Germany, says the plasma quickly inactivates not only bacteria but also viruses and fungi.
Instead of scrubbing, the workers would put their hands into a small box that bathes them with plasma — the same sort of luminous gas found in neon signs, fluorescent tubes and TV displays. This plasma, though, is at room temperature and pressure, and is engineered to zap germs, including the drug-resistant supergerm MRSA. During the last decade, they have come into use to sterilize some medical instruments, but using them on human tissue is another matter. Many thousands of volts drive the plasma - and normally one doesn’t want to touch thousands of volts. But the design of the new hand sanitizers protects people from doing so. The electric current ionizes the oxygen, nitrogen and water vapor in the air, eventually creating the nitric oxide, hydrogen peroxide and particles that are so effective against bacteria, viruses and fungi.
Dr. Morfill and his colleagues have tested their devices on hands and feet. “It works on athlete’s foot,” he said. “And the nice thing is, you don’t have to take your socks off. They are disinfected, too.” The first products to reach hospitals, after surface cleaners and instrument disinfectants, will probably be hand sanitizers. And does the photo remind anyone else of the pain box from Dune?
Plasma gas sprayed on hands through machines developed by researchers in Germany can kill bacteria and other biological contaminants. Plasma gas sprayed in the face, well, that hurts. The technology is being developed and tested in several laboratories. Gregor Morfill, who created several prototypes using the technology at the Max Planck Institute for Extraterrestrial Physics in Germany, says the plasma quickly inactivates not only bacteria but also viruses and fungi.Instead of scrubbing, the workers would put their hands into a small box that bathes them with plasma — the same sort of luminous gas found in neon signs, fluorescent tubes and TV displays. This plasma, though, is at room temperature and pressure, and is engineered to zap germs, including the drug-resistant supergerm MRSA. During the last decade, they have come into use to sterilize some medical instruments, but using them on human tissue is another matter. Many thousands of volts drive the plasma - and normally one doesn’t want to touch thousands of volts. But the design of the new hand sanitizers protects people from doing so. The electric current ionizes the oxygen, nitrogen and water vapor in the air, eventually creating the nitric oxide, hydrogen peroxide and particles that are so effective against bacteria, viruses and fungi.
Dr. Morfill and his colleagues have tested their devices on hands and feet. “It works on athlete’s foot,” he said. “And the nice thing is, you don’t have to take your socks off. They are disinfected, too.” The first products to reach hospitals, after surface cleaners and instrument disinfectants, will probably be hand sanitizers. And does the photo remind anyone else of the pain box from Dune?
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