Materials 2.8 CDC million
The antibiotic- resistant infections that occur in the US each year, more than 35,000 people die as a result.
complicated research, an interdisciplinary team is essential. This has started to be one of the trends that we see: only in cooperation with other partners can this kind of technology be developed.”
Moving the technology to market Just as Covid-19 has shown that vaccines can be developed, marketed and sold more rapidly than many people thought possible, plasma technology- based masks designed to prevent Covid-19 infection, which work on a similar principle to plasma-based antibacterial surfaces, have already reached pharmacies. “That team worked incredibly hard for the past two years; it was really hard to evolve this to a real application,” Nikiforov says. However, this will likely be the exception to the rule. “What I see from my experience is that the minimum term is about three to four years to move something to market if you already have a technology,” says Nikiforov. “It’s not only about proving that your technology is operational, but changing mindsets around old-fashioned techniques, and this is not easy.”
A different angle
The technologies developed through the University of Ghent collaboration are just one approach to the
wider issues of reducing hospital acquired infections and tackling antibiotic resistance. For Nikiforov, some of the most exciting research being undertaken comes at the problem from a completely different angle. “Instead of making coatings that kill bacteria, they are trying to make some kind of surface which itself can make plasma,” he says. In essence, it’s a textile, which is coated with a flexible electrodes system. You can switch on the plasma technology at any time, so it will destroy bacteria. “Whatever bacteria they touch will be destroyed. And because it’s a technology based on active species, bacteria have no weapons to protect themselves from this,” Nikiforov explains He envisages an operating theatre of the future where tools like endoscopes have an integrated plasma lining, which can be activated after surgery to kill bacteria. Tubes for dialysis could be similarly coated. “The techniques used now, like sterilization, are based on heating or on chemicals, which are abrasive to the endoscope itself. But with plasma, you can do the same in a matter of seconds and no bacteria can touch it because they will all be killed,” he says. “I’m really looking forward to the future, to seeing what will be developed in the coming years.” ●
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Medical Device Developments /
www.nsmedicaldevices.com
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