Final Report for completed IPP Project: Development of Plasma Ablation for Soft Tissue and Bone Surgery

ArthroCare is a medical device company that develops, manufactures, and markets an advanced surgical tool, a plasma electro-surgical system for cutting and removing tissue. The hand-held electrical discharge device produces plasma in a biocompatible conductive fluid and tissue to which it is applied during surgery. Its products allow surgeons to operate with increased precision and accuracy, limiting damage to surrounding tissue thereby reducing pain and speeding recovery for the patient. In the past, the design of ArthfoCare's plasma wands has been an empirical undertaking. One goal of this R and D program was to put the phenomena involved on a sound scientific footing, allowing optimization of existing plasma based electro-surgery system technology, and the design and manufacture of new and improved kinds of scalpels, in particular for the surgical cutting of bone. Another important related goal of the program was to develop, through an experimental approach, new plasma wand approaches to the cutting ('shaving') of hard bone tissue. The goals of the CRADA were accomplished - computer models were used to predict important parameters of the plasma discharge and the bone environment, and several different approaches to bone-shaving were developed and demonstrated. The primary goal of the project was to develop and demonstrate an atmospheric-pressure plasma tool that is suitable for surgical use for shaving bone in humans. This goal was accomplished, in fact with several different alternative plasma approaches. High bone ablation speeds were measured. The use of probes ('plasma wand' - the surgical tool) with moving active electrodes was also explored, and there are advantages to this method. Another important feature is that the newly-exposed bone surface have only a very thin necrosis layer; this feature was demonstrated. This CRADA has greatly advanced our understanding of bone removal by atmospheric pressure plasmas in liquid, and puts ArthroCare in a good position to develop the techniques for commercial (surgical) application.