Electrosurgical plasmas

Electrosurgical medical devices based on repetitively pulsed nonequilibrium micron-scale to millimetre-scale plasma discharges in saline solutions are described. The formation of vapour layers (bubbles) around active electrodes appears to be a common feature at moderate (<300 V rms) voltages, and dissociation, excitation and ionization of the vapour in these bubbles produces chemical conditions that are thought to be the source of beneficial tissue removal and treatment. Experimental data are discussed, as are the results of modelling efforts of the plasma chemistry. Hydroxyl radicals, hydrogen atoms and other species are observed spectroscopically and their interactions with collagen, a common component of tissue encountered in surgical situations, are considered. Several pathways by which hydroxyl radicals interacting with collagen can lead to tissue removal are discussed.