Blood coagulation with atmospheric-plasma jets

In the application of biomedicine plasma, the blood coagulation is investigated to verify the interaction between plasma and blood¹. The plasma is irradiated to the blood with various conditions of plasma jet such as the dose of plasma current and the exposure time of various kinds of plasmas. The response of blood coagulation is also observed. Considering the mechanism of blood coagulation, it is a complex process where blood forms clots. When the blood is outside the blood vessels, thromboplastin is formed by destroying platelets in the blood. Thromboplastin works with calcium ion (Ca²⁺) which is in the blood and it changes prothrombin, one of the proteins in blood, to thrombin. Thrombin acts on fibrinogen and it is changed to the substance called fibrin shaped as thread. This fibrin gets tangled as a net and it is the blood coagulation. The plasma coagulation is analyzed in terms of the radical species in plasma jet. In general, blood coagulation process could be faster by adding of calcium chloride to the blood. However, the blood coagulation which is irradiated by atmospheric jet plasma is faster than the blood coagulation that is carried out by calcium chloride. If the dose of irradiated plasma increases, the blood coagulation is done in shorter time. Also, if the exposure time of plasma is long, the blood is coagulated not only on the surface of the blood but also inside the blood. Depending on the plasma species (He, Ne, and Ar) with the mixture of O₂ and N₂, the duration of blood coagulation is tested. Comparing the heat effect on coagulation, the hot gas of different temperature is blowing into the plasma jet device. The blood coagulation will be discussed with the action of radicals to the blood.