阅读说明：本技术 等离子体源及等离子体治疗装置 (Plasma source and plasma treatment device ) 是由 安头白 金东逸 崔银河 李相学 崔珍成 于 2018-12-19 设计创作，主要内容包括：本发明提供一种等离子体源及等离子体治疗装置,尤其提供一种适用于治疗创伤或者烧伤的大面积等离子体源,并提供能够在这种大面积等离子体源产生均匀的等离子体放电的手段。据此,本发明提供一种大面积等离子体源,其特征在于,包括：大面积电极板,在基板上形成有具有多个放电点的电极,并且形成有覆盖所述电极的电介质；输出板,在所述电极板的一面与电极板隔开地布置,并具有在输出板的对向的两个端部分别形成的预定高度的气障,并且形成有多个孔；以及狭缝喷头模块,在所述电极板和输出板之间形成有供应气体的喷头,并组装于没有所述气障的一侧的电极板以及输出板的端部,使得气体限制在由所述电极板和输出板之间的间隙形成的空间中。(The present invention provides a plasma source and a plasma treatment device, particularly a large-area plasma source suitable for treating wounds or burns, and a means capable of generating uniform plasma discharge in the large-area plasma source. Accordingly, the present invention provides a large area plasma source, comprising: a large-area electrode plate having an electrode formed with a plurality of discharge points on a substrate and a dielectric formed to cover the electrode; an output plate disposed spaced apart from the electrode plate at one surface thereof, having gas barriers of a predetermined height formed at opposite ends thereof, respectively, and formed with a plurality of holes; and a slit showerhead module having a showerhead for supplying gas formed between the electrode plate and the output plate and assembled to ends of the electrode plate and the output plate on a side without the gas barrier such that gas is confined in a space formed by a gap between the electrode plate and the output plate.)

1. A plasma source, comprising:

an electrode plate having an electrode formed with a plurality of discharge points on a substrate and a dielectric formed to cover the electrode;

an output plate disposed spaced apart from the electrode plate at one surface thereof, having gas barriers of a predetermined height formed at opposite ends thereof, respectively, and formed with a plurality of holes; and

and a slit showerhead module having a showerhead for supplying gas formed between the electrode plate and the output plate and assembled to ends of the electrode plate and the output plate on a side without the gas barrier such that gas is confined in a space formed by a gap between the electrode plate and the output plate.

2. The plasma source of claim 1,

the gas barrier has a predetermined height, and an end thereof is bent to form a groove into which an end of the output plate can be inserted.

3. The plasma source of claim 1,

the slit nozzle module is provided with a slit structure part which can be inserted into the end parts of the electrode plate and the output plate, the slit structure part is communicated with the nozzle, and the gas barrier and the wall surface of the slit structure part play a role in limiting gas.

4. The plasma source of claim 1,

a plasma discharge control plate is provided on the other surface of the electrode plate, and the control plate includes:

a conversion circuit that converts a general voltage into a high voltage capable of performing plasma discharge;

a voltage control circuit for controlling the voltage wave shape, duty ratio and frequency of the discharge voltage to control the species and concentration of the active species; and

and a gas supply amount control circuit for controlling the gas supply amount.

5. The plasma source of claim 3,

the slit showerhead module further includes: a fixing part provided with a fixing component for fixing the electrode plate and the output plate; and a wire passage and receiving part for electrical connection with a control board applied to an electrode of the electrode plate.

6. A plasma treatment device, characterized in that a plasma source as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 5 is mounted to a plasma head for treating wounds or burns using plasma.

7. Plasma treatment device according to claim 6,

the plasma head has one or more holders for receiving the plasma sources, the holders having hinges so that the discharge direction of each plasma source can be adjusted individually and the plasma sources as a whole can be made to assume a curved surface.

Technical Field

The present invention relates to a treatment apparatus using plasma, and more particularly, to a treatment apparatus capable of effectively treating wounds or burns.

Background

Recently, plasma is applied not only to semiconductor manufacturing, nuclear fusion, various surface treatments but also to biological fields in combination. Such fusion technology is required to have not only high energy characteristics that plasma currently has but also various characteristics required in the biological field. The plasma can generate active species of different kinds and concentrations according to the characteristics of the discharge gas and the applied voltage, and the life time of the active species may be different. Such differences in the characteristics of the active species should be controlled differently according to the details of the desired application, and safety and reliability are required for commercialization in the biological field. Further, depending on the field of application, it is necessary to increase the area of the generated plasma, and it is also necessary to provide uniformity of the plasma density when increasing the area.

Korean laid-open patent No. 10-2018-0015059 discloses a facial skin treatment using plasma, in which a plasma generation part is separately provided above a mask covering the face and is configured such that generated active species and plasma particles are diffused along the inside of the mask. This structure has a problem that it is difficult to uniformly supply plasma and active species to the treatment site as a whole.

Korean patent laid-open No. 10-1568380 discloses a curved surface discharge plasma source formed with a plurality of holes for discharging plasma. The maximum discharge area of the plasma is disclosed as 10cm²It is shown thatThe area of the affected part is too small for treating the actual affected part. Also, it is practically difficult to form a uniform surface discharge to the area, and in the arrangement of the planar electrodes, the applied voltage for plasma discharge also has problems of safety and excessive ozone generation.

Disclosure of Invention

The object of the present invention is to provide a large area plasma source suitable for treating wounds or burns and to provide means for generating a uniform plasma discharge in such a large area plasma source.

Further, the present invention is directed to a plasma treatment apparatus having a large-area plasma source, which is suitable for a curved surface of an affected part.

In accordance with the object, the present invention provides a large area plasma source, characterized by comprising: a large-area electrode plate having an electrode formed with a plurality of discharge points on a substrate and a dielectric formed to cover the electrode; an output plate disposed spaced apart from the electrode plate at one surface thereof, having gas barriers of a predetermined height formed at opposite ends thereof, respectively, and formed with a plurality of holes; and a slit showerhead module having a showerhead for supplying gas formed between the electrode plate and the output plate and assembled to ends of the electrode plate and the output plate on a side without the gas barrier such that gas is confined in a space formed by a gap between the electrode plate and the output plate.

Also, the plasma treatment apparatus of the present invention provides a large-area stand capable of assembling a plurality of the large-area plasma sources, and provides a hinge at a mounting portion of the large-area plasma source to enable adjustment of the discharge direction of each plasma source, respectively.

That is, the present invention provides a large-area plasma source, comprising: a large-area electrode plate having an electrode provided with a plurality of discharge points formed on a substrate and a dielectric covering the electrode; an output plate provided at a side of the electrode plate to be spaced apart from the electrode plate, having gas barriers of a predetermined height formed at opposite ends of the output plate, respectively, and formed with a plurality of holes (hole); and a slit showerhead module having a showerhead for supplying gas formed between the electrode plate and the output plate and assembled to ends of the electrode plate and the output plate on a side without the gas barrier such that gas is confined in a space formed by a gap between the plates.

Also, the present invention provides a large area plasma source, wherein the gas barrier has a predetermined height, and an end portion thereof is bent to form a groove capable of being inserted into an end portion of the output plate.

In the large-area plasma source, the slit showerhead module may include a slit structure portion into which end portions of the electrode plate and the output plate are inserted, the slit structure portion may communicate with the showerhead, and the gas barrier and a wall surface of the slit structure portion may function to confine gas.

In addition, the present invention provides a large-area plasma source, wherein a plasma discharge control plate is provided on the other surface of the electrode plate, and the control plate includes: a conversion circuit that converts a general voltage into a high voltage capable of performing plasma discharge; a voltage control circuit for controlling the voltage wave shape, duty ratio and frequency of the discharge voltage to control the species and concentration of the active species; and a gas supply amount control circuit for controlling the gas supply amount.

In addition, the present invention provides a large area plasma source, wherein the slit showerhead module further includes: a fixing part provided with a fixing component for fixing the electrode plate and the output plate; and a wire passage and receiving part for electrical connection with a control board applied to an electrode of the electrode plate.

Further, the present invention provides a plasma treatment apparatus, wherein the plasma treatment apparatus is characterized in that the plasma treatment apparatus is mounted on a plasma head to treat a wound or burn using plasma.

The plasma treatment device is characterized in that the head of the plasma is provided with more than one bracket for accommodating the large-area plasma sources, and the bracket is provided with a hinge, so that the discharge direction of each plasma source can be respectively adjusted, and the large-area plasma sources can be made to be a curved surface as a whole.

According to the present invention, a large-area plasma source capable of sufficiently covering a wound or burn site is provided, and plasma discharge of a uniform level is generated over a large area as a whole.

In particular, the slit showerhead module according to the present invention maintains a small gap between the output plate and the electrode plate to serve as a barrier for limiting gas, and has a sealing function for limiting the supply of gas to a space formed by the gap, thereby uniformly supplying discharge gas to the entire area of the plate. By means of the discharge gas uniformly distributed according to the structure, uniform plasma discharge can be achieved on a large-area plate.

In addition, the plasma treatment device of the invention is provided with a plurality of plasma sources on the plasma head part and a mounting part with a hinge, so that the discharge direction of each plasma source can be adjusted, and the plasma sources can be arranged into a curved surface, thereby being beneficial to treating the affected part forming the curved surface.

In addition, the gas supplied by the slit nozzle module is nitrogen, so that nitrogen active species beneficial to treating wounds or burns can be sufficiently supplied, and the ozone is maintained below the control quantity.

Drawings

Fig. 1 shows the front and rear of the plasma treatment device of the present invention.

Fig. 2 shows the plasma head of fig. 1 in detail.

Fig. 3 shows a schematic exploded perspective view of the structure of a plasma source mounted to the plasma head of fig. 2.

Fig. 4 is a perspective view illustrating the configurations of an electrode plate and an output plate and a plasma plate module mounted with a slit showerhead in the plasma source of fig. 3.

Fig. 5 is a bottom view for illustrating the structure of the output plate of fig. 4.

Fig. 6 shows a sectional cut-away line of the plasma panel module of fig. 4 and the appearance of a nitrogen gas supply to the showerhead.

Fig. 7 is a sectional view taken along line a of fig. 6.

Fig. 8 is a sectional view taken along line B of fig. 6.

Fig. 9 is a graph of a voltage wave applied to a plasma panel module of the invention.

Fig. 10 shows the discharge shape of each gas used.

Fig. 11 is a block diagram illustrating a system for measuring the discharge energy of a plasma discharge of a plasma panel module according to the invention.

Fig. 12 shows the measurement results of the power measured from fig. 11.

Fig. 13 shows the measurement results of the active species according to the plasma discharge using argon gas.

Fig. 14 shows the measurement results of the active species according to the plasma discharge using nitrogen gas.

Description of the symbols

100: plasma head

200: support frame

300: hinge assembly

10: electrode plate

20: output board

30: control panel

40: gas barrier

50: slit nozzle module

55: spray head

Detailed Description

Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

The present invention provides a medical device for preventing infection and promoting skin regeneration by causing plasma discharge using a plasma source and applying active species (radial) generated in the process to the skin which has been wounded or burned.

Fig. 1 is a front and rear view showing a plasma treatment apparatus of the present invention.

A control interface and buttons are arranged on the upper end of the main body, and a head unit (head unit) to which a plasma source can be attached is formed at an end of the robot arm extending from the upper end of the main body. The robot arm is a rotatable structure so as to be aligned in a desired direction, and a folding joint part whose length can be adjusted is formed at an upper end of the head. A door is provided at the rear of the main body, the door being a space for accommodating various control devices, a cooling fan being provided at a position for accommodating the control devices, and an opening portion for the cooling fan being formed at a corresponding position of the door.

Fig. 2 shows the plasma head 100 of fig. 1 in detail.

The plasma head 100 of the present invention has a bracket 200 to which three plasma sources can be mounted, and the respective brackets 200 are connected to each other by a hinge 300. The arrangement of the plasma sources may form a curved surface by the hinge 300. The plasma source of the present invention comprises a large area plate having a very large area. A plasma panel module 5 to 10cm long and 10 to 20cm wide may be sufficient for treating wounds. However, since there is a possibility that a wider range of affected parts may be formed by burn, the three plasma sources are configured to be able to treat the affected parts at the same time. Since the affected part of the human body is formed in a curved surface in most cases, the plasma source can be integrally formed in a curved surface by using the hinge 300. For example, in order to treat a wound formed on an arm or a leg, the plasma treatment may be performed in a state where the plasma source surrounds the arm or the leg by bending the plasma holders at both ends to about 90 degrees.

Fig. 3 is a schematic exploded perspective view illustrating the structure of a plasma source mounted to the plasma head of fig. 2.

The plasma source includes: an electrode plate 10 formed by forming an electrode on an insulator (glass in this embodiment) substrate and then covering the electrode with a dielectric; an output plate 20 at the lower end of the electrode plate 10, to which plasma discharge gas is supplied so as to be uniformly distributed to the surface of the electrode plate, and provided with a plurality of holes to discharge plasma and active species; and a discharge control board 30 for applying a high voltage to the electrode plates. The discharge control plate 30 is located in a space formed by the electrode plates 10 and the insulator partition walls, and includes a conversion circuit for converting a general household voltage into a high voltage required for plasma discharge and a voltage control circuit for controlling a voltage wave shape, a duty ratio, and a frequency of the discharge voltage in order to control the kind and concentration of active species. In addition, a gas supply amount control circuit capable of controlling the gas valve is also included to adjust the gas supply amount. The voltage control circuit and the gas supply amount control circuit can be controlled in conjunction by receiving and sending signals to each other.

The gas supply amount can be adjusted according to the discharge state of the plasma, and when the increase of the ozone generation amount is sensed by the ozone sensing sensor, the ozone generation amount can also be controlled by adjusting the addition and subtraction of the supply amount. An ozone sensor may also be mounted on the control board and an increased amount of ozone generation adjusted to reduce the applied voltage or increase the duty-off time or increase the amount of nitrogen supplied to block the supply of oxygen around the plasma source.

The smaller the size of the control board, the more advantageous it is to miniaturize the size of the control board, and for this reason, the variable circuit for boosting the voltage of 12V to 20 to 24V at the initial stage is not provided in the control board, but the SNPS power supply is used so that the voltage can be changed in the power supply itself, and only the DC/DC converter is configured in the control board. Since the conversion circuit having a relatively large volume is removed from the control board, the control board is compactly constructed so as to be able to be mounted on the plasma panel.

Since the plasma plate has a relatively wide area, it is configured with a Dielectric Barrier Discharge (DBD) electrode. An electrode having a plurality of discharge points is formed by patterning by a photolithography technique based on an insulator substrate such as glass, and the electrode is covered with a dielectric, thereby realizing an active discharge with respect to an applied voltage, extending the life of the electrode by the dielectric, and enabling a large amount of active species to be obtained at the time of plasma discharge.

Further, since it is difficult to generate a uniform surface discharge only by the gas existing around the electrode module and to increase the concentration of nitrogen active species effective for healing wounds, the present invention includes an output plate 20 below the electrode plate 10 to supply nitrogen gas to the plasma plate and uniformly diffuse the supplied nitrogen gas and exist in the plasma plate. The output plate 20 restricts the gas by forming a space in which the nitrogen gas can exist, so that the supplied nitrogen gas can be uniformly filled in the entire area of the electrode plate, thereby improving the smoothness and uniformity of large-area discharge. The structure of such a plate is shown in detail in figures 4 to 8.

Fig. 4 is a perspective view illustrating the configurations of an electrode plate and an output plate and a plasma plate module mounted with a slit showerhead in the plasma source of fig. 3.

As described above, it is difficult to perform uniform discharge of the large-area electrode plate, and thus supplying nitrogen gas is advantageous for obtaining nitrogen active species. It is also difficult to obtain uniform surface discharge if nitrogen gas is caused to flow around the electrodes when nitrogen gas is supplied. Therefore, in the present invention, the output plate 20 is spaced below the electrode plate 10, so that a storage space capable of uniformly diffusing gas and limiting the gas to some extent is provided between the electrode plate 10 and the output plate 20. The output plate 20 is formed at a lateral end thereof with a gas barrier 40 constructed in a stepped structure so that the electrode plate 10 and the gas barrier 40 cooperate to seal gas, and a slit showerhead module 50 is mounted at a lateral end of the output plate 20 so as to seal the gas storage space and provide a gas supply port. The slit showerhead module 50 has a slit structure into which the end portions of the electrode plate 10 and the output plate 20 can be inserted so that the slit structure portion is connected to the showerhead, and thus gas supplied from the showerhead diffuses along the slit structure portion to the gas storage space. That is, four walls of the gas storage space are formed due to the gas barrier 40 and the slit showerhead module 50. Therefore, the supplied nitrogen gas is uniformly distributed over the entire area of the electrode plate, and uniform surface discharge can be stably realized over a large area. As described above, the gas barriers are formed at both side end portions having a long length, and two slit showerhead modules 50 are respectively installed at both side end portions having a short length of the plate, thereby forming four walls of the gas storage space, but it is also possible to form the gas barriers at three sides of the plate by deforming them, and install only one slit showerhead module 50. However, in order to supply the gas rapidly and uniformly, it is preferable to use two slit showerhead modules 50. Further, two slit showerhead modules 50 may be attached to the end of the long plate.

Also, since the plasma and the reactive species of the discharge need to be discharged to the affected part, the output plate 20 has a plurality of holes. The holes 25 are shown in the bottom view of the output plate 20 of fig. 5. By controlling the size of the holes and the nitrogen gas supply rate, it is possible to uniformly distribute the nitrogen gas in the gas storage space and to eject the plasma of the discharge and the generated active species. The discharged plasma and the generated active species are naturally ejected through the holes by the positive pressure formed inside the gas storage space.

The output plate 20 is designed to be constructed using an insulator such as plastic so that the electric field does not contact the skin. The gas barrier 40 and the slit showerhead module 50 are also constructed using insulators. In particular, the gas barrier 40 has a predetermined height from the output plate 20 and is bent at an end thereof, so that the plate-shaped electrode plate 10 is inserted into the bent groove to be assembled, thereby providing convenience in assembly.

FIG. 6 is a view showing a cross-sectional cut-off line of the plasma panel module according to the present invention and a situation where nitrogen gas is supplied to the shower head.

The slit showerhead module 50 is provided with a slot-shaped slit to close the lateral ends of the electrode plate 10 and the output plate 20, and thus the lateral ends of the electrode plate 10 and the output plate 20 are inserted into the slit to be assembled. Also, the slit nozzle module 50 is formed at an upper end with a nozzle 55 to allow gas to flow from a supply port connected to a gas cylinder, and has a plurality of fixing parts where various fixing members for fixing a plate can be arranged, a wire passage for electrically connecting with a control board, and a receiving part. This configuration can improve convenience and reliability in assembling the plasma source, and consolidate electrical connection and insulation, thereby improving electrical safety.

Fig. 7 is a sectional view taken along the direction of the plasma panel module a, showing a state where plasma and reactive species are discharged from a space formed by the gas barrier and the electrode plate and the output plate through the hole of the output plate.

Fig. 8 is a sectional view of the plasma panel module taken along direction B, which shows a flow path of gas flowing into a gas storage space formed by inserting the electrode plate 10 and the output plate 20 into a slit provided in the slit showerhead module 50 and assembling them, through the nozzle 55, and plasma is discharged through the output plate hole.

Also, a flow regulator (MFC) is applied to the plasma treatment apparatus to regulate the supply amount of nitrogen gas. That is, a predetermined amount of nitrogen gas is supplied into the plasma panel module through a Mass Flow Controller (MFC) according to conditions set by a control unit of the control panel. The control portion may set an operating time of the plasma and a supply amount of the discharge gas.

As a safety device of the plasma treatment apparatus, a power supply breaker is applied, and the machine body is grounded. As described above, the output plate 20 made of an insulator shields the electric field, so that the electric field does not directly affect the skin even if the plasma source is closely attached to the affected part of the patient. Therefore, the closer the treatment distance to the affected part, the better, and the longest, the distance is not more than 3 cm.

The following shows the results of experiments on the discharge characteristics of the plasma panel module of the present invention.

The gas used is nitrogen (N)₂) And argon (Ar) at a gas flow rate of 0.5 to 1.5lpu (liter per unit). A DC-AC converter including a pulse mode (burst mode) was applied, and plasma discharge was performed with the input power set to 17V for nitrogen gas and 12V for argon gas. The voltage duty cycle is about 6.3%, i.e. on time 25ms and off time 370 ms. The duty ratio may be controlled to be about 1 to 10%.

The electrodes applied to the plasma panel are micro-gap dielectric barrier discharge (u-DBD) type electrodes. A gas detection tube and an ozone sensor were used for measuring the active species. The voltage wave is shown in fig. 9.

Fig. 10 shows the discharge shape of each used gas. It is known that argon gas causes discharge with the electrodes, but nitrogen gas only causes discharge in the discharge cells.

The power of the plasma discharge was measured by configuring a measurement system as shown in fig. 11. The power measured from this was 0.04 to 1.22J/sec, and the average value was 0.59J/sec (see FIG. 12). That is, this value can be regarded as an average value of the power to be generated by the plasma treatment apparatus of the present invention.

The measurement results of the gas detection tube showed that when argon gas was used as the discharge gas, no nitrogen radicals were detected, only ozone was detected, and the ozone concentration was 0.05ppm or less (see fig. 13).

When nitrogen plasma was used, the detected NO concentration was 7ppm, and the detected ozone concentration was 0.1ppm or less, that is, 0.031ppm (see FIG. 14).

Accordingly, the discharge gas can be optimized for therapeutic use. For example, it is possible to initially supply an inert gas to the plasma plate for the purpose of sterilization of the apparatus itself and the periphery of the affected part to cause plasma discharge over the entire surface of the electrode, and then supply nitrogen gas to treat the wound, and it is possible to mix two gases and actively generate discharge and perform sterilization and treatment in parallel.

The invention is not limited to the embodiments described in the foregoing, but the invention should be defined based on the claims. It is obvious that a person having a basic knowledge in the technical field to which the present invention pertains can be variously applied and modified within the scope of the claims described in the claims.