Title: New technological trajectories of non-thermal plasma technology in medicine

Authors: Mario Coccia; Ugo Finardi

Addresses: National Research Council of Italy, CNR-CERIS, Institute for Economic Research on Firm and Growth, Collegio Carlo Alberto - via Real Collegio, n. 30, 10024 Moncalieri (Torino), Italy; Georgia Institute of Technology, School of Public Policy, 685 Cherry Street, N.W. Atlanta, Georgia 30332-0345, USA ' National Research Council of Italy, CNR-CERIS, Institute for Economic Research on Firm and Growth, Collegio Carlo Alberto - via Real Collegio, n. 30, 10024 Moncalieri (Torino), Italy; Department of Chemistry and NIS-Centre of Excellence, University of Torino, via P. Giuria 7, 10125 Torino, Italy

Abstract: The paper analyses the evolutionary growth of scientific production and patenting, proxies of scientific and technological breakthroughs, of non-thermal plasma for biomedical applications in order to detect emerging technological trajectories. Non-thermal plasma in medicine might generate important innovations that could change the clinical practice. Occurrences of scientific products and patents are retrieved on SciVerse database after a meticulous procedure. Data are analysed with two methodological approaches: rates based on exponential model of growth and trends based on regression analysis. Results show high rates of scientific growth for applications of non-thermal plasma in disinfection, anticancer treatments, and dermatology. In surgery, although values of occurrences are similar to the other research fields, the trend is decreasing after 2005 due to the peculiar application to materials for implantation. Moreover, the model forecasts that emerging non-thermal plasma technology may be a consolidated technology in 2055 or thereabouts.

Keywords: non-thermal plasma; technological trajectories; forecasting; cancer; medicine; biomedical engineering; medical engineering; clinical practice; patents; scientific production; disinfection; anti-cancer treatment; dermatology; surgery; implant materials.

DOI: 10.1504/IJBET.2013.055665

International Journal of Biomedical Engineering and Technology, 2013 Vol.11 No.4, pp.337 - 356

Received: 08 Oct 2012
Accepted: 18 Mar 2013
Published online: 27 Sep 2014 *

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